Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information

[Mister K]

http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0209nj1.htm
(Link works but is slow...Keep trying refresh)

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, testified to a federal grand jury that he had been "authorized" by Cheney and other White House "superiors" in the summer of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to go to war with Iraq, according to attorneys familiar with the matter, and to court records.

According to sources with firsthand knowledge, Cheney authorized Libby to release additional classified information, including details of the NIE, to defend the administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case for war.

Libby specifically claimed that in one instance he had been authorized to divulge portions of a then-still highly classified National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons, according to correspondence recently filed in federal court by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.


more.....

[HardWorkingDem]

1. How come Dick hasn't been InDICted....?

makes one wonder....

Now, think if he had of been indicted....all these Washington assholes would have immediately turned on Libby to protect a real Dick...

[Up2Late]

20. Probably because he would need to be impeached first...

...and I think we all know what's holding THAT up. (The ReThuglican controlled House of "Representatives")

FYI: Impeachment is ONLY the bringing of charges of an illegal act, conviction is up to the Senate, which won't happen either.

[DoYouEverWonder]

28. The Repugs argued tooth and nail

that it was okay to indict a sitting president.

Besides if in the course of an investigation the prosecutor finds proof that crimes were committed, Cheney will be forced to resign just like Scooter Libby and Spiro Agnew.

Has a matter of fact, Scooter Libby is the first WH official in decades to resign after he got indicted, rather then before.

[Rosco T.]

49. Actually, the 'concensus opinion' is that you can indict the VP..

.. since his position isn't 'vital to the function of government'.

I believe Agnew was indicted and then resigned.

[Up2Late]

55. Com'mon! Do you actually think V.P. Dick would resign willingly?!?

Hell, we'll be lucky if he leaves when his term is up.

I can almost hear him, "Resign? I'll resign over YOUR dead body." :mad: "Grrrr, Why would I resign , when I've done notheing wrong?" :mad: "Grrrr."

I'm sure he would say that only cowards resign. :evilfrown:

[goforit]

80. Won't resign,yah, but you can place a Traitor to this country behind bars

[Orsino]

78. Agnew was indicted without impeachment.

But watch while Cheney claims Executive Privelege, and the talking heads take him seriously.

[mountainvue]

2. Link not working. n/t

[Greeby]

3. Like Maureen Dowd said

"You only need to remember two words: Cheney's guilty" :bounce:

[Mister K]

4. Probably going to get flagged for this but.....

nationaljournal.com

ADMINISTRATION
Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information

By Murray Waas, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006

Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, testified to a federal grand jury that he had been "authorized" by Cheney and other White House "superiors" in the summer of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to go to war with Iraq, according to attorneys familiar with the matter, and to court records.

According to sources with firsthand knowledge, Cheney authorized Libby to release additional classified information, including details of the NIE, to defend the administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case for war.

Libby specifically claimed that in one instance he had been authorized to divulge portions of a then-still highly classified National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons, according to correspondence recently filed in federal court by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.

Beyond what was stated in the court paper, say people with firsthand knowledge of the matter, Libby also indicated what he will offer as a broad defense during his upcoming criminal trial: that Vice President Cheney and other senior Bush administration officials had earlier encouraged and authorized him to share classified information with journalists to build public support for going to war. Later, after the war began in 2003, Cheney authorized Libby to release additional classified information, including details of the NIE, to defend the administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case for war.

***Edited by Admin - Do not post more than four paragraphs from copyrighted articles. ***

[crispini]

5. wow! nt

[sabra]

6. arrest the SOB

reco'd

[babsbunny]

7. What do they do to Fat, Soft, Balding Republicans in Prison?

Just don't drop the soap DICK!@

[JudyM]

11. LOL! I would love to see him in jail where he belongs. /nt

[calimary]

33. So. Would. I.

I think he'd look AWFULLY chic in one of those nice orange jumpsuits. Don't you? Cover of GQ, I say!

[auagroach]

64. Converted Liberals

Your post reminds me of the saying, "A liberal is a conservative that's just been arrested."

[xxqqqzme]

8. how does that part of the

oath of office go....??

