NYT: Bush Ordered Declassification, (senior administration) Official Says

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush Ordered Declassification, Official Says
By DAVID E. SANGER and DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: April 10, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration had exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

But the official said that Mr. Bush did not designate Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., or anyone else, to release the information to reporters.

The statement by the official came after the White House had declined to confirm, for three days, Mr. Libby's grand jury testimony that he had been told by Mr. Cheney that Mr. Bush had authorized the disclosure. The official declined to be named, because of an administration policy of not commenting on issues now in court. The disclosure appeared intended to bolster the White House argument that Mr. Bush was acting well within his legal authority when he ordered that key conclusions of the classified National Intelligence Estimate, which was completed in the fall of 2002, should be revealed to make clear that intelligence agencies believed Mr. Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa.

Moreover, the disclosure seemed intended to suggest that Mr. Bush may have played only a peripheral role in the release of the classified material and was uninformed about the specifics — like the effort to dispatch Mr. Libby to discuss the estimate with reporters....

***

The explanation offered Sunday left open several questions, including when Mr. Bush acted and whether he did so on the advice or at the request of Mr. Cheney. Still unclear is the nature of the communication between Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. Also unknown is whether Mr. Bush fully realized what information Mr. Cheney planned to disclose through Mr. Libby or was aware of the precise use that Mr. Cheney intended to make of the material....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/washington/10leak.html?hp&ex=1144641600&en=9590b772b9193881&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Then he should have said so in the first place

and saved us all the time and trouble of an investigation, not to mention all the perjury and obstruction of justice charges people are going to go to jail for because Bush is a wimp who can't tell the truth.

[Tempest]

3. They're clearly trying to cover their asses

I want to see proof Bush declassified the documents before they were leaked.

[Up2Late]

44. This is mis-direction, they are changing the subject again away...

...from Who reveled the CIA Agents identity. More below.

[rodeodance]

5. I think I just heard on CNN Specter saying Bush should explain to the pub

lic what happened. Or maybe it was just a reporter saying this.

[DoYouEverWonder]

30. Spector should go shove it

because he has no real intentions of doing anything that will hurt BushCo. He's all talk and no action.

[luckyleftyme2]

2. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

what difference does it make ? if you open up a can of beans for political gain,they're your beans!!!
do you want your kids life in the hands of a leader that proved he can't be honorable?

[Gman]

4. More prisoners' dilema panicing

They're not hanging together which only means they will soon hang separately.

[WhiteTara]

6. Here's Raw Story's take

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bush_Administration_admits_authorizing_Libby_Iraq_0409.html
snip
But the official said that Bush did not designate Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., or anyone else, to release the information to reporters.

The statement by the official came after the White House had declined to confirm, for three days, Libby's grand jury testimony that he had been told by Cheney that Bush had authorized the disclosure.

The official declined to be named, because of an administration policy of not commenting on issues now in court. The disclosure appears designed to bolster the White House argument that Bush was acting well within his legal authority when he ordered that key conclusions of the classified National Intelligence Estimate, which was completed in the fall of 2002, should be revealed to make clear that intelligence agencies believed Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa.

[understandinglife]

7. NYT: Bush Ordered Declassification, Official Says

Bush Ordered Declassification, Official Says

By DAVID E. SANGER and DAVID JOHNSTON

WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration had exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

But the official said that Mr. Bush did not designate Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., or anyone else, to release the information to reporters.

The statement by the official came after the White House had declined to confirm, for three days, Mr. Libby's grand jury testimony that he had been told by Mr. Cheney that Mr. Bush had authorized the disclosure. The official declined to be named, because of an administration policy of not commenting on issues now in court. Confirmation that Mr. Bush ordered the declassification was published late Saturday by The Associated Press, which quoted "an attorney knowledgeable about the case." Once it appeared, the administration official was willing to confirm its details.

The official responded briefly via e-mail on Sunday to questions from The New York Times.

<clip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/washington/10leak.html?ei=5094&en=e60611a61a87f7b7&hp=&ex=1144728000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

George W. Bush willfully violated National Security to cover-up his willful launch of a war of aggression and illegal occupation of Iraq.

'nuff said. No spin will make those criminal acts disappear.

[rodeodance]

8. It may not have been illegal, but sure was for his political gain!

....The official responded briefly via e-mail on Sunday to questions from The New York Times.

