New Evidence shows Valerie Plame was a Covert Agent

[Hurin_Rules]

Well well, seems it is clear that Plame was a Covert Agent after all:


Newly released court papers could put holes in the defense of Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, in the Valerie Plame leak case. Lawyers for Libby, and White House allies, have repeatedly questioned whether Plame, the wife of White House critic Joe Wilson, really had covert status when she was outed to the media in July 2003. But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeed done "covert work overseas" on counterproliferation matters in the past five years, and the CIA "was making specific efforts to conceal" her identity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11179719/site/newsweek/


I post this because we have all seen how Rush Limbaugh et al., and his minions on these boards (I won't name them out of courtesy, but you know who you are) kept insisting that Plame was not covert even though they did not have access to all the relevant information. Now, perhaps, we can all put that issue to rest.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

But its all meaningless.


Fitzgerald concluded he could not charge Libby for violating a 1982 law banning the outing of a covert CIA agent; apparently he lacked proof Libby was aware of her covert status when he talked about her

Case closed. Next thread.

[Hurin_Rules]

But its all meaningless.



Case closed. Next thread.


Ah yes, a good old Rush Limbaugh tactic: when proven blatantly wrong, don't be courageous enough to stand up and admit it, but rather quickly try to change the subject.

Intention is something notoriously difficult to prove in court. That's why leaks are so seldom prosecuted. However, as the article notes, Libby has been charged with revealing intelligence information and has testified that it was Cheney that first told him about Plame. It is clear now, therefore, that a covert CIA operative was outed, whether intentionally or not, by the Bush administration. Lets see if you can somehow try to change that subject (should be fun!).

[Gawain of Orkeny]

The point is we all knew this from the start. It was a wild goose chase. Besides now you believe the CIA? They always had a dog in this race.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Hurin:

Was V.P. within her five year window when her name was revealed to the papers? Quite possible, though it would be rather hard to argue that she was covert at the time of the revelation. Nevertheless, since the law is designed to prevent those betraying their countries for our benefit from being caught and killed by name association, it is a law that we should support.

As you note, proving intention is quite difficult. You imply, of course, that the prosecutor believe Libby and/or Cheney to be guilty, but failed to bring charges because of this difficulty in proof. To be fair, however, it may well be nothing more than a mistake at some point -- even if we accept the five year window as having been active at the time.

The investigation already served its purpose. The Bush administration was hammered for weeks during a time when it was already reeling because of systemic foul-ups during Katrina. Bush's popularity plummeted to its lowest level and Cindy Sheehan was largely removed from the front pages. If the trial manages to produce a conviction, the sentencing will end up being in the Fall just before the '08 primaries to give a little more red meat to the Dem base. Dem mission accomplished -- so get off it already.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I assume you're as gung-ho to get those who leaked real national security secrets; like whoever leaked the existence of NSA wiretapping of foreign communications.

Crazed Rabbit

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Or the one on the CIA's air operations.

And how is Leaky Leahy is still in office?


Leahy had to give up his seat on the panel after he was found leaking intelligence reports on both Iran and Libya.

In 1985, Leahy threatened in a letter to the CIA to disclose details of a top secret plan to undermine the government of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi. A few weeks later details of the plan found their way into The Washington Post.

Then he leaked a draft report on Iran-Contra to an NBC reporter. At the time he was vice chairman of the intelligence panel. In resigning his post in shame in 1987, he maintained that he didn't breach national security. He did admit, however, that he "carelessly" let the reporter "examine the unclassified draft and to be alone with it."

It's plain that Leahy is a security risk. Yet as the lead Democrat probing the NSA surveillance program, he's privy to the most secret information imaginable in the war on al-Qaida.

[Hurin_Rules]

Hurin:

Was V.P. within her five year window when her name was revealed to the papers? Quite possible, though it would be rather hard to argue that she was covert at the time of the revelation.

More than possible. This is precisely what the judge's papers reveal.



As you note, proving intention is quite difficult. You imply, of course, that the prosecutor believe Libby and/or Cheney to be guilty, but failed to bring charges because of this difficulty in proof. To be fair, however, it may well be nothing more than a mistake at some point -- even if we accept the five year window as having been active at the time.

Yes, there is a possibility it is a mistake-- a very precisely timed one, of course, given that Plame's husband had just refuted a central argument in Bush's case for war in Iraq-- and if so, then Cheney or Libby or whoever is at the bottom of this needs to come forward and admit incompetence on this issue. We're still waiting for any sort of apology, and for Bush to live up to his promise of firing anyone involved.

[Tribesman]

And how is Leaky Leahy is still in office?

Nasty Leaky Leahy , blew the whistle on illegal funding and support for right wing death squads , and the supply of weapons to crazy fundamentalist terrorist regimes .
Bad man :dizzy2: give him a medal .:laugh4:

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Nasty Leaky Leahy , blew the whistle on illegal funding and support for right wing death squads , and the supply of weapons to crazy fundamentalist terrorist regimes .
Bad man give him a medal .


Nasty Libby told the papers that Valeri Plame worked for the CIA. Oh my. Who do you think did more damage? How is it ok for a US senator to leak real classified material? I guess as long as you approve its fine. And Leahy knew this was classified .

