Posted on 02/24/2005 8:49:30 AM PST by Jimmyclyde
Lawmakers: Writer May Have CIA Leak Info Thursday, February 24, 2005 WASHINGTON — Two lawmakers have sent a letter to the U.S. attorney saying a White House reporter who recently resigned following questions about his identity and background may have information vital to the investigation into who leaked a CIA operative's name to the press. Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrats on the House Rules Committee and House Judiciary Committee, respectively, wrote a letter to Patrick Fitzgerald (search), the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, saying the Chicago attorney's office may need to subpoena the journal of reporter James Guckert (search ). The journal recounts Guckert's days covering the White House. According to Conyers and Slaughter's letter, Guckert had access to a memo revealing the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame (search).
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Another point I'm sick of seeing misrepresented. The memo was disclosed and asked about months after Plame's silly "name" was "revealed".
The significance of the memo is not to do with her "name"; it is that it showed Plame in fact recommended Wilson for the trip. A fact he had always denied and was the point of Novak's "why Wilson went to Niger" column.
BTW, in Gannon's interview with Wilson (it was pretty good) one could believe he might had seen the memo with his firm statement about it. So I can see why he might be on an investigation list.
But on closer examination, and in comparison to the WSJ article, he was citing from the WSJ.
Cyn, if those reporters you mentioned had kept a journal, would these Demo operatives be calling for subpoenas then? I think not.
This issue is an eye-opener, even for the blind.
Isn't this the nepotism memo that the 911 Commission had possession of where PLame recommended Wilson for the mission to Niger?
If so, it seems that an awful lot of people had access to that memo and the abiltiy to pass it all over Creation, not to mention if Plame wrote it she -and by extension her husband, the talkative guy who first exposed the CIA mission- also had access to it.
Here is Gannon's question on the memo:
Wilson Talks about Niger Mission; Blasts Bush Foreign Policy
October 28, 2003
(TN = Talon News) excerpt:
TN: An internal government memo prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel details a meeting in early 2002 where your wife, a member of the agency for clandestine service working on Iraqi weapons issues, suggested that you could be sent to investigate the reports. Do you dispute that?
~snip~
Here is the WSJ characterization of the memo:
October 17, 2003
excerpt:
An internal government memo addresses some of the mysteries at the center of the White House leak investigation and could help investigators in the search for who disclosed the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative, according to two people familiar with the memo.
The memo, prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel, details a meeting in early 2002 where CIA officer Valerie Plame and other intelligence officials gathered to brainstorm about how to verify reports that Iraq had sought uranium yellowcake from Niger.
~snip~
I and others believe it is one and the same memo. It is often called "classified" and while it may well have been, it is not clear for a fact if it was.
This, apparently, was the State Department memo. The Senate Intel Report mentions there was another memo, from the CIA, that also mentioned that Plame suggested Wilson for the trip. Innocuous stuff on first look, but damning given Wilson's twisted and repetitive denials that his wife had anything to do with the matter.
He feared nepotism. Given their gabby nature I think something else he feared. If his wife were the one to suggest him, it suggests that she "took her work home" - discussed her work with him. Verboten.
Oh, wow, I hadn't seen that--thanks for that link!
LOL!
So how many leaks of classified info has Conyers been involved in? I bet that would be a long list.
"If his wife were the one to suggest him, it suggests that she "took her work home" - discussed her work with him. Verboten."
Good point, especially given his mention that she told him about the nature of her job a few dates into their relationship.
If you want to know anything about Guckert/Gannon, just do on over to DU. He's all they can talk about over there. It's a very strange fascination.
Given her "appearance" in Vanity Fair I think she could hardly be trusted with secrets.
The FR equivalent would be Professor Churchill. Small targets, small sight.
Not even wearing that unobtrusive scarf-and-sunglasses disguise? :-)
bump
They're getting desperate! Next it will be Chris Ruddy and Joe Farah.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.