I think Valerie did send Joe to Niger. Think about it: Valerie, who worked in the WMD section, learns that Cheney is hawking forged and false documents. She brings it to the attention of her boss, whoever that might be, who asks "How can we stop this?" Valerie suggests sending husband Joe to get proof as he has experience in the area. Joe, who is briefed on the docs but never actually sees them, goes to Niger, gets the proof and boss sends Valerie's report to Cheney who hits the roof: "Fucking CIA! I'll destroy that Plame bitch if this gets out! Fucking CIA will learn not to mess with the most powerful person in the world - Me!
And, of course, it did get out when Joe Wilson started talking publicly.
Why does this make sense?
- Assuming Cheney knew the documents were fake, why would he ask the CIA to validate them?
- Assuming he did ask the CIA to validate them, do you really believe he would not have gotten a response?
- Assuming the White House wanted to smear Joe Wilson, why not do it directly? They've never smeared using a third party before.
- This had to be THE talk in the White House, explaining all those 'casual' conversations overheard by the likes of Woodward, Gannon/Guckert and others with unrestricted access to what should be the most secure place in the world.
- Cheney can't deny asking for the report in the first place. How would it look if he didn't bother to verify the Niger docs? How would he explain hiding them from the CIA? He can claim he never received the results, however.
None of this makes outing a spy less of a crime. But this time, I think he's telling the truth about the sequence of events.
Comments?