In a dramatic twist in the long and drawn out saga that is the Valerie Plame case, Karl Rove was charged this week with perjury and lying to investigators about how and when he discovered that Ms Plame, also known as Ms Wilson, was a CIA operative and whether he shared that information with reporters, reported Truthout’s Jason Leopold.
Back in 2003, when the White House was pleading ignorance through the mouth piece of Scott McClelland at a press briefing, a reporter asked:
Weeks ago, when you were first asked whether Mr. Rove had the conversation with Robert Novak that produced the column, you dismissed it as ridiculous. And I wanted just to make sure, at that time, had you talked to Karl?
To which McClellan replied:
“I've made it very clear, from the beginning, that it is totally ridiculous. I've known Karl for a long time, and 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."
Ah, the beauty of 20/20 hindsight through a White House Spokesman who stood down in April this year. Indeed it appeared that Karl Rove had been a busy little leaker. But for those of you who are not completely tired of this case, let’s have a little scoot (pardon the pun) around the events as they unfolded in 2003, leading up to the press briefing.
It appears that in its singularly determined effort to go to war in Iraq, the Bush Administration was searching for something they could base their case on. In February 2002, former US Ambassador Joseph Wilson was sent to Niger on a CIA funded operation to find out whether or not Niger had been supplying Iraq with Uranium. The answer that came back with Wilson was an unequivocal No. According to a timeline of the leak in the New York Times, by June 9, the CIA had sent a fax to the attention of I Lewis “Scooter” Libby, which contained information about Wilson and his trip to Niger. Just three days later, it was Dick Cheney who advised Libby about Wilson’s wife’s identity as a member of the CIA’s Counter proliferation Division.
Things must have been heating up for Wilson already, because by July 6 he wrote and op-ed piece in the New York Times titled, “What I Didn’t Find in Africa.” Five days later, during the President’s State of the Union Address (talk about bringing out the big guns), CIA Director George Tenet accepted partial responsibility for the uranium claims made by Wilson, adding that Cheney had not authorised the dispatch of Wilson to Niger and had not been briefed on his findings.
So was that conversation between Cheney and Libby a month earlier just gossip around the water cooler? Perhaps it went something like this:
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->
Cheney: Hey, I saw you got a fax! Nice one, I got one of those once. What was it?
Libby: Oh, something about a yellow cake in Africa somewhere or is that South America? Anyway, one of our colonies. Yeah, from Wilson you know, the ex-Ambassador guy? Had a really boring BBQ last year he doesn’t even have a pool.
Cheney: Oh, I know the guy, yeah, his wife’s hot though she’s a CIA
operative, did you know? I bet she can really kick ass.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Karl Rove seems to have made his first appearance in the tale when he reportedly spoke with syndicated columnist Robert Novak about Wilson and his wife on July 8, 2003. 3 days later, he was speaking with Time Magazine’s Matthew Cooper who, according to an email sent by Rove to then Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, that Matthews has “not taken the bait” However, Novak was obviously more than happy to help Rove out, publishing his column three days later, revealing that “two senior administration officials” had revealed the identity of Wilson’s wife and that she was an “operative on weapons of mass destruction”
Now that Libby and Rove are going to face trial, one has to wonder, what’s happing with the big fella? The big huntin’ Cheney? It has long been suspected that Libby, who was Cheney’s Chief of Staff, was working under direct order from Cheney himself, and given the links between all of the players we’ve already mentioned, it would seem at best to assume he had no knowledge of the events, and just a little bit potty to assume he had no part in them. In early 2002, it was Cheney’s office that raised the question of Niger, Iraq and uranium with the CIA.
Considering that Dick Cheney’s former right hand man, I "Scooter" Libby went down last year for his involvement, and Rove is now in indicted, one has to consider this question and response in the same 2003 press briefing about Mr Lock, Stock & Two Smokin’ Barrels himself:
“Do your words also speak for Vice President Cheney? And can you categorically say that he was not involved in this?
Again, to the wordsmith, Scott McClelland:
“I've made it clear that there's been nothing, absolutely nothing, brought to our attention to suggest any White House involvement, and that includes the Vice President's office, as well. When I'm talking about the White House, I'm talking about the Vice President's office as well”
In the great words of C & C Music Factory, "things that make you go hmmmm..."
Politics
Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about.
more
Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination
26.Aug 2011
Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read
ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT
10.Mar 2011
...read
Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ!
10.Mar 2011
Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read
Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!)
28.Feb 2011
Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read
Opinion
World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case)
EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today.
more
The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem
5.Mar 2011
So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read
Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out
31.Jan 2011
According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read
The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination
11.Oct 2010
The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read
Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos
4.Oct 2010
As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read
|
Travel
Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN
13.Sep 2010
TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read
more
TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL.
5.Jun 2010
Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read
TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES
16.Apr 2010
Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read
TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA.
5.Apr 2010
Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read
TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS.
2.Apr 2010
Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read
No Payoff From the Playoffs
$16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire
Stupid Athlete Tricks
Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show
Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks
Twittering: I'm not that interesting
Cheers
|
