Armitage outs agent in Woodward tapes

[mzmolly]

By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer - 33 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Jurors in the CIA leak trial on Monday heard a one-minute excerpt from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward's tape recorder which revealed a top State Department official repeatedly discussing CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Woodward, who famously kept the identity of his "Deep Throat" Watergate source a secret for decades, testified that in June 2003, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage disclosed that the wife of a prominent
Iraq war critic worked for the CIA.

Armitage mentioned several times, in sometimes explicit terms that had to be redacted, that former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife was a weapons of mass destruction analyst for the CIA.

"His wife is at the agency and is a WMD analyst," Armitage said on the tape.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak_trial

[Jacobin]

1. What's the time line on Armitage outing Plame?

Is it before Libby started yacking?

[mzmolly]

2. According to Woodward,

Woodward testified that he interviewed Libby a few weeks after talking to Armitage.

"I have no doubt Mr. Libby did not say anything about Mr. Wilson's wife," Woodward said.

Woodward's testimony doesn't directly undercut Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's case but it offers fodder to Libby's attorneys, who say Libby is being made a scapegoat by the administration.

[Jacobin]

4. Woodward has spent a lot of time with talking heads

discussing how the Libby/Plame thing is 'no big deal' and 'everyone knew she was CIA' and otherwise passing around the RW/Mary Mataline talking points.

He's not to be trusted, but the tape is interesting

[mzmolly]

5. Agreed!

Of course "everyone knew" that was the point of the effort to out her. ;)

[Mandate My Ass]

9. "...explicit terms that had to be redacted..."

These people are very ugly on the inside. I'm so glad the light is shining on these cockroaches and their hateful words and deeds. Their talking points don't hold up anymore thanks to Fitz.

[mzmolly]

12. Love that avatar.

Agreed on the "ugly roach thing."

:hi:

[Mandate My Ass]

13. From one Molly lover to another

I love yours too! I know she's smiling down on the comeuppance. :hi:

[mzmolly]

17. Me as well MMA.

:)

[mzmolly]

3. What's interesting is that this effort to "shield" Libby is shining light on the orchestrated

effort involved.

[blm]

6. and what mediawhores were readily available to spread whatever tales WH wanted.

.

[mzmolly]

7. Yes, that too.

:(

[acmavm]

8. I don't trust Woodward. Maybe he's trying to get Libby off the

hook.

[mzmolly]

10. Seems that way. But, I think all he's doing is hooking other slime?

:shrug:

[BuyingThyme]

11. Don't believe anything Woodward or Armitage say

or say they said. Don't believe the tape.

[Tin Man]

14. "Armitage mentioned several times, in sometimes explicit terms that had to be redacted"

But much later, Armitage went public - claiming that he was the "accidental source of Plame's identity"?

Sounds a bit inconsistent, don't it? How does someone "accidentally slip" several times in explicit terms that Plame worked at the CIA in Counter Prolieration?

There was nothing accidental about it. And Armitage's later claim, namely, that he was the original source of the leak - is nothing more than a continuation of the cover-up. I confess, I alone accidentally slipped Plame's identity; Libby and Cheney had nothing to do with anything

And lets not forget Armitage's credentials: he's was among the principle signatories to the original PNAC letter.

So when you consider the evidence, it's pretty clear that Armitage was just as involved as any of the other traitorous bastards.

(For those who care to look - Armitage's signature is on the first line of the PNAC letter) http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm

[mzmolly]

18. Very interesting.

Thanks for the reminder. Seems many people in this administration "slipped?"

[Tin Man]

23. Yep, Armitage is an original PNACer. This administration is full of 'em...

...and, just coincidentally, all these Administration PNACers seem to have had some hand in manufacturing, or covering-up, the false intelligence needed to the initiate the Iraq War.

It's all sooooooo transparent at this point... it literally makes me sick. All these sons-a-bitches should go to prison for what they've done to this country.

[BuyingThyme]

34. You've got it, Tin Man.

[Spazito]

15. The question that I don't see being asked or answered is

who first revealed Valerie Plame's CIA indentity at all. It had to have been someone with top level security within the Intelligence sphere.

Cheney made some inquiries, to whom did he make those inquiries? Who is David Shedd and why did Fitzgerald ask Libby about him during his grand jury testimony?

I did a search to see what I could find out about David Shedd and I found this interesting article by David Corn from August 2005:

In October 2003, I wrote a piece entitled "I Am No Novak" in which I noted that there was one White House staffer, a fellow who was not known to the public, whom the Plame leak special prosecutor ought to interview. This person was then working on the National Security Council staff on nonproliferation matters. What made him special was that prior to that assignment, he had worked with Valerie Wilson at the CIA. I wrote:

This NSC staffer might--I emphasize, might--play a role in the Wilson leak scandal. I know of no reason to suspect he or she is one of the leakers. (A recent Newsweek story referred to this NSCer, but it did not name the staffer.) But perhaps this individual--whom I was told is a CIA officer assigned to the NSC--mentioned Valerie Wilson's CIA connection to one or more White House colleagues during the period in which Joseph Wilson was causing the White House discomfort....Consequently, investigators probing the Wilson leak ought to ask this NSC officer--if they have not already done so--whether he or she talked about Valerie Wilson with anyone in the White House? If the Justice Department investigators can figure out how individuals in the White House came to know about Wilson's wife (if they did), then the gumshoes might be able to find a trail leading to the leakers.