[punpirate]

10. ... uh, you mean the part that goes...

... "faithfully execute the laws of the United States... and defend the Constitution...." That part?

Hey, Cheney and Bush are the law... after all, they've told us so. And Tom DeLay is the government. He said so, too. :)

[Maeve]

18. Must explain to them that "execute" doesn't mean "kill" the laws!

And "defend the Constitution" doesn't mean "make sure no one sees it" :eyes:

[calimary]

36. "...to preserve, protect, and defend...," I believe.

At least that's the presidential oath. Not exactly sure what the VP's is, although I think it's close.

But the idea is the same. "...to shred, trample on, and wipe my butt with..." is simply NOT in there. AT ALL.

[punpirate]

37. Uh, here it is...

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Got the "faithfully execute" part right, but it's the office of the President.


Think Bush has done right well in that regard. "Goodbye, President, hello, your majesty."

[wordpix]

71. K&R!!!

[wookie294]

9. Now we know why Cheney ordered the fake Capitol Hill nerve gas last night

... and Bush's bogus speech on terror today.

This ain't tinfoil hat stuff. This is real.

:tinfoilhat:

[VirginiaDem]

12. So much for the Libby falling on the sword theory n/t

[jazzjunkysue]

40. Just like in a good swashbuckler: Bad guy knifes bad guy. Beautiful.

Merry Fitzmas, everyone!

[Bozita]

13. "Impeach Cheney First" -- available as a bumper sticker

from a GD thread last week

[Roland99]

14. No need to impeach. Just arrest the DICK!!!

Arrest the DICK!

Arrest the DICK!

[UpInArms]

15. Treason and the Federal Espionage Act

Treason Cases and Doctrine, 1945-1970

On the other hand, in two important prosecutions under the Federal Espionage Act, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals fulfilled previous declarations of the law by ruling that the treason clause did not bar Congress from creating an offense against national security with elements materially different from treason. The applicable statute provided penalties for "whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation" communicates or delivers to any foreign government or its agents information relating to the national defense.6 United States v. Rosenberg presented charges of conspiracy to violate this statute by communicating protected information to the USSR between 1944 and 1950. The Court of Appeals held (1952) that the treason clause did not bar creation of this offense, because "in the Rosenbergs' case, an essential element of treason, giving aid to an 'enemy' is irrelevant to the espionage offense."7 United States v. Drummond presented a charge of conspiracy to violate the same statute by a serviceman in the United States Navy who between 1957 and 1962 delivered classified military materials to USSR agents. Again the Court of Appeals held that the treason clause did not bar creation of the espionage offense. The court seemed to go out of its way to enlarge the distinctions between the crimes, finding it "unnecessary" to invoke the difference relied on in Rosenberg, because it found differences in the required mental element. Now it pointed out (1965) that the espionage act required a showing only (a) that the defendant transmitted information with intent "or reason to believe" that it would be used to a forbidden result, and (b) with intent or reason to believe that it would be used either "to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation." In contrast, the court implied, treason requires a specific intent, and a specific intent both to aid the enemy and to injure the United States.8 The two decisions are consistent with the historic scope of the constitutional definition of treason, and with doctrine announced in Cramer.

The concerns over possible abuse of government power which lay back of the restrictive constitutional policy on treason had analogies — with varying results — in the development of other areas of public policy. No clear over-all pattern emerged, but the balance inclined toward borrowing the cautions on treason to limit application of other legal sanctions against alleged disloyalty.

also see:

The Deadly Serious Crime Of Naming CIA Operatives

The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Intelligence Identities and Protection Act of 1982 may both apply. Given the scant facts, it is difficult to know which might be more applicable. But as Senator Schumer (D.NY) said, in calling for an FBI investigation, if the reported facts are true, there has been a crime. The only question is: Whodunit?

The Espionage Act of 1917

The Reagan Administration effectively used the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute a leak - to the horror of the news media. It was a case that was instituted to make a point, and establish the law, and it did just that in spades.

<snip>

...Must the leaker have an evil purpose to be prosecuted?

