21 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak
- From: Phaedrine <Phaedrine.Stonebridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:56:09 -0500
<http://www.thinkprogress.org/leak-scandal>
21 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak
The cast of administration characters with known connections to the
outing of an undercover CIA agent:
Karl Rove
I. Lewis ³Scooter² Libby
Condoleezza Rice
Stephen Hadley
Andrew Card
Alberto Gonzales
Mary Matalin
Ari Fleischer
Susan Ralston
Israel Hernandez
John Hannah
Scott McClellan
Dan Bartlett
Claire Buchan
Catherine Martin
Colin Powell
Karen Hughes
Adam Levine
Bob Joseph
Vice President Dick Cheney
President George W. Bush
Karl Rove
Senior Advisor to President Bush (2001-2005); Deputy White House Chief
of Staff (2005-Present)
ADMINISTRATION, ROVE ORIGINALLY DENIED ANY INVOLVMENT IN THE LEAK: Asked
on 9/29/03 whether he had ³any knowledge² of the leak or whether he
leaked the name of the CIA agent, Rove answered ³no.² That same day,
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, after having ³spoken to
Karl,² asserted that ³it is a ridiculous suggestion² to say Rove was
involved in the leak. In August 2004, Rove maintained, ³I didn¹t know
her name and didn¹t leak her name.² [ABC News, 9/29/03; White House
Press Briefing, 9/29/03; RawStory; Newsweek, 7/11/05]
ROVE SPOKE WITH TIME REPORTER MATT COOPER: In a conversation with Time
reporter Matt Cooper ? a conversation that Rove insisted be kept on
³deep background² ? Rove instructed Cooper, ³Don¹t get too far out on
Wilson.² Rove then identified Valerie Plame as ³Wilson¹s wife² who
³works at the agency on wmd [weapons of mass destruction].² According to
Cooper, his conversation with Karl Rove was the first time he had heard
anything about Wilson¹s wife. Additionally, Rove told Cooper that
further information discrediting Wilson and his findings would soon be
declassified and ended the phone conversation by saying ³I¹ve already
said too much.² [Time, 7/25/05]
ROVE SPOKE WITH COLUMNIST ROBERT NOVAK: A week prior to publishing his
column which outed undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, Robert Novak
spoke with Karl Rove. In the 7/8/03 conversation with Rove, Novak
brought up Plame¹s role at the CIA, and Rove confirmed for the reporter
that Plame worked at the CIA: ³I heard that too,² said Rove. [NYT,
7/15/05]
ROVE TESTIFIED ³TWO TO THREE TIMES² BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: In his
testimony to the grand jury, Karl Rove reportedly admitted ³that he
circulated and discussed damaging information regarding [Plame] with
others in the White House, outside political consultants, and
journalists² and ³is said to have named at least six other
administration officials² who were involved. From Rove¹s description of
the administration¹s efforts, sources characterized the actions as ³an
aggressive campaign to discredit Wilson through the leaking and
disseminating of derogatory information regarding him and his wife to
the press, utilizing proxies such as conservative interest groups and
the Republican National Committee to achieve those ends, and
distributing talking points to allies of the administration on Capitol
Hill and elsewhere.² [American Prospect, 3/8/04; Newsweek, 7/11/05]
MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Rove was a regular participant in
the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq Group.
The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of the
³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war here at
home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of nuclear
rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction of the
term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the formation² of
WHIG. The group included the other individual who has been confirmed as
a leaker, Lewis Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
I. Lewis ³Scooter² Libby
Chief of Staff to Vice President Cheney (2001-Present)
CHENEY AND LIBBY PRESSURED CIA ON URANIUM: Cheney and Libby visited the
CIA headquarters to engage the CIA analysts directly on this issue of
uranium acquisition in Africa, ³creating an environment in which some
analysts felt they were being pressured to make their assessments fit
with the Bush administration¹s policy objectives.² [Washington Post,
6/5/03]
LIBBY, WITH ROVE AND HADLEY, PREPARED TENET¹S RESPONSE TO NIGER
CRITICISMS: Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby Jr., were helping to prepare
what became the administration¹s primary response to criticism that a
flawed phrase about the nuclear materials in Africa had been included in
Mr. Bush¹s State of the Union address six months earlier. They had
exchanged e-mail correspondence and drafts of a proposed statement by
George Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, to explain how
the disputed wording had gotten into the address. Mr. Rove, the
president¹s political strategist, and Mr. Libby, the chief of staff for
Vice President Dick Cheney, coordinated their efforts with Stephen
Hadley, then the deputy national security adviser, who was in turn
consulting with Mr. Tenet. [New York Times, 7/22/05]
LIBBY SPOKE TO JUDITH MILLER: ³Two sources say Miller spoke with Libby,
during the key period in July 2003 that is the focus of Fitzgerald¹s
