We interrupt this discussion of Karl Rove’s email to bring you an important reminder: there were no WMDs and the world is considerably more violent than it was two years ago. Now, back to what did Rove
know and when did he know it. mjh
FOXNews.com – Politics – Can Bush Survive Without Rove?
President Bush said last year that if someone in his administration leaked the name of a CIA agent, that person would no longer be in his administration.
I’m really surprised at this common misquoting of Bush. More often, it is said that Bush said he would fire the culprit. Not so. I’ve seen the tape many times and Bush literally says such a person would be “taken care of.” How is that clearly “fired”? It could just as easily mean promoted or executed. Why do we all accept this constant interpreting of Bush as a non-native speaker (here’s what he meant, not what he said)? mjh
Rove e-mailed adviser about talk with reporter BY JOHN SOLOMON
“When he finished his brief heads-up he immediately launched into Niger. Isn’t this damaging? Hasn’t the president been hurt? I didn’t take the bait, but I said if I were him I wouldn’t get Time far out in front on this.’‘ …
He later told a grand jury the e-mail was consistent with his recollection that his intention in talking with Cooper that Friday in July 2003 wasn’t to divulge Plame’s identity but to caution Cooper against certain allegations Plame’s husband was making, according to legal professionals familiar with Rove’s testimony.
Rove sent the e-mail shortly before leaving the White House early for a family vacation that weekend, already aware that another journalist he had talked with, Chicago Sun-Times syndicated columnist Robert Novak, was planning a column about Plame and Wilson. …
The AP reported Thursday that Rove acknowledged to the grand jury that he talked about Plame with Cooper and Novak before they published their stories but that he originally learned about the operative’s identity from the news media, not government sources.
Republicans cheered the latest revelations Friday, saying they showed Rove wasn’t trying to hurt Plame but instead was trying to informally warn reporters to be cautious about some of Wilson’s claims. Democrats, however, said that even if Rove wasn’t the leaker, someone still divulged Plame’s identity.
AP
My reading of the text above is that Rove wanted to delay Cooper so Novak, a friend of the administration, would get the scoop. Or, that Rove was trying to discourage a reporter from Wilson’s claims (ie, let’s keep this quiet). mjh
Tennessee Independent Media Center: feature/6261
Karl Rove’s Defense is No Defense
by H.C. Kennedy
Novak’s initial column identified Plame as “an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.” He has since claimed that he believed Plame was merely an analyst at the CIA, not a covert operative — the difference being that analysts are not undercover, so identifying them is not a crime. Critics contend that after decades as a Washington reporter Novak was well aware of the difference and would be unlikely to make such a mistake. Indeed, a search of the Nexis database for the terms ‘CIA operative’ and ‘agency operative’ shows Novak correctly used them to describe covert CIA employees every single time they appear in his articles. Including the Plame article.
After all, Mr. Rove was not trying to destabilize the United States; at least not more than he’s already done. He was only engaging in petty revenge against his political enemies. That’s not a crime, that’s just your run of the mill Republican politics. Ms. Plame’s outing was more of a governmental friendly fire thing than out and out criminality.