snip

I did not name the individual because I did not want to engage in Rove-like conduct. (Hence, the headline of my article.) But now it can be told: the name of this NSC staffer is David Shedd. And he no longer is undercover. Larry Johnson, former CIA analyst and current Valerie Wilson champion, shared with me today an interesting fact. On June 23, 2005, Facts on File World News Digest published a short item that disclosed Shedd's CIA affiliation. It reads:

snip

Negroponte May 6 had made appointments to four senior positions within his office. They were CIA veteran and National Security Council staff member David Shedd, named Negroponte's associate director and chief of staff.

more

http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2005/08/rove_scandal_th.php

[Tin Man]

20. David Corn's hypothesis makes a lot of sense - ties several loose ends together.

I've been wondering the same thing: who told Cheney about Plame?

As David Corn suggests, David Shedd, who had worked Counter Proliferation for both the National Security Council and the CIA - makes a likely "bridge" for bringing the info to Cheney's attention.

And considering that Shedd, who had worked with Ms. Plame at a time before she married Amb. Wilson - would neatly explain why Novak originally leaked her identity as Plame (rather than the current Wilson).

So Corn's hypothesis sure seems to make sense. A lotta sense.

[Spazito]

22. The media is happily, imo, spreading the meme that...

Armitage was the original leaker because it works for them both because they are lazy, in some cases, and/or they are simply mouthpieces for the admin. There is only Armitage's own admission that he was the original leaker to Novak which, in reality, is only incidental to the broader investigation of who ORIGINALLY leaked Valerie Plame's CIA classified identity. The Libby defense has tried to limit the scope of the trial to the Novak leak, they failed and rightly so but the media is still trying to sell that limitation, imo. It is, in equal parts, frustrating and infuriating.

[Tin Man]

28. Yes, the CorpMedia are nothing but reporters - not journalists.

No balls... afraid to print anything that isn't a metaphysical certainty or hasn't been proven in a court of law.

When Armitage came forward and "confessed" - well, the CM printed that. Nothing more. No consideration of anything beyond what Armitage claimed.

I just pray to God that maybe, just maybe, the CM already understand the width and breadth of CheneyGate and are simply biding their time, waiting for the Libby trial to conclude so as not to bias the procedings, before opening the floodgates. I'm also hoping to win the lottery, BTW...

[Norquist Nemesis]

16. Okay...and to whom did Woodward tell this info to?

The whole point of the operation was to "get it all out there". Woodward apparently wasn't very effective for them since he didn't "get it all out there" like they wanted.

[Duer 157099]

19. If a tree falls in the woods, and nobody hears it...

does it make a sound?

If a leaker leaks a leak, and nobody publishes it, was it really a leak?

In any case, Armitage is making the patently ABSURD case that he didn't know Plame was covert!! Hah, that might fool some of the jury, but look up who Armitage is, and his past -- it's inconceivable that he didn't know she was covert!!

Armitage is the same person who "outed" the AQ Khan network, at the very time that Plame et al were working to keep track of him and his activities... Armitage knows the score VERY well, I'll be amazed if this fools anyone, least of all Fitz.

[Ian David]

21. The real answer is that Bush sent a legion of flying monkeys to do his bidding...

and spread Valerie Plame's name far and wide.

Libby is just the one Bush ordered to "put his head in the meat grinder."

[Duer 157099]

24. I can't help but think that we need to substitute Rove's name

whenever we talk about Bush's evil genius. This is all SOP for Rove, it's his known MO.

[Ian David]

26. They're not geniuses. "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

They're in charge of a party full of simple-minded animal-children.

[Duer 157099]

30. Agree about that

Should have used "mastermind" instead, since that's a relative term

But the main point was that this is all Rove's doing, it fits his MO from way back, he's so utterly predictable and slimy.

Trying to say Bush thought this up is ridiculous

[LSK]

25. there has to be a long list of indictments coming after this trial

It doesnt matter who went 1st, you cannot reveal CIA agents identities to the press.

:grr:

[mzmolly]

29. As my Mother used to say "If so and so jumped off a bridge...."

:hi:

[Duer 157099]

31. I think Fitz has compiled quite a bit of evidence to that effect

If he truly has integrity, there indeed will be plenty of indictments forthcoming.

It's clear that Cheney and Libby (at the minimum) were involved in a conspiracy, and it should be totally moot whether someone actually beat them to the punch.

Fitz seems focused on proving itent and knowledge with regards to Cheney and Libby -- I just hope he uses that info for something other than this Libby perjury thing

[lovuian]

27. They all have their hands dirty with this conspiracy

Armitage is just like Scooter

[Cerridwen]

32. libby is not being tried for the 'leak'

In spite of what wells is attempting to prove, that someone, not libby, leaked the info - libby is not charged with the leak.

He is charged with lying about his role in the 'leak' and by doing so, obstructing an investigation by the FBI.

This is an interesting distraction - but it is a distraction - both for the jury (wells' audience) and for the corporate media who has as its audience the 'court of public opinion.'

[mzmolly]

33. Absolutely right.

Good point!