investigation. The two sources, one who is familiar with Libby¹s version
of events and the other with Miller¹s, said the previously undisclosed
conversation occurred a few days before Plame¹s name appeared in Robert
D. Novak¹s syndicated column on July 14, 2003.² ³According to the
appellate court¹s opinion, Fitzgerald knows the identity of the person
with whom Miller spoke and wants to question her about her contact with
that ¹specified government official¹ on or about July 6, 2003. Miller
never wrote a story on the subject.² [Washington Post, 7/15/05 |
Washington Post, 2/15/05]
LIBBY SPOKE TO WALTER PINCUS: ³Pincus answered questions about Libby as
well. Both he and Cooper said they did so with Libby¹s approval, and
both said that their conversations with Libby did not touch on the
identity of Wilson¹s wife.² [Washington Post, 9/15/04]
LIBBY SPOKE TO GLEN KESSLER: ³Fitzgerald took a tape-recorded deposition
that will be played to the grand jury from Washington Post reporter
Glenn Kessler. Kessler said he agreed to be interviewed, at the urging
of I. Lewis ³Scooter² Libby, chief of staff to Cheney, about two
telephone conversations he had with Libby. Kessler said he told the
prosecutors that in conversations last July 12 and July 18, Libby did
not mention Plame or Wilson.² [Washington Post, 6/24/04]
LIBBY SPOKE TO MATTHEW COOPER: Libby tells Time magazine reporter
Matthew Cooper that Dick Cheney had not been responsible for Wilson¹s
mission. Speaking on the record, Libby denies that Cheney knew about or
played any role in the Wilson trip to Niger. Speaking on background,
Cooper asks Libby if he had heard anything about Wilson¹s wife sending
her husband to Niger. Libby replies, ³Yeah, I¹ve heard that too.² [Time,
7/25/05]
WHITE HOUSE DENIES LIBBY INVOLVEMENT: During press briefing, Scott
McClellan says of Libby and others that ³they assured me that they were
not involved² in ³leaking classified information.² [White House,
10/10/03]
CHENEY ASKED ABOUT LIBBY BY PROSECUTORS: ³Vice President Dick Cheney was
recently interviewed by federal prosecutors who asked whether he knew of
anyone at the White House who had improperly disclosed the identity of
an undercover C.I.A. officer. Mr. Cheney was also asked about
conversations with senior aides, including his chief of staff, I. Lewis
Libby . It was not clear how Mr. Cheney responded to the prosecutors¹
questions.² [New York Times, 6/5/04]
LIBBY NOTES FREQUENTLY REFERRED TO BY PROSECUTORS: ³One set of
documents that prosecutors repeatedly referred to in their meetings with
White House aides are extensive notes compiled by I. Lewis Libby, Vice
President Dick Cheney¹s chief of staff and national security adviser.
Prosecutors have described the notes as ?copious.¹² [New York Times,
2/10/04]
LIBBY TESTIFIED BEFORE GRAND JURY, MAY HAVE MISLED: Libby told special
prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that he first learned Plame¹s identity
from Tim Russert. Russert said in a statement last year that he told the
prosecutor that ³he did not know Ms. Plame¹s name or that she was a CIA
operative² and that he did not provide such information to Libby in July
2003. [Bloomberg, 7/22/05]
MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Libby was a regular participant
in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq
Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of
the ³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war
here at home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of
nuclear rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction
of the term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the
formation² of WHIG. The group included the other individual who has been
confirmed as a leaker, Karl Rove. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
Condoleezza Rice
National Security Advisor (2001-2005); Secretary of State (2005-Present)
RICE WAS ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: Rice was one of several senior
administration officials on a July 2003 flight to Africa, during which
it was decided that she would appear on the Sunday shows to ³protect
Cheney by explaining that he had had nothing to do with sending Wilson
to Niger, and dismiss the yellowcake issue.² [Newsweek, 7/17/05]
RICE RECEIVED TOP SECRET BRIEFING BOOK ON AFRICA TRIP: ³To allow her to
prepare on the long flight home to D.C., White House officials assembled
a briefing book, which they faxed to the Bush entourage in Africa. The
book was primarily prepared by her National Security Council staff. It
contained classified information ? perhaps including all or part of the
memo from State. The entire binder was labeled TOP SECRET.² [Newsweek,
7/17/05]
RICE SAID SHE LEARNED OF WILSON¹S TRIP FROM ABC NEWS APPEARANCE: ² [O]n
Ambassador Wilson¹s going out to Niger, I learned of that when I was
sitting on whatever TV show it was, because that mission was not known
to anybody in the White House.² [State Department, 7/11/03]
RICE CLAIMED NO KNOWLEDGE OF LEAKS: ³I know nothing of any such White
House effort to reveal any of this. And it certainly would not be the
way the president would expect his White House to operate.² [Fox News,
9/28/03]
MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Rice was a regular participant in
the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq Group.