The Administration argued that the answer was no. As with Britain's Official Secrets Acts, the leak of classified material alone was enough to trigger imprisonment for up to ten years and fines. And the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed. It held that the such a leak might be prompted by "the most laudable motives, or any motive at all," and it would still be a crime. As a result, Morrison went to jail.

The Espionage Act, though thrice amended since then, continues to criminalize leaks of classified information, regardless of the reason for the leak. Accordingly, the "two senior administration officials" who leaked the classified information of Mrs. Wilson's work at the CIA to Robert Novak (and, it seems, others) have committed a federal crime.

The Intelligence Identities and Protection Act

Another applicable criminal statute is the Intelligence Identities Act, enacted in 1982. The law has been employed in the past. For instance, a low-level CIA clerk was convicted for sharing the identify of CIA employees with her boyfriend, when she was stationed in Ghana. She pled guilty and received a two-year jail sentence. (Other have also been charged with violations, but have pleaded to unrelated counts of the indictment.)

The Act reaches outsiders who engage in "a pattern of activities" intended to reveal the identities of covert operatives (assuming such identities are not public information, which is virtually always the case).

[GuvWurld]

16. I can hear it now, Libby says "I was just following orders"

n/t

[area51]

19. Yep.

Republinazi party, the party of no personal responsibility.

[SillyGoose]

17. I guess those aspens are turning....they turn in clusters, so I'm told.

Very very interesting stuff. 2006 is going to be one hell of a year.

[alarcojon]

21. The Big Fish is on the line

now do your job, wamkers in Congress, and reel his ass in!

[Up2Late]

22. Well, this explains why Scooter isn't being charged with the BIG crimes

Those will be brought against Cheney and other White House "superiors" (a.k.a., Rove).

[AlCzervik]

23. so did Libby flip?

[jazzjunkysue]

41. Flip, Flop, Flap, Baited, Hooked, Sunk, Netted, now, hopefully, filletted!

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner!!!

[HuffleClaw]

24. and now we come to one of the primary reasons behind the sudden

cries of WOLF! WOLF! in the past day or so. oh, and bush's bogus claims of shoe bombing terra-ists 'thwarted'. i'd love to hear what scotty's gonna say to this. oh wait, i know, 'ongoing investigation, blah blah blah, bush doesn't know libby, yada yada yada, 911 911, blah blah blah.'

[PhilipShore]

25. MSNBC: Libby defense will allege Cheney role

MSNBC
Libby defense will allege Cheney role
Feb. 9, 2006

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

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...

[bklyncowgirl]

30. Does this mean Scooter's dropping dime on Dick?

...and who's that other White House superior. I mean he didn't have that many. Let's see, Andy Card (maybe)?, Karl Rove (don't know if he was Scooter's boss), George Bush (after all the law is what he says it is)

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Fridays Child]

26. Will Dickwad be stepping down due to health problems?

...ie, will a deal be cut?

[mitchum]

27. Spiro T Cheney

what an utterly loathsome piece of shit

[PhilipShore]

29. WP/AP: Libby: White House 'Superiors' OK'd Leaks

Washington Post/AP
Libby: White House 'Superiors' OK'd Leaks
February 9, 2006

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020901745.html

WASHINGTON -- A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.

[Wordie]

31. This is the BIGGEST news I've seen in months. It has so many implications:

Will this ultimately lead to an indictment for Cheyney, too, or others in the WH??? Does this mean Fitzgerald now has additional people to go after? Libby may have been trying to wiggle out of his indictment, but what he said is just so explosive...!!!

Recommended!

[BeHereNow]

32. Yes, this is HUGH, I'm series!!!

Why the hell are there not more
replies on this thread!

ARREST the treasonous moran.
BHN

[DesertRat]

34. bye bye Darth Cheney

:woohoo:

[jazzjunkysue]

42. Ok. Is THIS why you guys all spell it wrong? Where's the hugh sign?

[stop the bleeding]

50. yep freepers are notorious for spelling errors, series=serious, moran=

moron, morels = morals, Hugh = huge, and there are about 50 others but I can not think of them right off hand.

