But I'm sure I could do some creative editing, like the quotes in this post, to make it look like he said his wife sent him.
I know I'll get called a lib for saying this - like I was yesterday - but I'm really amazed that no one here is bothered by GOP officials lying through their teeth for political purposes.
I am sure that Wilson had official orders, which paid his expenses. As a USG bureaucrat for 36 years and one who has dealt with the Agency, I can assure you that his wife is the one who suggested him. That's the way the bureaucracy works. There is no way that he would have been selected for the trip without someone inside putting forth his name. She may not have signed the orders, but she was the determinant influence.
Wilson must have left the State Department under a cloud. He was fairly young, had an ambassadorship under his belt (albeit a small African country) and was Charge' in Baghdad during the invasion of Kuwait, a high profile assignment. Why did he leave after only 22 years and seemingly with more responsible postions ahead? He must have screwed up in his subsequent one year posting to the NSC or more damaging info came to light in terms of the April Glaspie contretemps. She was his boss.
While Cheney did in fact ask intelligence officials about the Iraq-Niger connection, Wilson's report never reached Cheney.
And even assuming he didn't, quite a few liberals were making the claim for him.
On a final note, Wilson's op-ed piece "What I Didn't Find in Africa," certainly tries to connect his mission to Cheney: "Those are the facts surrounding my efforts. The vice president's office asked a serious question. I was asked to help formulate the answer. I did so, and I have every confidence that the answer I provided was circulated to the appropriate officials within our government."
And the GOP isn't claiming his wife sent him, but that she was highly influential in getting him the assignment.