The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of the
³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war here at
home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of nuclear
rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction of the
term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the formation² of
WHIG. The group included the two individual who have been confirmed as
leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
Stephen Hadley
Deputy National Security Advisor (2001-2005); National Security Advisor
(2005-Present)
ROVE COMMUNICATED HIS CONVERSATION WITH COOPER TO HADLEY: After Karl
Rove spoke to Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper about Joseph Wilson
(according to Cooper, this was the first time he learned of Plame¹s
identity), Rove wrote Hadley an email. The July 11, 2003 email said:
³Matt Cooper called to give me a heads-up that he¹s got a welfare reform
story coming. When he finished his brief heads-up he immediately
launched into Niger. Isn¹t this damaging? Hasn¹t the president been
hurt? I didn¹t take the bait, but I said if I were him I wouldn¹t get
Time far out in front on this.² [Associated Press, 7/15/05]
HADLEY SEEN AS ³EYES AND EARS² FOR CHENEY: In 1989, Hadley served as
assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under
then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. Hadley admitted Cheney was ³a
factor² in his hiring as deputy national security adviser by President
Bush in 2001. The Washington Post reported that some saw Hadley as
Cheney¹s ³eyes and ears² at the NSC. [Washington Post, 7/25/01]
HADLEY WAS WARNED NOT TO CITE URANIUM EVIDENCE: Hadley briefed
reporters on July 22, 2003 to explain why the bogus intelligence should
have been excluded from Bush¹s State of the Union. Hadley noted his
receipt of a memorandum from the CIA, dated October 6, 2002, that
explained why references to Iraq¹s pursuit of uranium was dropped from
Bush¹s October 7 speech against Iraq. According to Hadley, the memo
provided ³some additional rationale for the removal of the uranium
reference.² The memo described ³some weakness in the evidence, the fact
that the effort was not particularly significant to Iraq¹s nuclear
ambitions because the Iraqis already had a large stock of uranium oxide
in their inventory This memorandum was received by the Situation Room
here in the White House, and it was sent to both Dr. Rice and myself.²
[Hadley/Bartlett Gaggle, 7/22/03]
HADLEY REVIEWED POWELL¹S SPEECH TO U.N. WHICH DID NOT CONTAIN URANIUM
REFERENCE: Prior to Powell¹s speech, Condoleeza Rice¹s deputy Stephen
Hadley led ³the White House effort to sift through the intelligence with
the help of the CIA,² and tried ³to determine what can be released
without damaging the agency¹s ability to gather similar information.²
The uranium reference mentioned in Bush¹s 2003 State of the Union just
one week prior was deleted from Powell¹s speech to the U.N. because
Powell said it did not stand ³the test of time.² [Washington Post,
1/30/03]
HADLEY COORDINATED WITH TENET ON TENET¹S APOLOGY: The Washington Post
reported, ³Behind the scenes, the White House responded with twin
attacks: one on Wilson and the other on the CIA, which it wanted to take
the blame for allowing the 16 words to remain in Bush¹s speech. As part
of this effort, then-deputy national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley
spoke with Tenet during the week about clearing up CIA responsibility
for the 16 words, even though both knew the agency did not think Iraq
was seeking uranium from Niger, according to a person familiar with the
conversation.² [Washington Post, 7/27/05]
MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Hadley was a regular participant
in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq
Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of
the ³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war
here at home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of
nuclear rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction
of the term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the
formation² of WHIG. The group included the two individual who have been
confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis Libby. [Washington Post,
8/10/03]
Andrew Card
White House Chief of Staff (2001-Present)
CARD GIVEN A TWELVE-HOUR HEAD START ON THE INVESTIGATION: On September
29, 2003, the Department of Justice informed then-White House counsel
Alberto Gonzales that it was launching a criminal investigation into the
leak of Valerie Plame¹s identity. Gonzales was instructed to notify the
White House staff to preserve all documents related to the case. By his
own admission, Gonzales didn¹t comply with the request immediately; he
went to Chief of Staff Andrew Card and told him that the White House
staff would be told to preserve all documents related to the leak the
following morning. As a result, Card had a 12-hour window to tip off
White House staff about the request ? an amount of time that ³would give
people time to shred documents and do any number of things.² [CBS,
7/24/05; Democracy Now; Fox News, 12/31/03]
CARD WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE: Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was on
Air Force One accompanying President Bush on the July 2003 trip to
Africa. A ³senior State Department official confirmed that, while on the
trip, Powell had a department intelligence report on whether Iraq had
sought uranium from Niger.² The State Department memo in question ? a
³key piece of evidence in the CIA leak investigation² ? stated that
³Wilson¹s wife had attended a meeting at the CIA where the decision was
made to send Wilson to Niger.² The memorandum ³contained information
about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked ?(S)¹ for secret,
a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it
should have been aware the information was classified?² [Newsweek,
