POLITICS: Woodward Also Told of Plame's CIA Identity

Washington Post editor Bob Woodward testified on Monday under oath that he heard about CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity from an unnamed government official before Lewis Libby is alleged to have begun talking about her. The disclosure somewhat undermines the timeline advanced by special prosecutor Fitzgerald in his indictment against Lewis Libby in the leak case. Plame's identity was allegedly leaked by White House officials in an attempt to discredit her husband's claims that a British Intelligence report saying Saddam Hussein tried to obtain uranium in Africa was incorrect.



This could be bad news for Karl Rove, if he's the undisclosed official. This does muddy the waters though, as far as Libby is concerned, since it seems to contradict the timeline proposed by Fitzgerald in his press conference discussing the indictment. It will be interesting to see what happens in this case.

It was Cheney who leaked to woodward. VP Impeachment here we come.

I hope Woodward is staying low and has a bodyguard...

It is a very interesting case and this adds to the suspicion that Libby is just taking the fall for the higher ups.

Woodward said it was not Libby who leaked it. Rove's people say it was not Rove.

This from the FOXNews.com article on it:

Woodward said he has not been released to disclose his source's name publicly.

Who has to give Woodward clearance? Answer: his source.

[edit on 16-11-2005 by jsobecky]

From what they just said on FOX, the indications are it was a former Bush admin official, so that would eliminate Cheney as well.

It could have been Ari Fleischer, his name has been bandied about a bit in regards to this.

[edit on 11/16/2005 by djohnsto77]

Let's not forget, Woodward also tried to publicaly undermine the investigation right from the beginning. Needless to say, Watergate or not, his credability is absolutely shot.

Dj's guess about Ari Fleischer is a good one. But, Ari gave grand jury testimony that he never saw the circulated CIA memo on Air Force One - on July 7, 2005 - Even though others saw him holding it. Even if he's lying, then he's still not our guy. Because, we might conclude, hypothetically, that Ari first learned of Plame's identity a full month after this unnamed official told Woodward in mid June.

Or he might just be lying through his teeth.

It's two more people involve in this whole thing, and everybody pretty much knows by now.

Rove and Cheney, it went down the ladder, from the horses mouth to the donkey at the end.

Libby the fall guy.

Occurs we may get Rove but I doubt Cheney will get a day in court.

Raw Story says it was National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley was the senior administration official who told Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward that Valerie Plame Wilson was a CIA officer, attorneys close to the investigation and intelligence officials tell RAW STORY.

Testifying under oath Monday to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Woodward recounted a casual conversation he had with Hadley, these sources say. Hadley did not return a call seeking comment.

Woodward's a fully compromised part of the power structure. He's nothing more than a shill for the powers-that-be.

Don't forget his report of William Casey's deathbed confession to sole responsibility for Iran/Contra. Pretty handy to blame it on the dead guy, hmm?

Woodward's had CIA connections since the very beginning. He was a government insider before he was even a reporter. He's one of them, and he works EXCLUSIVELY for them.

Nobody should believe one single word that he says. Ever.

The key here is that Woodward's statement shows that this information was available to the press before Libby is accused of having leaked it. This makes Libby's testimony that he learned it from a reporter possibly essentially correct, although he named the wrong reporter (Tim Russert of Meet the Press). That would exonerate him from any perjury or lying to the FBI charges, as it was just a faulty memory rather than a conscious decision to deceive.

[edit on 11/16/2005 by djohnsto77]

Originally posted by djohnsto77
The key here is that Woodward's statement shows that this information was available to the press before Libby is accused of having leaked it.

Well-- actually, all it shows is that an obviously compromised "reporter" with long-standing ties to the power elite says that the information was available to the press before Libby is accused of having leaked it.

Woodward is not, by the furthest stretch of anyone's imagination, a trustworthy source. He's a shill for the power brokers, and it's an extremely safe assumption that he's said what he has simply because somebody somewhere decided that it was expedient to have him say it.

Really, it's a masterful play by the powers-that-be. Just as with Iran/Contra, just when we have reason to blame one person, Woodward comes along with information that seems to place the blame elsewhere, successfully muddying the waters sufficiently so that, in the end, nobody will really get the blame.

Watch-- if his account takes hold and gets sufficient publicity, and is not successfully countered, it will mark the end of this potential scandal. It will all grow murky and confusing, and people will stop paying attention, and it will fade from view. Just as it's meant to.

So it's been three weeks and a bit more now and "Plamegate" has faded entirely from view-- lost in a morass of conflicting stories. Just as it was meant to.

Toldja so...