Posted on 10/25/2005 6:18:58 PM PDT by blogblogginaway
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With charges expected as early as Wednesday, federal officials investigating the exposure of CIA operative Valerie Plame conducted last-minute interviews with her neighbors and associates of Karl Rove and other top White House aides, lawyers said on Tuesday.
Marc Lefkowitz, who lives across the street from Plame, told Reuters two FBI agents asked him on Monday if he knew about Plame's CIA work before her identity was leaked to the press in 2003. Lefkowitz said he told them: "I didn't know."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
The fact that they "pulled" the story tells me that SOMEONE told them their facts were WRONG! Either the sources were found to be no good at all OR someone gave them a heads up saying they were totally wrong. Either way, they look like the non-professionals they are.
(Maybe accurate, maybe not.)
Excellent point!
Thanks, although one can't tell from that list (if accurate) whether he was merely interviewed by the FBI or was brought before the GJ for them to hear his side of the story.
If Tenet were the original source of the leak to Novak, and if Tenet is cooperating, I would think Fitz would have brought him personally before the GJ to let them question him.
The press officer claims he did everything but jump through the phone line.."
This could also be a case of CYA after the published Novak article
DAvid Shuster...George Tenet
I wouldn't believe either of them
"I haven't seen anything in the press reports about Tenet going before the grand jury"
According to this, Tenet has testified........... http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2005/10/the_f_list.html
I don't want to cause trouble, but... I keep hearing that Plame was outed way before the Novak article... and I can believe that is true. Although I have not seen smack-down proof of this.
If this is true that no secrets were divulged, then... why didn't the entire administration simply say, "Yup! We said it. So what? No biggie, she was out already. Next!"
Now we're in some tangle and worry over what is nothing. Can someone explain this?
So I can't tell from that list whether Tenet was merely interviewed by the FBI, or testified in front of the GJ.
His name is Bill Harlow and he angered Novak enough to break his otherwise complete silence on this issue.
On another note, Salon has an article up saying that NATO sources confirmed that Fitzgerald requested and received an unpublished Italian government investigation of the forgeries. Of what interest are these to Fitzgerald if his investigation is limited to the White House? The Salon spin is that the WH bought the forgeries and used them as the basis for their SOTU statement and explains their motive and intent in debunking Wilson at all costs. Somehow I don't think he would have to make that kind of stretch to establish motive and intent. Link
Valerie would have told Lefkowitz she was CIA, during a makeout session on his 4th date with her. I guess he didn't ask her out.
Here's a question I have: if Tenent had discussed Plame with 1) Cheney and 2) Novak, why did HE call for this investigation, which is what we've always heard.
I think this may - may - also involve people who aren't really being talked about, at least not by those who aren't junkies on the topic.
But there's alot we don't know, or can't support with evidence - like, about 87% of the whole story.
If she was covert - I don't buy the certainty argument that she wasn't, mainly because I don't hear anyone saying with any conviction "I knew about Valerie before all this. Joe must've told me 10 or 12 times. Get a couple of drinks in him, and he'd have ya thinking she was Emma Peel." Or even - "I knew. For sure. And so did my husband. And this other guy in his foursome." - though I doubt she fell within the IIPA requirement - I can see one possibility that makes this fit right into the pattern of pretty much every political scandal that doesn't involve sex. Some lesser official with an opportunity to know who she was - there are a few who kind of stand out in this way - is working on the "Who the hell is Joe Wilson and why is he spouting crap?" committee. He lets slip to a reporter that Val Peel sent Wilson from her lair in Langley. Gets ratted by Pincus, maybe Novak (the non-gunslinger), maybe someone else. They've got him for being stupid. He rolls, weaves the tale of the effort to cover-up the outing. Or worse, says he was told to do it. Little guy does the crime, involves the higher-ups in the sleaze. NOT saying this is the deal. But one could put some pieces - of the 13% we have - and weave that tale. The stupid fallout of a desire to push back on Wilson. Compounded by the leverage of one in the crosshairs of an investigation that wants bigger fish.
The x-factor, imo, is something we may never know anything about. If it became known, it would drive the posturing on this case, one way or the other. Harm assessment. If they were any consequences from Val - or more likely, B-J and Associates - being regular news fodder, it ain't gonna be that easy to talk about technicalities. If there weren't, it isn't gonna cause much outrage, or even interest.
One thing to make clear - that scenario is not a recitation of what I WANT to happen. If there is evidence of a violation that caused harm to the intel community, that would be a disappointment. If it happened, however, the above situation makes some sense - the small fish was trapped quickly, and the rest of it has been the chase to hang something on the big fish. I have had my comments about Mr. Rove, but one thing I definitely agree with is that he is very, very smart. Too smart to purposefully out a covert agent.
Now that is interesting.
A former CIA covert agent who supervised Mrs. Plame early in her career yesterday took issue with her identification as an "undercover agent," saying that she worked for more than five years at the agency's headquarters in Langley and that most of her neighbors and friends knew that she was a CIA employee.
"She made no bones about the fact that she was an agency employee and her husband was a diplomat," Fred Rustmann, a covert agent from 1966 to 1990, told The Washington Times.
"Her neighbors knew this, her friends knew this, his friends knew this. A lot of blame could be put on to central cover staff and the agency because they weren't minding the store here. ... The agency never changed her cover status."
Mr. Rustmann, who spent 20 of his 24 years in the agency under "nonofficial cover" -- also known as a NOC, the same status as the wife of Mr. Wilson -- also said that she worked under extremely light cover.
In addition, Mrs. Plame hadn't been out as an NOC since 1997, when she returned from her last assignment, married Mr. Wilson and had twins, USA Today reported yesterday.
The distinction matters because a law that forbids disclosing the name of undercover CIA operatives applies to agents that had been on overseas assignment "within the last five years."
"She was home for such a long time, she went to work every day at Langley, she was in an analytical type job, she was married to a high-profile diplomat with two kids," Mr. Rustmann said. "Most people who knew Valerie and her husband, I think, would have thought that she was an overt CIA employee."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050715-121257-9887r.htm
We'll see. The lack of cover will surely be a defense. But none of us know enough to know if it sticks. The Washington Times also claimed "several neighbors" said they knew what she did, but I've never seen a quote from one of them.
I think it's interesting too and I know you have also wondered about the motivation. Even Salon can't seem to come up with a reason except that the forgeries may be responsible for the 16 words and could go to intent and motive for silencing Wilson. That seems like a huge stretch...there were plenty of political reasons if he needed motive.
But, but, but . . . Cheney personally sent Wilson to Niger. Then he told Libby it was Valerie who sent Wilson. Or maybe he told Libby that he sent Valerie who took Wilson along as a cover. At this point, I could speculate about all sorts of stuff. And it could become quite comical. But it really does boil down to whether or not Valerie Plame Wilson was a covert agent when Novak used the term "operative" to describe her and who told him about her. Hopefully, we'll know the truth in the very near future. I won't hold my breath though.
130.
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