A new Bloomberg story has hit the wire on the Plame case. Some of it is a rehash of the NYT article. But there is some great new stuff as well.
More below the fold
According to Bloomberg, Cheney and Libby are now "at odds."
If true, this could be the dream scenario. If Libby flips, it would lead everywhere. Not just the Plame leak, but also the Niger forgeries, the lies about the Iraq War, the lies to Congress, leaking of other selective intelligence. Everything.
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.
Here are some of the Bloomberg money shots:
A fissure may be opening between Vice President Dick Cheney and his top aide over the investigation into the leak of a covert CIA agent's identity.
I. Lewis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, first learned of agent Valerie Plame's identity in a conversation with Cheney weeks before her name became public in July 2003, the New York Times reported last night, citing lawyers involved in the case.
The disclosure doesn't indicate that the vice president did anything wrong, said a senior Republican with ties to Cheney. The person declined to make a similar statement about Libby.
The senior Republican, who spoke on condition of anonymity, sought to portray Cheney as uninvolved in any violation of a 1982 law forbidding the revelation of a covert intelligence agent's identity. The official noted that both Cheney and Libby had the security clearances necessary to discuss Plame's identity.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/economy/politics.html
The "senior Republican with ties to Cheney" sounds a bit defensive, no?
More:
The Times report focuses new attention on Cheney's role in an affair that holds serious legal and political jeopardy for top officials in President George W. Bush's administration.
Should be a fun tomorrow. Or today!
GDoyle