White House Gets Tangled In Web of Deceit: An e-mail sent by Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper on July 11, 2003, and recently uncovered by Newsweek
magazine reveals that White House deputy chief of staff and senior political
adviser to the president, Karl Rove, was a disseminator of classified
information. The e-mail states, "it was, KR [Karl Rove] said, wilson’s wife, who apparently works at the agency
on wmd issues who authorized the trip.” The new revelation also contradicts
Rove’s previous denial that he “had
any knowledge” of who in the White House leaked the classified, covert
identity of a CIA agent. It also disputes earlier assertions by the White House
that Rove was not involved in the outing of the agent and forces President Bush
to come to terms with his previous pledge to take this action “very seriously”
and “hold
someone to account.”
ROVE IS DECEIVING THE PUBLIC WITH WORD GAMES:
When asked
in September 2003 if he "had any knowledge" or leaked "the name of the CIA
agent" to the press, Rove simply answered, "no." On July 4th, 2005, Rove
appeared on CNN and slightly amended his carefully parsed talking point: "I'll
repeat what I said to ABC News when this whole thing broke some number of months
ago. I didn't know her name and didn't leak her name." But the question
from ABC also asked whether he "had any knowledge" of the leak. Now we know
exactly what Rove told at least one reporter -- Time magazine's Matt Cooper.
Newsweek is reporting that an e-mail from Cooper to
his editors at Time stated, "it was, KR [Karl Rove] said, wilson’s wife, who
apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip." In the
context of the new revelation, Rove's duplicitous strategy has revealed itself.
In essence, by suggesting that he did not reveal Plame's actual "name"
(but instead mentioned her to be wife of Joseph Wilson), Rove
is attempting to escape accountability for a national security
violation.
ROVE'S ACTIONS MAY ALREADY BE ILLEGAL: Rove clearly had knowledge about the leak and disseminated
classified information to reporters. Recall that Rove told MSNBC's Chris
Matthews that Plame was "fair
game." NBC's Andrea Mitchell said in 2003 that she "heard in the White
House that people were
touting the Novak column and that that was the real story." One
interpretation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act suggests that
Rove's
role in confirming and further disseminating the identity of the leaked agent
was in itself illegal.
ROVE'S REVISIONIST HISTORY CANNOT HIDE HIS TRUE INTENT: The most recent argument from Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, for
Rove's behavior is that he was merely "discouraging
Time from perpetuating some statements that had been made publicly and weren't
true." That's a convenient explanation coming from an attorney who has
already discredited himself by previously stating Rove "did
nothing wrong, did not disclose Plame's identity, and did not reveal any
confidential information." Luskin's newest assertions that Rove was merely
trying to correct the public record are completely at odds with what an
administration official quoted in the Washington Post candidly admitted in 2003.
That official said the leaking "was
meant purely and simply for revenge." Columnist Bob Novak, the conduit for
the leak, confirmed the leaker's intent in July 2003: "I didn't dig it out,
it was given to me.... They thought it was significant, they gave me
the name and I used it." Rove appears to be acting in revenge against a man
who was undermining Bush's case for attacking Iraq, and in doing so, acted
in a manner unbecoming of an adviser to the president.
MEMO TO BUSH -- IT'S TIME TO ACT: President
Bush, in remarks to White House reporters traveling with him on 9/30/03, said:
"If there is a leak
out of my administration, I want to know who it is." Now we know Rove
was at least one of the White House officials who revealed the identity of
covert CIA agent Valerie Plame to reporters. And the consequences of even
disseminating the information posed a great security risk. Recall the words of
Larry
Johnson, former CIA operative and analyst: "I worked with this woman. She
started training with me.... So the fact that she's been undercover for three
decades and that has been divulged is outrageous because she was put undercover
for certain reasons. One, she works in an area where people she meets with
overseas could be compromised." The president should not tolerate the act of
disseminating this information. Bush and other close
associates have all spoken about how heinous an act it is to leak and
disseminate an undercover CIA agent's identity from an ethical perspective of
White House conduct. Secretary of State and former NSA Condoleezza Rice stated
the case simply: "it certainly would not be the way that the president would
expect his White House to operate."
WHITE HOUSE STANDARD SHOULD MEAN TROUBLE FOR ROVE: In the 9/29/03
WH press briefing, Scott McClellan laid out the White House standard for
dealing with the leak. McClellan: "If anyone in this administration was involved
in it, they would no longer be in this administration." In the gaggle that
morning, McClellan was asked whether the leaker should be "fired" and he
answered, "If a source leaked information of this nature, yes." Similarly, Ed
Gillespie told Chris Matthews on 9/30/03 that if someone in the White House
leaked the information, "I do not believe it would be hard for President Bush to
ask that person to walk the plank." But it has been and will likely continue to
be hard for President Bush to enforce some measure of accountability. The White
House has stood firmly behind Rove as more and more information has come forward
to suggest his growing involvement. McClellan, in the 9/29/03 briefing, said
that he had "spoken
with Karl" about the leak, but then added, "I didn't even need to go ask
Karl, because I know the kind of person that he is, and he is someone that is
committed to the highest standards of conduct." When Joe Wilson floated the idea
that Rove was behind the leak, McClellan responded vigorously: "It is a
ridiculous suggestion, and it is simply not true."
Center For American Progress
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