[mrsmith]

"What stuns me about this question is that MSNBC actually asked it"

The media are trying to cover up their role in this.
And they are issuing a little warning to Fitz to not investigate who was leaking from his office or to whom.

They knew as soon as Fitz did who the leaker was. Yet they continued the "investigation" of Rove on their front pages and news shows.

[kabar]

The biggest question for me, "Why didn't Powell and Armitage inform the WH about the fact that Armitage was the source of the leak to Novak before the Special Counsel, Fitzgerald, was ever appointed?" The chronology doesn't make sense in terms of Armitage's response that he was asked by Fitzgerald not to discuss the case.

The Wilson NYT article appeared on July 6, 2003. The Novak column appeared eight days later on July 14, which means that Armitage divulged this information to Novak in the intervening period. According to Isikoff, his sources also revealed to him that Armitage told Bob Woodward Plame's identity three weeks before talking to Novak. Armitage says that shortly after reading Novak's column he reported it to Powell and subsequently the Justice Department.

The Times claims that White House counsel Alberto Gonzales was informed that Armitage was involved on October 2, 2003, but asked not to be told details.

On December 30, 2003, Fitzgerald was appointed Special Counsel (under Department of Justice regulation 28 CFR Part 600) in the Plame affair investigation.

Armitage and Powell failed to notify the WH over five months before the appointment of a Special Counsel. Why? Armitage and Powell should be asked this question.