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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2005-07-18

Plame, Rove, Wilson . . .Ho-Hum

This, from the Washington Post:

White House senior adviser Karl Rove, after telling Time reporter Matthew Cooper in 2003 that the wife of an administration critic worked for the CIA, closed the conversation by noting "I've already said too much," Cooper said yesterday in recounting his testimony before a federal grand jury.

While that comment appeared to indicate the sensitive nature of the conversation, which is now under scrutiny by a special prosecutor investigating the leak of Valerie Plame's name, Rove said nothing about Plame being a covert operative, Cooper said. The conversation took place days after Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, accused the White House of twisting evidence on whether Iraq had been seeking weapons of mass destruction. . .

In the Time article, Cooper said Rove had cautioned him: "Don't get too far out on Wilson." He wrote that Rove told him that "Wilson's wife," who worked at the "agency" on "WMD issues," had arranged for Wilson to travel to Niger to investigate since-discredited allegations that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium for nuclear weapons [NOTE THAT LITTLE EDITORIALIZING]. Of Rove's "said too much" comment, he wrote: "This could have meant he was worried about being indiscreet, or it could have meant he was late for a meeting or something else."

The next day, Cooper said, when he asked Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, whether Plame had arranged for her husband's African assignment, Libby replied: "Yeah, I've heard that too."

Ooh, boy. Sounds like they're both guilty . . . BURN 'EM!!

I guess this is what happens in a Washington summer.

Of course, here's how the New York Times leads off their reporting:

Matthew Cooper, a reporter for Time magazine, said the White House senior adviser Karl Rove was the first person to tell him that the wife of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was a C.I.A. officer, according to a first-person account in this week's issue of the magazine. . .

Mr. Cooper also wrote about a conversation he initiated with I. Lewis Libby, chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney. Although it has been known that reporters spoke to Mr. Libby, what he said was not known. His conversation with Mr. Cooper is the first indication that Mr. Libby was aware of Ms. Wilson's role in her husband's trip to Africa. When Mr. Cooper asked if Mr. Libby knew of that, Mr. Libby said he had heard that as well, the article said.

But even with their reinforcing the talking points of the DNC, the Times can't wholly escape reality:

"Is any of this a crime? Beats me."

The details in Mr. Cooper's article about his conversation with Mr. Rove are largely consistent with the broad outlines of Mr. Rove's grand jury testimony about the conversation as portrayed in news accounts.

And, sure, they're trying to color it a little bit, but the truth is in there, somewhere.
Posted by: Michael / 7/18/2005 02:25:00 AM

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