Today Jason Leopold has a
pretty good article (sorta long), adding a few tidbits of information that I didn't know, and if you haven't read it yet you might want to give it a perusal.
Also, I figured that it would be a nice change of pace, plus a little news about the CIA Leak investigation for those of us that are starved for something to HAPPEN.
So without further ado, I'll quote some of Jason's article below the fold.
Over the past few months, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been questioning witnesses in the CIA leak case about the origins of the disputed Niger documents referenced in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address, according to several current and former State Department officials who have testified in the case.
This we've known for awhile, or at least have hoped is the case, and considering that we haven't heard BOO from anyone, I'm hoping it's really a fact.
They [State Dept officials] said the questions Fitzgerald asked them about the Niger documents suggested to them that the special prosecutor was putting together a timeline.
No wonder this is taking forever and a day, besides the fact that Fitz is a
busy man with other fish to fry!
Jason's article then goes on to talk about how most of this got started, plus a bunch of other stuff, much of which we already know.
Cheney found out who Wilson was in May 2003, according to the indictment handed up against Libby in late October. Cheney found out that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA. He shared the information with Libby, although Libby had been snooping around on his own and found out the same information, too.
In fact, according to sources knowledgeable about the discussions that took place during this time, only a handful of Cheney's very close aides knew the identity of the person trashing the administration's pre-war intelligence. Karl Rove wasn't even in the know yet, the sources said.
There is no indication that Fitzgerald is investigating Cheney.
Damn, damn, and double-damn about Cheney possibly being off the hook. Oh well, maybe Fitz will suprise us?
Jason then goes into the birth of the
"It wasn't a Wilson-Wilson wife memo," but a chance for the INR to put on paper their doubts about the Niger claim.
The four-page memo indicated that the State Department long had doubts about the veracity of the administration's claims about Iraq's attempts to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger. The memo made scant reference to Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame. [...]
"...It [the memo] scared the heck out of a lot of people because it proved that this guy Wilson's story was credible. I don't think anybody wanted the media to know that the State Department disagreed with the intelligence used by the White House. That's why Wilson had to be shut down."
The current State Department official said the INR memo was discussed at length during the meeting Grossman attended at the White House. That meeting may have been the first time other White House officials, including Karl Rove, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, and other unknown administration officials learned that Valerie Plame was Wilson's wife and that she worked at the CIA in a covert capacity.
All of the sources interviewed separately for this story said they were told that Karl Rove was the person who first suggested using the media to "turn the tables on Wilson." The officials wouldn't identify the person who told them this. The decision, however, was made during a meeting that took place between the White House Iraq Group.
THE MONEY QUOTE that brings joy to my heart:
Lawyers close to the leak case said Fitzgerald seems to be pursuing conspiracy charges against some of the higher-profile suspects in the leak, such as Rove.
I'll take "seems to be" if it's OK with you. :o) This may not be a bombshell, but what the hey, I love the sound of a possible impending conspiracy charge, don't you?
My apologies for the length of this, but I have the hardest time picking out what seems to work, when it's an article of this size, and I'll bet dollars-to-donuts I probably left out something important. *sigh*