Before the invasion of Iraq, the information from an October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate was used by both Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney to bolster their argument that Mr. Hussein posed a threat, and was trying to reconstitute a nuclear program that was dismantled after the 1991 Gulf War.

The disclosure on Sunday appeared intended to bolster the White House argument that Mr. Bush was acting well within his legal authority when he ordered that key conclusions of the classified intelligence estimate should be revealed to make clear that intelligence agencies believed Mr. Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa.

Moreover, the disclosure seemed intended to suggest that Mr. Bush might have played only a peripheral role in the release of the classified material and was uninformed about the specifics — like the effort to dispatch Mr. Libby to discuss the estimate with reporters.

[OKthatsIT]

9. why would anyone believe its legitimate evidence

[jamesinca]

11. What I have, read it was not .

They wanted the Niger phonies released and everything else that was debunked released, not the parts of the NIE that refuted their claims. They cherry picked the NIE for release.

[LynnTheDem]

10. Declassified sensitive intell for PERSONAL REVENGE on a man who told

the TRUTH.

Sick.

[rodeodance]

33. for political gain.

[LynnTheDem]

36. 2400 Americans DEAD; 15,000 torn apart. For bush's political gain.

‘If I have a chance to invade….if I had that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.'

-george w bush, 1991

[monarch]

12. Isn't it interesting that,

although they are still claiming that what Bush did was legal, the information for this article was "leaked" ie it came from a SAO rathe than being from a named official. What does that tell you?

[rodeodance]

14. how many WH officials are there that would know this?

But the official said that Mr. Bush did not designate Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., or anyone else, to release the information to reporters.

The statement by the official came after the White House had declined to confirm, for three days, Mr. Libby's grand jury testimony that he had been told by Mr. Cheney that Mr. Bush had authorized the disclosure. The official declined to be named, because of an administration policy of not commenting on issues now in court. Confirmation that Mr. Bush ordered the declassification was published late Saturday by The Associated Press, which quoted "an attorney knowledgeable about the case." Once it appeared, the administration official was willing to confirm its details.

[lyonn]

20. So tell me again Mr. president why you declassified

Parts of the NIE? I thought it was to clarify bad press on your really good intel (nukes). Now someone is saying that bush didn't want the press to know. Is bush & Co. still digging that hole deeper? Tell enough lies and you will get caught.

[Kagemusha]

17. Tells me they just threw Cheney under the bus.

And made sure no individual could be blamed for the throwing.

[rodeodance]

35. Do you think Cheney would allow this? I don't.

[monarch]

46. Rodeodance- Are we the only ones checking back

to see if anyone responded to one of our brilliant posts. I've been posting like crazy and I never get a reply. I'm starting to worry about my capacity for paranoia.

[Danieljay]

13. Careful people....perhaps someone is getting "Dan Rather'd" here...n/t

[RoyGBiv]

15. I agree with the "careful" ...

Something is being set up.

I can't construct all the links in my head yet, but somehow, some way, this seems like it is being put together to make everything that happened seem perfectly legal.

[jaysunb]

23. careful consideration is certainly called for, but....

this can't be spun or made ok in the public eye. The die has been cast. One does not recover from the place Bushco finds themselves.
It's all over but the shouting......

Iraq= Vietnam
Plame=Watergate....coverup conspiracy etc.

[RoyGBiv]

24. Not sure if they care ...

Part of what troubles me with this is I'm not sure if they really care what the public thinks. They've put things in motion that can't easily be stopped, not even if the entire government changes hands this Fall.

The cabal has spent the past 5 years setting everything in order so that being removed from Executive power, in the various ways open to them, will be very difficult. The military has been purged at its highest levels of recalcitrant generals, the people in top positions in the most important agencies are a part of them, Congress has essentially been neutralized, and "the people" are neutered of any real ability to serve as the extraordinary fourth check. The only real fly in the ointment is Fitzgerald, an outlier, a variable that can't be controlled through normal means, and this has frustrated them.

But what happens if his entire investigation -- the real purpose of it anyway -- is rendered moot by what essentially amounts to a legal maneuver? It's a lot of bad PR, yeah, but they're still there, holding the reins of power.

