Blue Spot

Bush claims executive privilege on CIA leak - The White House- msnbc.com

WASHINGTON - President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003.

The president's decision drew a sharp protest Wednesday from Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of House Oversight Committee, which had subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey to turn over the documents.

"This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person," the California Democrat said. "If the vice president did nothing wrong, what is there to hide?"

Waxman left little doubt he would soon move for a committee vote to hold Mukasey in contempt of Congress.

Labels: Cheney, Executive priveledge, FBI, Plamegate

McClellan blames Bush for CIA leak deceit - The White House- msnbc.com

WASHINGTON - Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan blames President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of White House aides in leaking the identity of a CIA operative.

In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, McClellan recount the 2003 news conference in which he told reporters that aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby were "not involved" in the leak involving operative Valerie Plame.

"There was one problem. It was not true," McClellan writes, according to a brief excerpt released Monday. "I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."

Labels: Cheney, Intelligence, Plamegate, Rove

Plame lawsuit dismissed in CIA leak case - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON - Former CIA operative Valerie Plame lost a lawsuit Thursday that demanded money from Bush administration officials whom she blamed for leaking her agency identity.

Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to disclose her identity in 2003. Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband's criticism of the administration.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments.

Washington, DC -- Earlier today, District of Columbia District Court Judge John D. Bates dismissed Joe and Valerie Wilsons' civil suit against Vice President Dick Cheney, presidential aide Karl Rove, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Richard Armitage. While Judge Bates recognized that the Wilsons' claims "pose important questions relating to the propriety of actions undertaken by our highest government officials," he dismissed their suit on a threshold legal issue: that there is no constitutional remedy available to them.

While the Wilsons' lawyers are reviewing the decision, they anticipate filing an appeal. Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW"), one of the Wilsons' lawyers, said today, "While we are obviously very disappointed by today’s decision, we have always expected that this case would ultimately be decided by a higher court." Sloan continued, "We disagree with the court's holding and intend to pursue this case vigorously to protect all Americans from vindictive government officials who abuse their power for their own political ends."

Labels: Plamegate

Bush admits administration leaked agent name - Politics - MSNBC.com

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday acknowledged publicly for the first time that someone in his administration likely leaked the name of a CIA operative, although he also said he hopes the controversy over his decision to spare prison for a former White House aide has "run its course."

"And now we're going to move on," Bush said in a White House news conference.

The president had initially said he would fire anyone in his administration found to have publicly disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and a CIA operative. Ten days ago, Bush commuted the 30-month sentence given to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby by a federal judge in connection with the case.

Labels: Libby Trial, Plamegate

Another "Special Comment" edition by Keith Olbermann. Today he comments on the Libby commuted sentence and the "La Cosa Nostra" presidency (my tag).

Labels: GOP Hypocrisy, Libby Trial, Olbermann, Plamegate

While discussing the Libby commuted sentence, Chris Matthews on Hardball proclaimed, "I'm just trying to find consistency here from Kate O'Beirne." Matthews is sometimes obnoxious himself, but I've been waiting for somebody to tell her that for years.

So when prosecutors are putting away Dems, they are doing their job. When they go after Republicans, they are partisan or political. This whole GOP reaction to everything about this case is the ultimate example of how hypocritical the GOP is.

Below, Keith Olbermann & David Shuster debunk the right-wing spin surrounding the Libby sentence, especially the "no underlying crime" claim.

Labels: Cheney, Comment, GOP Hypocrisy, Hillary, Libby Trial, Plamegate

Well nothing should surprise us anymore. One of the first to applaud this decision was potential GOP presidential candidate, Fred Thompson who was among those who voted to impeach President Clinton over "obstruction of justice" charges. Above is Keith Olbermann talking to former AG and author of Conservatives Without Conscience, John Dean. Below Keith talks with former Ambassador and author of The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir, Joe Wilson.

Labels: GOP Hypocrisy, Investigations, Libby Trial, Plamegate

Valerie Plame discusses her suit against the CIA and her new book, "Fair Game."

Labels: Civil Rights, Intelligence, Libby Trial, Plamegate

Plame: I felt like I had been hit in the gut - Politics - MSNBC.com

WASHINGTON - Valerie Plame, the CIA operative at the heart of a political scandal, told Congress Friday that senior officials at the White House and State Department "carelessly and recklessly" blew her cover to discredit her diplomat-husband.

Plame, whose 2003 outing triggered a federal investigation, said she always knew her identity could be discovered by foreign governments.

"It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover," she told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"If our government cannot even protect my identity, future foreign agents who might consider working with the Central Intelligence Agency and providing needed intelligence would think twice," Plame said in response to a question.

When asked how the release of her identity affected her, Plame said, "I felt like I had been hit in the gut."

The hearing was the first time Plame has publicly answered questions about the case, which led to the recent perjury and obstruction of justice conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Her appearance was a moment of gripping political theater as Democrats questioned whether the Bush administration mishandled classified information by leaking her identity to reporters. No one has been charged with leaking her identity.

"It's not our job to determine criminal culpability, but it is out job to determine what went wrong and insist on accountability," Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said at the outset of the hearing.

Labels: Plamegate

Plame to testify before House committee - Politics - MSNBC.com

WASHINGTON - Former CIA officer Valerie Plame, who was exposed after her husband, former diplomat Joe Wilson, criticized President Bush's prewar intelligence, will testify next week before a House committee probing how the White House dealt with her identity.

But it is unclear whether Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who was invited by Chairman Henry Waxman to appear before his committee, will accept the invitation.

Randall Samborn, a spokesman for Fitzgerald, told NBC, "We received the letter today and are reviewing it but decline any further comment before responding to Chairman Waxman directly."

Labels: Plamegate

Cheney under political cloud after Libby trial - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House offered support on Wednesday for Vice President Dick Cheney, a powerful proponent of the Iraq war, after the conviction of his top aide dealt a fresh blow to Cheney's political reputation and raised new questions about his influence.

The trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby showed Cheney, often portrayed by critics as the shadowy Darth Vader behind the war in Iraq, was deeply involved in an effort to discredit a critic of the administration's prewar intelligence.

Labels: Cheney, Libby Trial, Plamegate

Jury convicts Libby on four charges - Politics - MSNBC.com

Cheney’s ex-aide faces jail time in CIA leak case; sentencing set for June WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that reached into the highest levels of the Bush administration.

Libby is the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s. The case brought new attention to the Bush administration's much-criticized handling of weapons of mass destruction intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Labels: Libby Trial, Plamegate