Therefore, and at the risk of being wrong, I would guess that BushCo leaked this to advance the idea that lots of people could have had access to this information.
That could be the motivation, but that would indicate a pretty flimsy understanding of how conspiracy prosecutions operate. Throwing Powell into the mix doesn't serve to exonerate any of the other players; it just makes the conspiracy one person bigger. Frankly, I'd think the last thing they want is to give Fitz the idea of hauling Powell in front of a grand jury to get his take on things.
Posted by Matt Davis at July 19, 2005 01:25 PMIs it possible that someone fixed the memo by putting Plame or Wilson name in the inr memo as CYA plan thus the discrepancies when it was created ? That someone already knew that Plame worked for the CIA. Remember the niger forgeries ? If they can forge the niger papers, they can fix the INR memo.
I seriously doubt that a deep uncover agent like Plame would be named openly in any memo.
Posted by john at July 19, 2005 01:36 PM"Even Powell had no need to know this."
Just to quibble, this is not true. The Secretary would have every right to expect to be informed that a direct relationship exists between J. Wilson and an important CIA WMD analyst. If the document was meant for Powell it should have contained that information.
Posted by Stupendousman at July 19, 2005 01:39 PMIsolate Rove from the White House??
That sounds like Mission Impossible, not Mission Accomplished...
Matt -- didn't mean to imply that BushCo was trying to limit a conspiracy charge with a leak that put the INR on AF1. I was suggesting that they were merely trying to offer some explanation as to how it could have accidentally been seen without by someone without security clearance.
Stupendousman:The Secretary would have every right to expect to be informed that a direct relationship exists between J. Wilson and an important CIA WMD analyst.
Why? Does that mean that every report must disclose the direct relationships of those given an assignment? Plame was a NOC -- the conditions under which her identity can be revealed must meet a very high test. A test no met in this case.
Posted by Marie at July 19, 2005 01:50 PMI was suggesting that they were merely trying to offer some explanation as to how it could have accidentally been seen without by someone without security clearance.
No, I got your meaning, and I think you're right about that. But that would still mean that they're thinking about this all wrong. Getting away with the technicalities of the IIPA is only half the battle, because you can be convicted of conspiracy even if the predicate crime never occurs.
Posted by Matt Davis at July 19, 2005 01:57 PMMatt - my point precisely and why I called them clowns. I never thought they were geniuses and observed long ago that they suck on defense (a reason why they work hard to get back on offense). They're winging it now -- complete disarray on how to play it politically and they can't read or manipulate Fitzgerald.
John B. - yes. Right now they are acting as if they're scared that Rove could drag down the whole WH. If need be, better to let Rove fall alone. Remember, these guys are accustomed to throwing a lot of shit at the wall to see what sticks that they can run with. That's what they're doing, but forgot that it might be different in a Fed Prosecutor is watching your moves.
Posted by Marie at July 19, 2005 02:04 PMMarie, not every relationship, but surely every significant relationship. We have no way on knowing what exactly Ms. Plame did, but it could well have been pertinent. After all, it was at her suggestion that Mr. Wilson was sent (one then assumes that her expertise played a part in the CIA approval).
I am not familiar with the CIA disclosure rules, but I'd be pissed to find that that info had been hidden from me. Furthermore, its not beyond the realm of possibility that Powell already knew of the connection. The SecState is the boss of all of the Ambassadors. Powell would likely have worked with many ambassadors before and all of the ambassadors at least know who the CIA chief of station is at the consulate. Wilson was a former Ambassador, of course.
Posted by Stupendousman at July 19, 2005 02:07 PMFitzgerald is wrapping up his work on the Chicago City Hall indictments now, and I would guess he will be in a position to issue indictments in the Rove matter shortly. My take is that the White House did not take Fitzgerald's efforts too seriously at first until he started requesting testimony from all the senior staff members. Where they had issued glib statements and professed innocence, they recently clammed up because they are worried about an obstruction charge.
Posted by obelus at July 19, 2005 02:14 PMIn bygone days in foreign lands 3-4 of these bastards would take a long walk into the woods with a pistol and spare their country a lot of pain.
Posted by steve duncan at July 19, 2005 02:57 PMI think the reason both Powell and Ari have been fingered holding the INR memo this week is because Rove is busy discrediting the people who will testify against him.
I have an unfounded suspicion that Ari has been granted immunity. He's never been that close to BushCo anyway. ANd since he's not IN the Administration, he can speak with a little breathing room.
And Powell is one of the two people who may have been the source for the 10/03 WaPo article that really identified this as malicious (It was meant as revenge, pure and simple). So I think it likely that he, too, will talk.
So you finger them holding the document in order to later refer back to it to create the belief that both are tesifying solely to get out of guilt themselves.
Posted by emptywheel at July 19, 2005 06:56 PM