8/9/04; Washington Post, 7/20/05, 7/20/05; Knight Ridder, 3/5/04]
CARD INITIATED CONVERSATION BETWEEN TENET, BUSH ABOUT INVESTIGATION: Two
days into the Justice Department investigation, Card initiated a
conversation between President Bush and then-director of the CIA George
Tenet about the leak investigation. Though Tenet was not planning on
discussing the issue with the President at the daily intelligence
briefing, it was Card who brought up the subject. [New York Times,
10/5/03]
MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Andrew Card was the founder and a
³regular participant² in the weekly meetings of the Bush
Administration¹s White House Iraq Group. The main purpose of the group
was the systematic coordination of the ³marketing² of going to war with
Iraq as well as selling the war here at home. One clear example of this
fact is that ³the escalation of nuclear rhetoric² during the pre-war
stage, ³including the introduction of the term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the
debate, coincided with the formation² of WHIG. The group included the
two individual who have been confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis
Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
Alberto Gonzales
Chief White House Counsel (2001-2005); Attorney General (2005-Present)
GONZALES INTERVIEWED BY THE GRAND JURY: Gonzales testified in front of
the Grand Jury about the Plame leak on June 18, 2004. [Washington Post,
6/19/04]
GONZALES WAITED TWELVE HOURS BEFORE INFORMING WHITE HOUSE STAFF OF
INVESTIGATION: On 9/29/03, the Department of Justice informed White
House counsel Alberto Gonzales that it was launching a criminal
investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame¹s identity. Gonzales was
instructed to notify the White House staff to preserve all documents
related to the case. Gonzales, however, waited 12 hours before informing
White House staff about the investigation. Instead, he told only Chief
of Staff Andrew Card about the inquiry, in effect giving Card a 12-hour
window to tip off White House staff, including Karl Rove, about the
request. [Face the Nation, 7/24/05]
GONZALES SERVED AS ?GATEKEEPER¹ OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION:
After the Justice Department launched its investigation into the Plame
leak, Gonzales was the chief advisor to White House staffers on
complying with the investigation. He also acted as ³gatekeeper,²
invoking ³executive privilege² in order to hold back certain sensitive
White House documents from investigators. Gonzales personally spent days
screening all requested documents before handing them over to
investigators. [CBS, 10/7/03]
Mary Matalin
Senior Advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2002)
MATALIN WORKED CLOSELY VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: Mary Matalin was
senior advisor in Vice President Dick Cheney¹s office at the time of the
leak. While in the White House, she worked closely with Scooter Libby ?
the Vice President¹s chief of staff who was one of Matt Cooper¹s
sources. [Washington Post, 2/3/01]
MATALIN INTERVIEWED BY THE GRAND JURY: Matalin testified in front of
the Grand Jury about the Plame leak on January 21, 2004. [Washington
Post, 2/10/04]
MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Matlin was a regular participant
in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq
Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of
the ³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war
here at home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of
nuclear rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction
of the term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the
formation² of WHIG. The group included the two individual who have been
confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis Libby. [Washington Post,
8/10/03]
Ari Fleischer
White House Press Secretary (2001-2003)
IN EARLY JULY, FLEISCHER READ MEMO ABOUT PLAME ON AIR FORCE ONE: ³On the
flight to Africa, Fleischer was seen perusing the State Department memo
on Wilson and his wife, according to a former administration official
who was also on the trip.² [Bloomberg, 7/18/05]
FLEISCHER TOLD GRAND JURY HE NEVER SAW THE MEMO: ³Mr. 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
prosecutor¹s admonitions about not disclosing what is said to the grand
jury.² [New York Times, 7/23/05]
FLEISCHER AMONG FIRST GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO CRITICIZE WILSON: Newsday
reported, ³In the subpoenaed July 12 [2003] transcript of a briefing in
Nigeria, then-press secretary Ari Fleischer called Wilson a ³lower-level
official² and said Wilson had made flawed and incomplete statements.²
The transcript of the briefing was pulled from the White House site but
has since been restored. [Newsday, 3/6/04; White House, 7/12/03]
FLEISCHER TALKED TO NOVAK ONE DAY AFTER HIS COLUMN WAS PUBLISHED:
Fleischer¹s ³telephone log showed a call on the day after Mr. Wilson¹s
article appeared from Mr. Novak, the columnist who, on July 14, 2003,
was the first to report Ms. Wilson¹s identity.² [New York Times, 7/23/05]
FLEISCHER INTERVIEWED BY FBI ABOUT LEAK: [Washington Post, 2/10/04]
FLEISCHER A FOCUS OF FITZGERALD INVESTIGATION: ³?Ari¹s name keeps
popping up,¹ said one source familiar with special prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald¹s probe. Another source close to the probe added there is
renewed interest in Fleischer, ?based on Fitzgerald¹s questions.¹² [New
York Daily News, 7/15/05]
Susan Ralston
Personal assistant to Karl Rove (2001-Present)
RALSTON IS ROVE¹S RIGHT-HAND: ABC News reported on August 2, 2005 that
Susan Ralston, Karl Rove¹s long-time right-hand, testified before the
grand jury. The National Journal reported, ³If Karl Rove is Bush¹s main
man, then it¹s Ralston who makes this White House go ? because she¹s
indispensable to Rove.² According to Newsweek, Ralston was suggested to
Rove by ethically-troubled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, for whom she
