TreasonGate Update: Growing Signs of WH Conspiracy

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

New from AP: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051116/ap_on_go_ot/cia_leak_woodward;_ylt=AixllNtSD.S6Xkd7tj6zN3SyFz4 D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--)

1. We find out that a senior White House official leaked to Bob Woodward the name and CIA status of Valerie Plame.

The newspaper reported that Woodward told Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is investigating the leak of Plame's identity, that the official talked to him about Plame in mid-June 2003.

2. That official is not Libby.

Woodward and editors at the Post refused to identify the official to reporters other than to say it was not Libby.

3. That official is not Rove (if you believe his spokesman).

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Karl Rove's legal team, said Rove was not the official who talked to Woodward.

4. That means YET ANOTHER senior administration official - a THIRD official - was running around town leaking Valerie Plame's identity and CIA status.

I'm sorry, but we now have Karl, Scooter, and a third senior official all just "happening" to be telling numerous journalists that Amb. Wilson's wife is a CIA agent, yet we're to believe that this is NOT part of a coordinated conspiracy to spread that info? It was all just random chance that official after official kept leaking the info to the media's top players - NYT, Wash Post, NBC, TIME, etc. We're to believe it was simply "random chance", or an innocent slip of the tongue, as I believe Bob Woodward called it, that 3 senior officials all happened to "slip" in talking to the top media outlets in the nation. Now, mind you, the top officials apparently didn't slip when talking to the Topeka Times or the Billings Gazette (or any other small-bit newspaper), they only "slipped" when talking to the biggest news outlets that could broadcast this "gaffe" worldwide.

Imagine the coincidence of that.

Basically, what we have here is more evidence suggesting a possible conspiracy to out Valerie Plame conducted by at least 3 senior administration officials. THAT'S why Fitzgerald is still taking testimony. This isn't over by a long shot.

As for Woodward, there's this interesting tidbit in the article:

On Wednesday, Woodward apologized for not telling his boss, Washington Post's executive editor Leonard Downie Jr., about his being among the journalists who were told about Plame's identity, even as the investigation morphed into a national scandal.

Woodward held back the information because he wanted to protect his sources and because he was worried about being subpoenaed in the inquiry, according to the newspaper's Web site.

So Woodward withheld info from his editor because he wanted to protect his source (from your editors?) AND because Woodward didn't want to be subpoenaed.

Call me crazy, but isn't trying to hide evidence of a crime in order to avoid a subpoena called obstruction of justice? It's one thing for Woodward to say he was protecting his source. It's quite another to say he was intentionally hiding the info from the prosecutor because he didn't want to testify.

I think Bob has got some explaining to do. Maybe Judy could use some more help on her Web site?

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/11/growing-signs-of-criminal-conspiracy.html

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Fitzgerald To Present Evidence to a New Grand Jury

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238

Bloomberg's Keil and Jensen write that Woodward's disclosure adds an unexpected new element to the Libby indictment "without greatly altering the substance of the case."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aMwmZBXAnMLI

While the Woodward disclosure may muddy the Libby prosecution, the Wall Street Journal's Squeo and McKinnon report that the White House must now "brace itself" for the possibility that Fitzgerald's probe, "far from winding down, may have just gotten a second wind."

Prosecutors deposed Woodward in anticipation of presenting that evidence to a new grand jury, according to a person familiar with the situation. And that is exclusive new news, courtesy of Dow Jones.

From the WSJ:

Mr. Wilson, Ms. Plame's husband, publicly criticized the administration on July 6, 2003, for twisting intelligence to justify the war in Iraq. The disclosure of his wife's identity soon thereafter in a column by Robert Novak prompted the investigation. Intentionally disclosing the identity of a covert agent can be a crime under a 1982 law.

Mr. Card's possible involvement in the investigation -- perhaps as an innocent witness -- is bad news for the White House, which has been working assiduously to change the subject from the leak investigation to policy issues and to Mr. Bush's trip to Asia.

The White House now must brace itself for the possibility that Mr. Fitzgerald's probe, far from winding down, may have just gotten a second wind. Prosecutors deposed Mr. Woodward in anticipation of presenting that evidence to a new grand jury, according to a person familiar with the situation. The one that indicted Mr. Libby expired on Oct. 28. That could require that Mr. Card and the unnamed official be called to testify about their conversations with Mr. Woodward. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113212998802898762.html?mod=politics_primary_hs

[Traveler]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111501857.html

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/US_Presidential_Cabinet/CIA_Leak_Hadley.html

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111501857.html

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/US_Presidential_Cabinet/CIA_Leak_Hadley.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/18/AR2005111800958.html

The federal prosecutor investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity says he plans to present information to a new grand jury, a sign that he is considering additional charges in his two-year-old probe.

Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that his investigation "will involve proceedings before a different grand jury" than the grand jury which indicted "Scooter" Libby.

Fitzgerald obtained the indictment against Libby Oct. 28 on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and false statements and said at that time that his investigation was nearly complete. However, he told attorneys for Karl Rove that Rove remains under investigation for possible false statements in the probe into law-breaking.

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http://www.bartcop.com/history-pre-empt.gif

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the ongoing CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.

In filings obtained by Reuters on Friday, Fitzgerald said "the investigation is continuing" and that "the investigation will involve proceedings before a different grand jury than the grand jury which returned the indictment" against Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051118/pl_nm/bush_leak_dc_19

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Sharks circling Con-di "we never could have imagined anyone using aircraft as missles" Rice...

Looks like I may have been right about Rice

Back in July I speculated that Condoleezza Rice may be at the center of the Wilson/Plame leak. Now it seems like that speculation may, in fact, have been right on. While she is denying her role - the fact that she feels compelled to offer a public defense today should tell us something: namely, the sharks are circling around her and her former deputy, Stephen Hadley.

If the Times of London today is right and Hadley was Woodward's direct source, that raises a very important question: Was Hadley ordered to leak Plame's name to the press by his boss at the time, Condi Rice? In other words, Rice may not have been Woodward's direct source as she claims - but that doesn't mean she didn't give the order. Remember, as I wrote back in July, Wilson's New York Times op-ed was a direct indictment of Rice, meaning she had a personal motive. And it would be extremely hard to imagine Hadley acting alone with such a coordinated hit job on a CIA officer...Stay tuned.

http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=AC6B02C0-EBE3-9A80-CF094C1B798E1588

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Update:

Rove to plea? Fitz presents Evidence to GJ this week

"[F]itzgerald will present evidence to the grand jury later this week, obtained from other witnesses who were interviewed by the Special Prosecutor or who testified, showing that Rove lied during the three times he testified under oath and that he made misleading statements to the Justice Department and FBI investigators in an attempt to cover up his role in the leak when he was first interviewed about it in 2003, the sources said

Will Rove enter a plea?

The most serious charges Rove faces are making false statements to investigators and obstruction of justice, the sources said. He does not appear to be in jeopardy of violating the law making it a crime to leak the name of a covert CIA agent, because it's unlikely that Rove was aware that Plame Wilson was undercover, the sources said. However, according to the sources, two things are very clear: either Rove will agree to enter into a plea deal with Fitzgerald or he will be charged with a crime, but he will not be exonerated for the role he played in the leak, based on numerous internal conversations Fitzgerald has had with his staff.

Stephen Hadley is not off the hook for an indictment. Full of choice tidbits putting everything--facts in place and in play.

Go read the whole thing here: http://www.truthout.org/