[Sparkly]

52. lose = "loose" and loser = "looser..." nt

[Wordie]

35. Yep...and people should RECOMMEND THIS! (it only has 21 so far) eom

[calimary]

38. Twenty-two now.

I only regret that I have but one recommendation to give to this story.

[Wordie]

39. Wouldn't it be cool if we could save our recommendations for a terrific

post like this one, and then spend them all at once?

[wiley]

59. Huge, too!

Do Americans need to actually find him with a bloody knife in his hand or something? Get rid of him now. IMPEACH BUSH. Throw out the CORRUPT REPUBLICANS.

[lyonn]

57. Fitz had to know this from the beginning

since the article states that Libby testified before a Fed. Grand Jury ....... What other grand jury could it be other than Fitz's?

[auagroach]

66. Tangental

Libby Authorized To
Leak By Cheney, Others


By Greg Mitchell
EditorandPublisher.com
2-10-6

NEW YORK -- Lewis "Scooter" Libby testified to a federal grand jury that he had been "authorized" by his boss, Vice President Dick Cheney, and other White House "superiors" in the summer of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence, according to an article posted today by the National Journal.

Reporter Murray Waas writes that this information comes from attorneys familiar with the matter, and from recently released court records. Waas has broken several stories on the Plame/CIA leak case in recent weeks for the nonpartisan National Journal.

"Libby specifically claimed that in one instance he had been authorized to divulge portions of a then-still highly classified National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons," Waas writes, according to correspondence recently filed in federal court by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.

[jazzjunkysue]

43. Cheney: "Check, please!" Remember that house he just bought....

out in Virginia? Think he knew where this was going? Maybe, even, how long it would take?


Hmmmmmm......What would he do, with a house depreciating in this market, for 3 + years, waiting for the term to end.....

Guess we'd better call AT&T and get that phone number hooked up. What's the cable number?

[jazzjunkysue]

44. New verb in DC: "Getting Scootered."

It's like "Go Cheney Yourself," only, it's what someone else does to YOU!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

45. Kick it.

Kick it real good!

Ba da ba da ba da ba...

[oioioi]

46. Let the big dick soar...

Like he's never soared before
Impeached upon the Senate floor
Let the mighty big dick soar

[journalist3072]

48. Thank you for the laugh. I needed it.

In all seriousness, though, this is HUGE. Shows just what slimy bastards BushCo are.

[DesertRat]

Oh the visual

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[DesertRat]

56. sorry duplicate post

[Nothing Without Hope]

47. ***GD thread on this story and another on Kennedy's response to it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x370469
thread title (2-9-06 GD): Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information
Comment/excerpt: “Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, testified to a federal grand jury that he had been "authorized" by Cheney and other White House "superiors" in the summer of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to go to war with Iraq, according to attorneys familiar with the matter, and to court records.“ Direct link: http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0209nj1.htm#

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x372755
thread title (2-9-06 GD): KENNEDY ON REPORTS CHENEY AUTHORIZED LIBBY TO LEAK CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
Comment/excerpt: “These charges, if true, represent a new low in the already sordid case of partisan interests being placed above national security. The Vice President's vindictiveness in defending the misguided war in Iraq is obvious. If he used classified information to defend it, he should be prepared to take full responsibility. President Bush has clearly said he would 'clean house' of everyone who had anything to do with the Plame leak. The American people are also entitled to know whether the President knew that classified information was being used for this purpose, and whether he authorized it himself. In addition, they are entitled to know that the case will not be scuttled by the administration when the decisions are made on declassifying documents necessary for the trial. “

[leesa]

51. At LAST! Off to jail you treasonous thug!

[Punkingal]

53. This is what we all expected, right?

The thing that worries me is that if Dickie resigns, then Bush will stick Condi in as VP, and she will be sitting there for 2008. Or even worse, McCain. Shit!

[PassingFair]

54. kick!

[reprobate]

58. Can you imagine Bush without Cheney giving him orders.

He'd fall apart in three days. No telling what he'd reveal without instructions

[madmark]

60. ironically, the leaked classified information included false information

[Delphinus]

61. So,

what's the next step? How soon? It's Friday - will any of the talking heads be talking about it Sunday? When is the regime going to start crumbling? Or is Iran going to run over here really quickly and attack us before the misadministration falls?