previously served as a top aide. [ABC The Note, 8/2/05; Newsweek,
4/20/05; National Journal, 6/18/05]
Israel Hernandez
Personal assistant to President Bush (2001-2005)
ROVE AIDE HERNANDEZ TESTIFIED: ABC News reported on August 2, 2005 that
Israel Hernandez, a Rove aide in July 2003 during the leak of Valerie
Plame, testified before the grand jury. Hernandez was tapped as
assistant secretary of commerce. [ABC The Note, 8/2/05; NY Daily News,
6/24/05]
John Hannah
Aide to Vice President Cheney
HANNAH A ³MAJOR PLAYER² IN FITZGERALD PROBE: According to the UPI, ³The
investigation, which is continuing, could lead to indictments, a Justice
Department official said. According to these sources, John Hannah and
Cheney¹s chief of staff Lewis ?Scooter¹ Libby were the two Cheney
employees. ?We believe that Hannah was the major player in this,¹ one
federal law enforcement officer said. Calls to the vice president¹s
office were not returned. Hannah and Libby did not return calls. [UPI,
2/4/04]
FITZGERALD PRESSURED HANNAH TO NAME SUPERIORS: The strategy of the FBI
is to make clear to Hannah ?that he faces a real possibility of doing
jail time,¹ as a way to pressure him to name superiors, one federal law
enforcement official said.¹² [UPI, 2/4/04]
Scott McClellan
Deputy White House Press Secretary (2001-2003); White House Press
Secretary (2003-Present)
MCCLELLAN WAS NOT ON AFRICA TRIP: ³Fleischer and Bartlett were with Bush
on a July 7-12 trip to Africa just prior to publication of Novak¹s
column, and McClellan, then Fleischer¹s deputy, was on vacation.²
[Associated Press, 2/11/04]
MCCLELLAN SAID THE PRESIDENT ³KNOWS² KARL WASN¹T INVOLVED: ³Q All right.
Let me just follow up. You said this morning, ?The President knows¹ that
Karl Rove wasn¹t involved. How does he know that? MR. McCLELLAN: Well,
I¹ve made it very clear that it was a ridiculous suggestion in the first
place. I saw some comments this morning from the person who made that
suggestion, backing away from that. And I said it is simply not true.
So, I mean, it¹s public knowledge. I¹ve said that it¹s not true. And I
have spoken with Karl Rove?² [White House, 9/29/03]
MCCLELLAN SAID THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE ANYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE OR VICE
PRESIDENT¹S OFFICE WAS INVOLVED: ³There¹s been nothing, absolutely
nothing, brought to our attention to suggest any White House
involvement, and that includes the vice president¹s office as well.²
[White House, 9/29/03]
MCCLELLAN SAID IF ANYONE IN THE ADMINISTRATION WAS INVOLVED THEY¹D BE
FIRED: ³If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would
no longer be in this administration.² [White House, 9/29/03]
MCCLELLAN SAID ROVE, LIBBY AND ABRAMS WERE NOT INVOLVED: ³Q Scott,
earlier this week you told us that neither Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams nor
Lewis Libby disclosed any classified information with regard to the
leak. I wondered if you could tell us more specifically whether any of
them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA? MR.
McCLELLAN: Those individuals ? I talked ? I spoke with those
individuals, as I pointed out, and those individuals assured me they
were not involved in this. And that¹s where it stands.² [White House,
10/10/03]
MCCLELLAN REFUSES TO COMMENT FURTHER BECAUSE ³THE INVESTIGATION IS
ONGOING²: Even though he made his previous comments while the
investigation was ongoing. [White House, 7/11/05]
Dan Bartlett
White House Communications Director (2001-2005); Councelor to the
President (2005-Present)
BARTLETT WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE: Bartlett was one of several senior
administration officials on a July 2003 flight to Africa. During the
trip, Bartlett gave a background briefing in which he urged reporters to
look into the CIA¹s sole in sending Joe Wilson to Niger. The briefing
has not drawn ³substantial interest² the prosecutor¹s office recently.
One source for a New York Times article on the subject said Prosecutor
Fitzgerald knew about the briefing but was not pursuing it. A different
source for the same article said the Mr. Bartlett did not see the State
Department memo that was otherwise witnessed on the plane. [NYT, 7/27/05]
BARTLETT TESTIFIED BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: According to Anne Kornblut of
the New York Times, citing ³a person who has been briefed on the case,²
Bartlett told investigators that ³he did not know who Ms. Wilson was²
when her name was leaked. Bartlett¹s attorney has refused to discuss the
case, citing requests by the special counsel. [[NYT, 7/27/05; Washington
Post, 7/21/05]
BARTLETT HAS LONGSTANDING TIES TO KARL ROVE: Rove and Bartlett go way
back, and the influence of the former still has a tendency to affect the
later. As Newsweek reports: ³Technically, Rove was in charge of
politics, not ?communications.¹ But, as he saw it, the two were one and
the sameand he used his heavyweight status to push the message machine
run by his Texas protege and friend, Dan Bartlett.² [Newsweek July 25,
2005.] He has worked closely with both Bush and Rove since 1994, when he
worked on Bush¹s first successful campaign for governor. Before that,
Bartlett was an employee of Karl Rove and associates, a political
consulting firm established by Karl Rove after the 1980 primary defeat
of George HW Bush against Ronald Reagan. [Link; White House]
BARTLETT OFFERED CONTRADICTORY EXPLANATIONS OF 16 WORDS: In July of
2003, Bartlett, referring the infamous ³16 words² in Bush¹s State of the
Union address, told reporters that ³there was no debate or questions
with regard to that line when it was signed off on.² The very same week
Condoleeza Rice told reporters that there was ³discussion on that
specific sentence, so that it reflected better what the CIA thought.²
[Washington Post, 7/15/03;=]
MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Bartlett was a regular participant in
the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq Group.
