Warning: This diary is pure speculation on my part.
Raw Story is now reporting - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS TO REPORT THAT SOURCES BELIEVE SOMEONE HAS FLIPPED IN WHITE HOUSE, AIDING LEAK INVESTIGATION.... DEVELOPING...
As I said previously, that someone is probably Ari Fleischer, who Bob Novak likely named as his source on Plame's occupation.
Did Ari Fleischer Testify Against Bush in Plame Case??
From that diary:
Although in his testimony, Fleischer denied reading the INR memo on AF One, "Comical Ari" was said to have been seen reading it. This could mean a perjury charge.
And Ari's log shows a call from Novakula the day after the July 6 Wilson article came out! Rove said Novak told him the name. Did Ari tell Robert who then told Karl? Or is that just more Karl CYA?
And did Ari "flip" for Fitz and testify against Bush?!?!
Among those asked if he had seen the memo was Ari Fleischer, then the White House press secretary, who was on Air Force One with Mr. Bush and Mr. Powell during the Africa trip. Mr. Fleischer told the grand jury that he never saw the document, a person familiar with the testimony said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the prosecutor's admonitions about not disclosing what is said to the grand jury.
Mr. Fleischer's role has been scrutinized by investigators, in part because his telephone log showed a call on the day after Mr. Wilson's article appeared from Mr. Novak, the columnist who, on July 14, 2003, was the first to report Ms. Wilson's identity.
NY Times
Ari was theoretically cornered by Novak's testimony. Remember there is now an unknown third source, and I believe it to be Ari. And Ari would flip because he's not really one of them, he came over from the Libby Dole campaign in 2000. Powell "cooperated", but Ari I believe is the one who flipped for Fitz!
The interesting thing is that Ari would have been flipped by Fitz to get Rove yes, but always Fitz goes for the top. The ultimate goal of flipping Ari would have been to place Bush at a meeting in which the memo or the info was discussed. And that then is Conspiracy on the part of the President of the United States.
Ari could have told Fitz that Bush was at the meeting on Air Force One about the INR Memo and what to do about Wilson and he could be guilty of Conspiracy.
Even if he said nothing.
Still guilty--because he did not say "do not go after Wilson, that would be wrong". Since the counter-attack to Wilson went ahead and developed into leaking the name, then Bush is guilty even though he never directly ordered the name to be leaked. Just like a mob hit.
Don't forget Bush got himself a RICO/Mob lawyer. Remember John Dean said Bush probably took the Fifth before Fitz if he lawyered up. Remember that Stephanopolous said his source said there's testimony Bush and Cheney were at key meetings.
That's all Fitz needs.
This is very important.
Here's John Dean on why Bush needed a lawyer:
Asking a President to testify - or even be interviewed - remains a serious, sensitive and rare occasion. It is not done lightly. Doing so raises separation of powers concerns that continue to worry many.
Instead, it seems the investigators are seeking to connect up with, and then speak with, persons who have links to and from the leaked information - and those persons, it seems, probably include the President. (I should stress, however, that I do not have access to grand jury testimony, and that grand jury proceedings are secret. But the facts that are properly public do allow some inference and commentary about what likely is occurring in the grand jury.)
Undoubtedly, those from the White House have been asked if they spoke with the president about the leak. It appears that one or more of them may indeed have done so. .
If so - and if the person revealed the leaker's identity to the President, or if the President decided he preferred not to know the leaker's identity. -- then this fact could conflict with Bush's remarkably broad public statements on the issue. He has said that he did not know of "anybody in [his] administration who leaked classified information." He has also said that he wanted "to know the truth" about this leak.
If Bush is called before the grand jury, it is likely because Fitzgerald believes that he knows much more about this leak than he has stated publicly.
Perhaps Bush may have knowledge not only of the leaker, but also of efforts to make this issue go away - if indeed there have been any. It is remarkably easy to obstruct justice, and this matter has been under various phases of an investigation by the Justice Department since it was referred by the CIA last summer.
It seems very possible the leaker - or leakers, for two government sources were initially cited by columnist Robert Novak -- may have panicked, covered up his (or their) illegality, and in doing so, committed further crimes. If so, did the President hear of it? Was he willfully blind? Was he himself the victim of a cover-up by underlings? The grand jury may be interested in any or all of these possibilities.
What Might a Private Attorney Advise Bush to Do?
It is possible that Bush is consulting Sharp only out of an excess of caution - despite the fact that he knows nothing of the leak, or of any possible coverup of the leak. But that's not likely.
On this subject, I spoke with an experienced former federal prosecutor who works in Washington, specializing in white collar criminal defense (but who does not know Sharp). That attorney told me that he is baffled by Bush's move - unless Bush has knowledge of the leak. "It would not seem that the President needs to consult personal counsel, thereby preserving the attorney-client privilege, if he has no knowledge about the leak," he told me.
What advice might Bush get from a private defense counsel? The lawyer I consulted opined that, "If he does have knowledge about the leak and does not plan to disclose it, the only good legaladvice would be to take the Fifth, rather than lie. The political fallout is a separate issue."
John Dean
Update [2005-10-17 21:50:17 by Sherlock Google]:
Michael Isikoff on Hardball tonight said that Fitz flipped the Novak source and he is talking about meetings of higherups. As Stephanopolous said his source said Bush and Cheney are being named as being at meetings.
It could only be Ari or Powell.
Powell is out because he needed no lawyer and is said to have cooperated with the GJ.
That only leaves poor old Comical Ari. He did get a lawyer and since he left the WH he just has done some Sports PR!
A sure sign he told. He never got in on the K Street Gravy Train!
Update [2005-10-17 22:40:15 by Sherlock Google]:
The Raw Story Link is up:
The case of outed CIA agent Valerie Plame is set to explode.
The New York Daily News is set to report in Tuesday editions that a well-placed source interviewed by the newspaper believes a senior White House official has flipped and may be helping the prosecutor in the case, RAW STORY has learned.
The Daily News will reveal that a top source believes that based on the questioning of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and his other contacts with the investigation, someone in the White House has turned.
All eyes are on Dick Cheney, the News says, as the investigation wraps up.
The piece follows on the heels of on a story by Bloomberg News and an article by RAW STORY last week confirming that the prosecutor is probing the Vice President.
This story could be misleading, the way it is written. It states something new, then starts rehashing what the News rehash about Cheney will be.
This will turn out to be Ari finking on Bush, and he might have known Cheney was involved as well!