Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs?

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Bush Administration Is Focus of Inquiry
CIA Agent's Identity Was Leaked to Media

By Mike Allen and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 28, 2003; Page A01

At CIA Director George J. Tenet's request, the Justice Department is
looking into an allegation that administration officials leaked the name of
an undercover CIA officer to a journalist, government sources said yesterday.

The operative's identity was published in July after her husband, former
U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, publicly challenged President Bush's
claim that Iraq had tried to buy "yellowcake" uranium ore from Africa for
possible use in nuclear weapons. Bush later backed away from the claim.

The intentional disclosure of a covert operative's identity is a violation
of federal law.

The officer's name was disclosed on July 14 in a syndicated column by
Robert D. Novak, who said his sources were two senior administration officials.

Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak's column
ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington
journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife.
Wilson had just revealed that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to
look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up
the charge. Wilson's account touched off a political fracas over Bush's use
of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.

"Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge," the senior official
said of the alleged leak.

Sources familiar with the conversations said the leakers were seeking to
undercut Wilson's credibility. They alleged that Wilson, who was not a CIA
employee, was selected for the Niger mission partly because his wife had
recommended him. Wilson said in an interview yesterday that a reporter had
told him that the leaker said, "The real issue is Wilson and his wife."

A source said reporters quoted a leaker as describing Wilson's wife as
"fair game."

The official would not name the leakers for the record and would not name
the journalists. The official said there was no indication that Bush knew
about the calls.

It is rare for one Bush administration official to turn on another. Asked
about the motive for describing the leaks, the senior official said the
leaks were "wrong and a huge miscalculation, because they were irrelevant
and did nothing to diminish Wilson's credibility."

Wilson, while refusing to confirm his wife's occupation, has suggested
publicly that he believes Bush's senior adviser, Karl C. Rove, broke her
cover. Wilson said Aug. 21 at a public forum in suburban Seattle that it is
of keen interest to him "to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove
frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs."

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11208-2003Sep27.html


Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org


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