The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of the
³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war here at
home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of nuclear
rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction of the
term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the formation² of
WHIG. The group included the two individual who have been confirmed as
leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
Claire Buchan
Deputy Press Secretary (2001-2005)
BUCHAN ANNOUNCED THAT PRESIDENT BUSH HAD SPOKEN WITH A LAWYER REGARDING
LEAK: On Wednesday, June 2, 2004, Buchan announced that Bush had
consulted a lawyer, Jim Sharp, about the growing leak controversy. ³The
president has said that everyone should cooperate in this matter and
that would include himself,² said Buchan at the time. [Associated Press,
6/2/04]
BUCHAN TESTIFIED BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: Buchan testified on February 6,
2004the same day as Adam Levine, a former press office employee, and
Scott McClellan. ³I was pleased to cooperate,² said Buchan at the time.
She has declined to reveal any details of her testimony. [Fox News,
2/11/04]
BUCHAN CLAIMED THAT NO WHITE HOUSE STAFF HAD BEEN ASKED TO SIGN WAIVERS:
Despite the fact that the White House is ³fully cooperating,² Buchan
said that no one had been asked to sign a form waiving the right to
privacy. White House officials said that privacy waivers were routinely
sought from government employees in the course of investigations to find
the sources of sensitive or classified information, even though the
procedure was not widely known. [NYT, 1/3/04].
Catherine Martin
Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs (2001-2004)
MARTIN DENIED THAT CHENEY HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE OF WILSON OR HIS REPORT: In
response to claims that Joe Wilson had circulated his Niger report prior
to the State of the Union Address, Martin denied that Cheney had any
knowledge of it. ³The vice president doesn¹t know Joe Wilson and did not
know about his trip until he read about it in the press,² said Martin.
[The New Yorker, 10/20/03]
MARTIN INTERVIEWED BY FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS: The FBI interviewed Martin
about the leak. It is suspected, though uncertain, that Martin testified
before the grand jury. [Newsday, 2/24/04; Washington Post, 11/26/04]
PROSECUTORS EXPRESS INTEREST IN CALLS MADE TO AND BY MARTIN: Prosecutors
have reportedly asked about calls made to and from Martin¹s cell phone
in July of 2003. [NYT, 2/10/03]
MARTIN CLAIMED IGNORANCE OF WHETHER OR NOT LIBBY HAD TALKED TO NOVAK:
According to a Newsweek article, Martin denied knowledge of whether or
not Scooter Libby had talked to columnist Bob Novak. ³I don¹t know the
answer,² Martin said when asked about Scooter¹s possibly involvement.
Her response is considered part of a larger White House tactic to avoid
answering such questions. [Newsweek, 10/8/03]
Colin Powell
Secretary of State (2001-2005)
POWELL WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE: Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was on
Air Force One accompanying President Bush on the July 2003 trip to
Africa. A ³senior State Department official confirmed that, while on the
trip, Powell had a department intelligence report on whether Iraq had
sought uranium from Niger.² The State Department memo in question ? a
³key piece of evidence in the CIA leak investigation² ? stated that
³Wilson¹s wife had attended a meeting at the CIA where the decision was
made to send Wilson to Niger.² The memorandum ³contained information
about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked ?(S)¹ for secret,
a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it
should have been aware the information was classified?² There are also
indications that Fitzgerald subpoenaed phone records from Air Force One
? where the memo was first seen by many administration officials ? to
³determine whether presidential aides used the aircraft¹s phones to leak
the name of a CIA employee to reporters.² [Newsweek, 8/9/04; Washington
Post, 7/20/05; Knight Ridder, 3/5/04]
POWELL TESTIFIED BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: Though not a subject of the
inquiry, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before the
federal grand jury on July 16, 2004. Powell¹s appearance was seen ³as
the latest sign the probe being conducted by prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald [was] highly active and broader than [had] been publicly
known. Sources close to the case say prosecutors were interested in
discussions Powell had while with President George W. Bush on a trip to
Africa in July 2003, just before Plame¹s identity was leaked to
columnist Robert Novak.² Sources saw the decision to question Powell as
indicative of ³the thoroughness with which Fitzgerald is conducting the
probeand that knowledge about Plame was circulated at the highest levels
of the administration.² [Newsweek, 8/9/04]
Karen Hughes
White House Aide (2001-2002); Under Secretary of State for Public
Diplomacy (2005-Present)
HUGHES INTERVIEWED BY SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: In the questionnaire for her
confirmation proceedings, Karen Hughes listed that she had been
interviewed by the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. [New York
Times, 7/22/05]
HUGHES DECRIED LEAK, DENIED ROVE¹S INVOLVMENT: In her book, Ten Minutes
>From Normal, Hughes discussed the leak, calling it ³wrong² and ³unfair²
to Bush. Hughes earlier said the leak was ³disruptive to democracy.² In
her book, she said whoever conducted the leak ³should come forward and
not hide behind journalistic ethics for his or her self-protection.² She
added, ³The use of unnamed sources has become a convenient way for too
many political operatives to hide and avoid accountability for their
statements.² Additionally, Hughes commented that she knew Rove wasn¹t
involved in the leak because ³Karl has said he was not involved.² [Ten
Minutes From Normal; POE News, 10/2/03]
HUGHES INVOLVED IN DRAFTING 2003 STATE OF THE UNION WITH FALSE URANIUM
CLAIM: In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush declared,
³The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa.² It has been reported
that Karen Hughes was ³involved in drafting the speech.² She said her
primary goal in the process was to answer: ³Why is Saddam Hussein¹s
continued defiance a threat to our country and to peace in the world?²
Intelligence from the CIA and the State Department at that time
indicated Iraq was not attempting to acquire uranium from Niger.
