June 12-15, 2003: Plame's name starts to be circulated from the administration to Bob Woodward (the same Woodward who was responsible for exposing Watergate.)
June 23, 2003: Libby tells Judith Miller wherein he discloses that Plame *might* be working for the CIA.
July 7, 2003: Libby tells then-White House Press Secretary Ari Fleisher that Plame works for the CIA, but that information is not "widely known."
July 8, 2003: Libby was authorized by Bush and Cheney to reveal previously classified documents to the public to counter-act anyone who opposed the war.
July 8, 2003: Judith Miller meets with Libby for a 2-hour breakfast. Libby divulges Plame's name as working for the CIA.
July 30, 2003: Letter sent to CIA criminal division outling a possible crime had occurred.
September 14 & 16: White House begins denying having knowledge of the leak.
September 16, 2003: CIA concludes its investigation and refers it to the FBI for a "full criminal investigation.."
September 28, 2003: Bush adamant to go after anyone who had a part of the leak.
October 2, 2003: White House changes tone, saying they had no idea a covert agent may have been involved.
December 30, 2003: Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is appointed head of the investigation.
January 6, 2004: The administration starts offering "no comment to an ongoing investigation" sound clips.
October 28, 2005: Scooter Libby is indicted on charges (the next day, he resigns)
April 10, 2006: Bush said today: "I wanted people to see what some of those statements were based on. I wanted people to see the truth,"..
Okay..
Let's back up a second..
Does Bush have the right to de-classify information? Technically, it appears he has the legal right to do so..
Did the CIA know about Bush's declassification of the Plame-CIA documentation? It's unclear.. The inference from Fitzgerald's response to a Discovery motion lends the possibility that Bush and Cheney gave "blanket authority" over intelligence-leaks to the press.. His response does not make mention that Bush or Cheney gave their "blanket authority" as to the Plame leak..
That's significant - even though Libby's lawyers are apparently contending that there was a "'a strong desire by many, including multiple people in the White House," to undermine Mr. Wilson."
Was the "blanket authority" intended?? Apparently it was - because the administration came out over the last few days confirming that Libby had authorization to release declassified information.. Even if the outing of Plame was "purely by accident," the act itself remains negligent.. Because at some point this administration would've had to say: "Bad bad, Libby.. We told him not to do it.." But they didn't.. Moreover, when Bush admitted today that he personally authorized "information" to be leaked and declassified attempts the repercussions are slowly emerging..
Okay, okay - Bush gave the greenlight, get over it.. Even with Bush's speech today stating how he "... wanted people to see what some of those statements were based on. I wanted people to see the truth," Consider that on July 8th, 2003 - Libby supposedly gets the green light to leak declassified information.. Information that this administration said did not happen, then later it was not known that a covert spy was exposed.. Regardless - a greater question remains:
The CIA investigated the leak starting July 30, 2003 until September 16, 2003 when they hand the case over to the FBI for criminal charges. Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't given the case until December 30, 2003 - another 3 1/2 months after the fact. Moreover, Fitzgerald has been investigating this matter going on 2 years, which begs an even greater question:
What would the point be to this whole investigation if the information was declassified?? Why didn't the administration come right out in the beginning to say: "the information is declassified, here's the memo" - move on..
No..
They didn't..
I'm sorry..
It wasn't declassified information..
It was classified..
Bush knew it.. Cheney knew it.. The CIA knew it.. Afterall, they investigated it for two weeks before turning it over to the FBI.. It wasn't for another 3 1/2 months later when Patrick Fitzgerald was called in to investigate it.. They had an opportunity to air their "declassification" stance for over 6 months and they didn't..
...and even if it wasn't classified - Plame's identity was now exposed.. It's been widely reported that Valerie Plame's identity entailed working as a front in what was supposed to be a spying operation into Iran's nuclear program.. Even if she wasn't working on collecting evidence on Iran's nuclear program, whatever protection she had, her front, the company, the intelligence she had collected - all of that was now gone.. Moreover, if her identity wasn't all that secret and if she was nothing more than a desk jockey -- then why not come out and say exactly what she did, what was her involvement and what about her role was with the CIA?? If her involvement with the CIA was so minimal that the information could be declassified and her identity revealed Mr. President - what did she do for the CIA?? Evidentially her role was a bit more substantial than is being revealed so far.. Evidentially the CIA felt that the breach was important enough to investigate criminal charges and pass it along to the FBI and a special prosecutor for further investigation..
...and even if it wasn't classified - Bush admits that the information was being leaked so that it could be used as a weapon against anyone who came out against the justification for the war in Iraq.. A weapon for those who would refute the WMD claims Bush laid out in his justification for the war in Iraq.. A slander war.. Because Wilson had the facts, his claims were supported and verified.. Bush had a slander war to attempt to smear Wilson and his wife as collaborating in an effort to undermine the American war effort in Iraq..
(problem is, Wilson had verifiable facts, Bush didn't and still doesn't..)
Consider that we have an administration that used information in retaliation against someone who was doing his job.. Joe Wilson, like him or hate him - was doing a job to try to find any sort of nuclear link between Iraq and Niger.. When he found none, he spoke out.. When he spoke out - the administration sought revenge against him and his family..
Remember when there were the voices screaming out to be absolutely sure we know what we were doing when we went into Iraq?? Remember what those voices were saying, how we should let the inspectors complete their job and how we should be patient with the process?? Why didn't we listen??
What kind of country do we live in when we're afraid of the truth, or when it guides us to destroy those who try to report the truth when it flies in the face of this administration's policies??
Is this the type of role-model, is this the type of morality we want govern over us??
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