I dunno. I'm just theorizing aloud as to the possibile motives. I simply find it curious that Scooter was apparently seen at the WH just days before this most recent revelation and that top WH officials are now confirming stories, albeit anonymously, that seem so damning. The "top officials" Shrub has now aren't exactly a diverse lot as far as ideology is concerned. Perhaps there is a John Dean among them, but I'm not betting on it, and with this bunch, I'm always trying to see what's behind the curtain rather than what they're showing me on the screen.

[Kagemusha]

16. The parts Libby leaked to Judy are still classified though...

I heard that from the blogs today.

So what gives here? I mean, obviously it's someone trying to say that Bush ordered declassification, but making it sound like it's the stuff Hadley was pursuing, and specifically denying that Cheney OR Libby had any authorization from Bush himself to leak to reporters in the meantime (and as I said, the part that was leaked is STILL classified).

[Marie26]

38. Did Bush ever declassify Plame's identity specifically?

I've seen nothing to indicate that. So how does this prove Bush's involvement in the Libby/Cheney/Judith Miller leak case?

[MGKrebs]

42. No. I believe this just goes to show that there was

a specific and coordinated effort to "rebut" (read 'discredit') Joe Wilson.

I'm pretty certain this is an intentional leak by the White House as an attempt to muddy the waters. It makes it seem as if Bush's declassification was worthwhile in order to correct erroneous press reports. But, what he declassified had already been debunked.

I'm not sure if he has the actual authority to declassify this information or not, but they must be pretty confident that he does!

Recap:
- Libby testifies that Cheney said that Bush said it was OK to reveal this info.
- Fitz posts references to this testimony on his website.
- White House goes into full scramble to legitimize the alleged actions.

[rodeodance]

18. since this official sent an email, the NYTimes knows his/her name.

The statement by the official came after the White House had declined to confirm, for three days, Mr. Libby's grand jury testimony that he had been told by Mr. Cheney that Mr. Bush had authorized the disclosure. The official declined to be named, because of an administration policy of not commenting on issues now in court. Confirmation that Mr. Bush ordered the declassification was published late Saturday by The Associated Press, which quoted "an attorney knowledgeable about the case." Once it appeared, the administration official was willing to confirm its details.

The official responded briefly via e-mail on Sunday to questions from The New York Times. ..........

[lyonn]

19. Questions:

WHEN did bush declassify?

Secrets are being e-mailed to the NY Times?

Didn't bush & co. exagerated nuke threat?

They had been told not to use the yellow cake story and that the tubes were for missles. Bush had apologized for using the yellow cake story therefore admitting it was not credible. His sources for most of the scare tactics in his SOTU speech was from one unreliable source, Curve Ball, well, add Chalibi.

[951-Riverside]

21. Bush is a mole

He doesnt or ever did act in best interests of this country.

[caledesi]

22. Isn't is ironic that when all these thugs are at hearings or the

thug-in-chief is giving a press conference, and each is asked a pointed question that they don't want to answer, they constantly invoke the "I can't comment on that issue because of security.

But, when they want info out there, * just declassifies it!

Hypocrites!

[Kablooie]

25. So, Bush LEAKS the info that he DIDN'T LEAK the info! GREAT!

Of course he couldn't come out and say that himself. He had to use an anonymous white house official to leak the news to the press.

A Leaker in Chief to the CORE!

[Up2Late]

26. HELLO!!!!! IS THIS THING ON!!!! FOLKS! THIS IS ANOTHER MISDIRECTION!

The WH Spin Magicians are Changing the issue again with this MIS-Direction! This is NOT, and NEVER was the CRIME!
The CRIME was WHO LEAKED The CIA Agents NAME to the Press!

This "* Declassified the NIE..."is just another Red Herring!!! They are playing 3 card Monte with this issue, what is being reported here was never the crime, this is a distraction from the actual crime of reveling the identity of the CIA agent! Remember? :mad:

[Marie26]

39. Thank you!! nt

[Javaman]

40. The key word is "parts" as in only the parts that make him look good.

scumbag*

[killbotfactory]

27. Yeah, yeah, yeah... The poor stupid president doesn't know shit

We heard it all before with Reagan.

[truthisfreedom]

28. this is a bushfart.

a bush leak, as it were. *wafts madly*

[GeorgeGist]

29. Not to be facile...

but it is still true that there is no honor among thieves. Don't let the smoke obscure the buck that stops at George. It's high-time he learns that lesson.