Furthermore, the inclusion of the false statement led to apologies from
Condi Rice, Stephen Hadley, Ari Fleischer, and George Tenet. Instead of
addressing the allegations at the time they were made, Hughes defended
the false intelligence and devised a communications strategy that
questioned the motives of those who criticized the president. [President
Bush, 1/28/03; The Houston Chronicle, 1/27/03; Baltimore Sun, 7/23/03;
Washington Post, 7/20/05; MSNBC, 9/28/03; White House Press Briefing,
7/29/03; CNN, 7/11/03; USA Today, 3/14/02]
HUGHES HAS PREVIOUS HISTORY OF SMEARING WHITE HOUSE CRITICS: Hughes ³was
an advocate of the howitzer treatment² of the former Bush
counter-terrorism chief and White House critic Richard Clarke. In an
attempt to attack and smear the character of Richard Clarke, the White
House released numerous pieces of information that were previously
classified, including an email from Clarke to Condi Rice shortly after
9-11 and Clarke¹s resignation letter. The White House also revealed
Clarke to be the source of an anonymous background briefing he had done
on behalf of the president. However, the White House refused Clarke¹s
request to declassify his correspondence with Rice prior to 9-11 about
the threats that were being ignored. Hughes admitted on ABC¹s 20/20 that
she was involved in these efforts against Clarke: ³I¹m involved in White
House discussions about those issues? I think, from personal knowledge,
that many of the things he said are not true.² [New York Times, 3/28/04;
CNN, 4/9/04; CNN, 3/4/04; ABC¹s 20/20, 3/29/04]
MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Hughes was a regular participant in
the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration¹s White House Iraq Group.
The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of the
³marketing² of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war here at
home. One clear example of this fact is that ³the escalation of nuclear
rhetoric² during the pre-war stage, ³including the introduction of the
term ?mushroom cloud¹ into the debate, coincided with the formation² of
WHIG. The group included the two individual who have been confirmed as
leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
Adam Levine
Communications Aide (2001-2003)
LEVINE WAS ONE OF FEW PRESS AIDES TO SPEAK TO REPORTERS DURING AFRICA
TRIP: ³Levine was one of the few press officials at the White House to
answer reporters¹ calls [during the Africa trip].² [CNN, 2/10/04]
LEVINE AMONG THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY BEFORE GRAND
JURY: Levine testified on February 6, 2004. ³Levine¹s testimony was
described as ?brief¹ and non-combative, and followed several interviews
with FBI agents. The source said there were many questions about which
reporters [Levine] and other senior officials talked to, suggesting
investigators are trying to get as much information as possible from
press officials, knowing the reporters are unlikely to talk.² [Newsday
2/24/04; CNN, 2/10/04]
LEVINE SAID TO TESTIFY ABOUT ?WHITE HOUSE PROCEDURES¹: ³Dan French,
former U.S. attorney for New York¹s Northern District, and Don Kinsella,
the district¹s longtime criminal bureau chief, are representing a former
White House press aide, Adam Levine ?The President of the United States
has asked his staff to cooperate, and even though Levine¹s no longer on
the staff he¹s adhering to the President¹s request,¹ French said. ?He
has been called to testify before the federal grand jury concerning his
knowledge of White House procedures, in particular phone calls with
reporters. He was called to testify and we represented him in those
proceedings.¹² [The Times Union (Albany, NY) 2/12/04]
LEVINE LEFT ADMINISTRATION IN DECEMBER ?03, BUT RELATIONSHIP CONTINUED:
New York Times: ³Levine left the Bush administration in December after
working as the principal liaison between the White House and television
networks.² Later, the Washington Post describes Levine as ³a former
White House aide who portrayed Russert in mock sessions with
administration officials,² referring to White House prep for President
Bush in advance of his Meet the Press appearance in early February ?04.