[Crazed Rabbit]

Nasty Leaky Leahy , blew the whistle on illegal funding and support for right wing death squads , and the supply of weapons to crazy fundamentalist terrorist regimes .
Bad man give him a medal .

It's like you didn't even read what Gawain wrote. Or, more probably, you ignored it.

Crazed Rabbit

[Devastatin Dave]

So I guess her husband Joe Wilson will be arrested for outing her, right?

[Hurin_Rules]

Elvis has left the building:


NBC: Libby defense will allege Cheney role
Attorneys: Vice president OK'd sharing classified information with reporters

Feb. 9: MSNBC-TV’s David Shuster reports that I. Lewis Scooter Libby, indicted former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, will say the vice president encouraged him to share classified information with reporters.


WASHINGTON - I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, will in part base his defense on the claim that Cheney instructed and encouraged Libby to share classified information with reporters, sources familiar with the case tell NBC News.

Libby's attorneys discussed the matter with prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and the judge in the case in a recent conference call, the sources confirmed.

A cryptic reference to the conference call and the alleged Cheney role emerged a few days ago when a series of letters between Fitzgerald and Libby lawyer John D. Cline were released by the court.
Cline wrote to Fitzgerald, “As we discussed during our telephone conversation, Mr. Libby testified in the grand jury that he had contact with reporters in which he disclosed the content of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) in the course of his interaction with reporters in June and July 2003. ... We also note that it is our understanding that Mr. Libby testified that he was authorized to disclose information about the NIE to the press by his superiors.”


The case against Libby stems from the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence about Iraq's efforts to buy uranium "yellowcake" in Niger. A year earlier, the CIA had sent Wilson to Africa to determine the accuracy of the uranium reports.

Bush made his case for going to war against Iraq in part on the uranium allegations, claiming that Saddam Hussein was trying to build weapons of mass destruction.

Authorization crucial to defense
Legal sources close to the defense indicated the authorization to discuss classified information by superiors, including Cheney, will be a crucial part of Libby's defense. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the case hasn't gone to trial yet.

At the moment, Libby's defense team and Fitzgerald are battling over access to pretrial evidence and classified information. Libby has said that certain classified documents are essential to his defense.

Fitzgerald says the classified documents are irrelevant to whether Libby lied to the grand jury about conversations with reporters. Libby is trying to make the argument that without the classified documents, his due process rights are being violated and therefore the case should be dismissed. The refusal of the White House to turn over the documents could lead to the case being thrown out.

However, most lawyers contacted by NBC News have called Libby's arguments “thin,” and suggest it is highly unlikely that Judge Reggie Walton of federal court for the District of Columbia would agree to throw out the case. And lawyers also told NBC News that prosecutors have made a strong case as to why the classified documents irrelevant.

The attorneys also spoke condition of anonymity because the case hasn't gone to trial.

Judge's rulings expected soon
A ruling from Walton is expected within two weeks.

In their indictment of Libby, prosecutors stated that Cheney may have instructed Libby or been involved in the Plame leak.

According to the indictment, on June 12, 2003, Cheney told Libby that Plame worked at the CIA. On July 12, the indictment says, Cheney gave Libby advice on Air Force Two about how to handle the Plame matter. Later that day, Libby allegedly spoke about Plame with two reporters.

Libby has not been charged with breaking laws by speaking to reporters Plame. He was indicted on Oct. 28 on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements during the course of the investigation.

On Thursday afternoon, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., issued a statement saying that any implication of Cheney as the one who authorized release of classified information would require Bush to honor his promise to "clean house" of anyone who had anything to do with the Plame leak.

© 2006 MSNBC Interactive

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11259044/



Now we know why Bush backtracked on his pledge to fire anyone involved: he'd be firing his own brain.

[Watchman]

*groan* How's that one famous proverb about "how little sense the world is ruled with" go in English...?

[Tribesman]

Nasty Libby told the papers that Valeri Plame worked for the CIA. Oh my. Who do you think did more damage? How is it ok for a US senator to leak real classified material?
Well thats a hard one , one fellow leaked a name because he didn't like the information that was being gathered . The other leaked information because the government agency concerned was continuing illegal activities long after it was specifically and categorically told to stop them , and was also giving weapons to reward terrorists who were attacking the US and kidnapping its citizens .
So Gawain which action was causing more damage to the US , a report that said WMD claims were bollox , or arming people who are your enemies ?


And how is Leaky Leahy is still in office?

Ummmm .....would that be because he hasn't been barred from office and is elected .:idea2:
And what is Poindexters job now ? Hey isn't his agency listed on the homepage of that WMD tapes story you posted .:laugh4:

[Goofball]

I assume you're as gung-ho to get those who leaked real national security secrets; like whoever leaked the existence of NSA wiretapping of foreign domestic communications.

Crazed Rabbit

Fixed.

:2thumbsup:

Nice try. Hey I admire it even. The best defence is a good offence.

[Xiahou]

Now we know why Bush backtracked on his pledge to fire anyone involved: he'd be firing his own brain.

This story smells like balogna to me. Libby isnt charged with breaking the law in regards to the leak- so how would saying 'Cheney told me to' help? He's charged with lying and obstruction. Also, Libby's lawyer is flatly denying this claim.

This story is rife with "sources familiar with the case" and other anonymous sources. Maybe it'll turn out to be true- but right now it just sounds like a rumour.