[rodeodance]

62. Libby: White House 'Superiors' OK'd Leaks --new Fri. AP headline

http://p252.news.mud.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060210/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak;_ylt=AmlFIq08fa0Ovq1sOe7IaC2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

y TONI LOCY, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A former top aide to Vice President
Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading
Iraq, according to court papers.


Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in documents filed last month that he plans to introduce evidence that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, disclosed to reporters the contents of a classified National Intelligence Estimate in the summer of 2003.

The NIE is a report prepared by the head of the nation's intelligence operations for high-level government officials, up to and including the president. Portions of NIEs are sometimes declassified and made public. It is unclear whether that happened in this instance.

In a Jan. 23 letter to Libby's lawyers, Fitzgerald said Libby also testified before the grand jury that he caused at least one other government official to discuss an intelligence estimate with reporters in July 2003.....

[rodeodance]

63. and Ted Kennedy gets a few words in:

...On Thursday, Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., said Cheney should take responsibility if he authorized Libby to share classified information with reporters.

"These charges, if true, represent a new low in the already sordid case of partisan interests being placed above national security," Kennedy said. "The vice president's vindictiveness in defending the misguided war in Iraq is obvious. If he used classified information to defend it, he should be prepared to take full responsibility."

[auagroach]

65. Endgame???

Where does this lead? IMHO we either get another M/LIHOP "terrorist act" or we get a military coup d'etat, no? If you don't agree, posit another scenario.

[Caretha]

67. They are going down!

Thank God! Libby sang and I'll bet he's not through. I was beginning to doubt whether Fitzgerald's investigation would have any results, if he would be able to "bag" the real criminals. Let's see Rove try and spin this.

[Massachusetts]

68. Let the Fumigation begin....

and watch ALL the cockroaches scramble! I hope this traps Bushit also, I do want to see the Bush men name go down in history as evil and treasonous!

[janx]

74. This thing is FAR from over.

And patience, as we all know, is a virtue!

[Caretha]

75. Yep - far from over

I lived through the Nixon years, and thought they'd never get that bastard. But I recognize the signs.

[janx]

69. Kickerooski

I've been waiting for this!

[Tight_rope]

70. Alright...Now we are getting to the Nitty Gritty!...

We already knew that the Rat Bastard did it.

[xyboymil]

72. Libby: "Superiors" (Cheney?) authorized leak of classified info

WASHINGTON - A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.


Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in documents filed last month that he plans to introduce evidence that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, disclosed to reporters the contents of a classified National Intelligence Estimate in the summer of 2003.
The NIE is a report prepared by the head of the nation's intelligence operations for high-level government officials, up to and including the president. Portions of NIEs are sometimes declassified and made public. It is unclear whether that happened in this instance.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/13833385.htm

Superiors= Cheney would be the logical guess.

Will the last rat to leave the ship please remember to pull up the gangplank? Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has filed documents asserting that Scooter Libby, formerly Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff and currently under indictment for lying to a federal grand jury, testified that he was directed by his superiors (read: Dick Cheney) to release classified information to the press as part of the administration's effort to sell their war to the American public.

Sorry if this was alredy posted...

IMO, a matter of time before Libby starts squealing about everything Cheney told him to do. :nuke:

[Moderator]

73. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2096783

[seleff]

76. Declassifying NIE, did it include Plame?

Watching MSM spin...repub "legal experts" are saying that VP has legal authority to declassify what he wants when he wants, so no,legal jeopardy (diGenova, what an ass). The talking point is that it's all politics, so therefore more Dem whining... However, no-one is saying whether the authorization included Plame's identity. I wonder what it feels like for them to be cleaning shit-holes 24-7 as one story after another comes out.

[Orsino]

77. And did anyone ever ask Cheney about his role? n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

79. Dick kick

:kick:

[madmark]

81. first thought: more treason by bushco

[madmark]

82. second thought: if you disclose classified information that is total

bullshit is it still treason? Or is just disseminating the classified misinformation treason in and of itself?

[goclark]

83. good question madmark nt