[NYT, 2/10/04; Washington Post, 2/5/04]
Bob Joseph
Director for Nonproliferation at National Security Council (2001-2005);
Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
Affairs (2005-Present)
JOSEPH SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR INCLUSION OF URANIUM CLAIM IN STATE OF THE
UNION: The New York Times reported that senior intelligence officials
said that Alan Foley, a C.I.A. expert on weapons of mass destruction,
said ³he was asked by Bob Joseph, the director for nonproliferation at
the National Security Council, whether the president¹s address could
include a reference to Iraq¹s seeking uranium from Niger.² [NYT, 7/18/03]
JOSEPH GUIDED WMD CASE AGAINST IRAQ: Bob Joseph, ³the senior director
dealing with weapons of mass destruction, guided the process of building
the case against Iraq² from the White House. Thus, it appears likely he
would have seen the State Department memo that contained Plame¹s
identity. [Newsweek, 9/30/03]
Vice President Dick Cheney
CHENEY INTERVIEWED BY FEDERAL PROSECUTORS: ³Vice President Dick Cheney
was recently interviewed by federal prosecutors who asked whether he
knew of anyone at the White House who had improperly disclosed the
identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer. Mr. Cheney was also asked
about conversations with senior aides, including his chief of staff, I.
Lewis Libby . In addition, those people said, Mr. Cheney was asked
whether he knew of any concerted effort by White House aides to name the
officer. It was not clear how Mr. Cheney responded to the prosecutors¹
questions. [Cheney] was not questioned under oath and he has not been
asked to appear before the grand jury.² [NYT, 6/5/04]
CHENEY SEEMS TO BE THE COMMON DENOMINATOR: Four members of the Vice
President¹s staff ? ³Scooter² Libby, John Hannah, Mary Matalin, and
Catherine Martin ? have either been implicated in the leak or testified
before the grand jury. In addition, Stephen Hadley worked under Cheney
at the Defense Department and is considered by some to be his ³eyes and
ears² on the NSC staff. [Washington Post, 7/25/01]
CHENEY AND LIBBY PRESSURED CIA ON URANIUM: Cheney and Libby visited the
CIA headquarters to engage the CIA analysts directly on this issue of
uranium acquisition in Africa, ³creating an environment in which some
analysts felt they were being pressured to make their assessments fit
with the Bush administration¹s policy objectives.² [Washington Post,
6/5/03]
President George W. Bush
WAS BUSH INVOLVED IN THE LEAK? In July 2005, the New York Times raised
the possibility that Bush could be involved in the leak. ³It is still
not clear what the investigation into the leak of a C.I.A. operative¹s
identity will mean for President Bush. So far the disclosures about the
involvement of Karl Rove, among others, have not exacted any substantial
political price from the administration. And nobody has suggested that
the investigation directly implicates the president. Yet Mr. Bush has
yet to address some uncomfortable questions that he may not be able to
evade indefinitely There is the broader issue of whether Mr. Bush was
aware of any effort by his aides to use the C.I.A. officer¹s identity to
undermine the standing of her husband, a former diplomat who had
publicly accused the administration of twisting its prewar intelligence
about Iraq¹s nuclear program.² [NYT, 7/24/05]
BUSH QUESTIONED BY FITZGERALD FOR OVER AN HOUR: On June 24, 2004,
special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and several of his assistants
questioned the president for about 70 minutes in the Oval Office. Bush
retained a private lawyer, Jim Sharp, for the interview. A prominent
First Amendment lawyer, Floyd Abrams, said ³It¹s hard to believe the
special prosecutor would be burdening the president with an interview
unless they had testimony to the effect that the president had
information.² [Washington Post, 2/25/04]
STARR DEPUTY SAID BUSH INTERVIEW SUGGESTED HIGH-LEVEL INVOLVEMENT IN
LEAK: The New York Daily News reported, ³The Bush interview ?indicates
there¹s obviously a belief that the leak was at a high level,¹ said Sol
Wisenberg, a former [Ken] Starr deputy who questioned Clinton. ?The
President usually doesn¹t meet and knock around ideas with midlevel
staffers.¹² [New York Daily News, 6/25/04]
BUSH WAS ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT MEMO: A
classified State Department report that contained Valerie Plame¹s
identity was sent to Secretary of State Colin Powell and other
administration officials who were aboard Air Force One with the
president on July 7, 2003. The extent of the circulation of the memo is
not known. [Washington Post, 7/21/05]
BUSH CLAIMED TO WANT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LEAK: On September 29,
2003, a senior administration official told the Washington Post that
Bush said, ³I want to get to the bottom of this,² during a daily staff
meeting which Karl Rove attended. [Washington Post 9/30/03]
BUSH TOLD TENET HE WOULD COOPERATE WITH THE INVESTIGATION: A
conversation between the president and Tenet about the investigation did
not consume, according to Andy Card, ³any significant amount of time or
discussion or angst. It was basically, ?We¹re cooperating, you¹re
cooperating, I¹m glad to see the process is moving forward the way it
should.¹² [NYT, 10/4/03]
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