[rodeodance]

34. for Bush tthe buck stops at those few bad apples.

[bklyncowgirl]

31. Sounds to me like Official #2 (aka Rove) may see this as his & Shrubs out

Let's see, Bush authorized Cheney to declassify information in the NIE in order to get the full picture about the intelligence on WMD before the public (Sunday's talking point du jour) but he NEVER IMAGINED:

1. that Cheney would actually take that to mean that he could blow the cover of a CIA agent who happened to be married to the former ambassador who happened to be giving them agita.

2. That Cheney would chose to declassify this by having his boy Scooter whisper it to Judith Miller who was told to say he was a "former Hill staffer".

If you believe this I've got a bridge in my hometown I'd like to sell you but it may work--after all the media and enough of the public bought the idea that we would be greeted as liberators--why not this.

Finally, Are Rove and Bush about to feed Dick Cheney to the sharks?

[rodeodance]

32. k and n.

[Marie26]

37. Dumb question

Does this mean that Bush also declassified Plame's identity or not? Was her name included in the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate? It seems unlikely that they'd include her name as well; and Fitz's report said that the Bush Admin. got her name from a later, 2003 report on Wilson's visit to Niger. So, how does this leak prove that Bush released Plame's name & how does this tie him into the leaks by Libby? I have this sneaking suspicion that this is just a distraction by Cheney.

[superconnected]

41. Mean while Bush was doing press confs saying the leaker

is a criminal and should be dealt with as such.


Monday :: July 11, 2005
President Bush Called Leak 'A Criminal Action'
President Bush gave a press conference on October 6, 2003. In it he was asked about the Valerie Plame leak. He called it a "criminal action." Here were his comments (from CNN, available on Lexis.com.)

QUESTION: Mr. President, on another issue, the CIA Leakgate, what is your confidence level in the results of the DOJ investigation about any of your staffers not being found guilty or being found guilty? And what do you say to critics of the administration who say that this administration retaliates against naysayers?

BUSH: Now, well, first of all, I'm glad you brought that question up. This is a very serious matter. And our administration takes it seriously. As members of the press corps here know, I have, at times, complained about leaks of security information, whether the leaks be in the legislative branch or in the executive branch, and I take those leaks very seriously. And therefore, we will cooperate fully with the Justice Department.

I've got all the confidence in the world the Justice Department will be do a good, thorough job. And that's exactly what I want them to do is a good, thorough job. I'd like to know who leaked. And if anybody's got any information inside our government or outside our government who leaked, you ought to take it to the Justice Department, so we can find out the leaker.

I have told my staff, I want full cooperation with the Justice Department. And when they ask for information, we expect the information to be delivered on a timely basis. I expect it to be delivered on a timely basis. I want there to be full participation, because I am most interested in finding out the truth.

And, you know, there's a lot of leaking in Washington, D.C. It's a town famous for it.

BUSH: And if this helps stop leaks, this investigation in finding the truth, it'll not only hold someone to account who should not have leaked -- and this is a serious charge, by the way. We're talking about a criminal action. But also hopefully we'll help send a clear signal we expect other leaks to stop as well. (my emphasis)

And so I look forward to finding the truth.
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/011437.html

[KansDem]

43. Still doesn't answer "why?"

...in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration had exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

Those critics were correct: Saddam did not have WMDs. So this whole sleazy deal was about character assassination to cover up incompetence at best, or to shut down an investigation that would reveal BushCo was attempting to smuggle WMDs in Iraq to be "discovered" at worst.

Even the most die-hard freeper Bush supporter should see this by now.

Also unknown is whether Mr. Bush fully realized what information Mr. Cheney planned to disclose through Mr. Libby...

This statement alone is startling: Bush doesn't "fully realize" whats going on when he selectively declassifies intelligence?

How is Bush "protecting Americans" by revealing covert American intelligence operations to the terrorists? That should be the question the Corporate Media should be asking.

[Supersedeas]

45. hiding behind unnamed officials again???

[monarch]

47. This is just further proof that the media is corrupt and not

stupid although they don't seem to mind that they LOOK STUPID. Everyone who posts on this board knew months, nay years ago, what happened and the NY Times is trying to look like this is news to them. Oh, please.