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July 03, 2005
Did He, Or Did He Not Leak?
Many of you may have been following the fascinating developments in the long-going Valerie Plame "outing" story.
For those not familiar, Valerie Plame is the CIA agent and wife of former Ambasssador to Iraq Joseph Wilson, who, at the administration's behest traveled to Niger before the Iraq War to investigate claims that Saddam had illegally purchased yellowcake uranium there, possibly for use in making nuclear weapons.
Wilson found no evidence to support the claims, and after President Bush indicated otherwise in a speech, Wilson said so on the editorial page of the New York Times. Shortly afterwards, Plame was outed as a CIA operative who had been responsible for arranging her husband's trip, in an attempt to discredit Wilson. Right wing columnist Bob Novak, Time Magazine's Matt Cooper and the infamous Judith Miller of the Times (remember Ahmed Chalabi?) were all found to have been tipped.
Well, compromising a U.S. intellgence officer's "cover" is a treasonous act and a felony. The million dollar question has always been -- who leaked Plame's identity? Former U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald from Chicago was appointed as an independent investigator, and things have been relatively quiet until recently. A court ruled that Cooper & Miller must reveal the source or go to jail.
There has always been rampant speculation that the "boy genius" Karl Rove was behind the leaks, and yesterday MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said so.
This is going to get good folks. And if Rove is found to have leaked our agent's indentity and compromised our national security during a time of war, at the very least he should go to prison for the rest of his life.
Just think if a "liberal" political operative were implicated in such a crime -- say a James Carville. Those right-wing "patriots" would have him drawn and quartered in the public square. Keep your hypocrisy gauges ready, and wait for the Rove apologists to start.
Posted by houtopia at July 3, 2005 05:02 PM