Pretty good summary (and apology) Regarding Rove Plame Affair

[RobertSeattle]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/07/13/second_thoughts_on_leak_case/

Second thoughts on leak case
By Robert Kuttner | July 13, 2005

LAST WEEK in this space, I implied that the special counsel in the Valerie Plame leak case, Patrick Fitzgerald, might be protecting the Bush administration. It made no sense, I argued, that New York Times reporter Judith Miller was going to jail for protecting a source, while columnist Robert Novak, who first published the leak, either had revealed his source to Fitzgerald and thus solved the case or should be under similar threats but wasn't. Ergo: Fitzgerald was going after the press rather than the White House.

(More at url)

[MajorFlaw]

1. . . .

So Rove is playing word games. What he said was literally true -- but a lie, since a reporter given this tip could easily identify Wilson's wife. Whether or not he used her name, Rove was deliberately outing Plame. If he played the same word games before the grand jury, he's in trouble.

The White House spinners also contend that Plame was not really a clandestine and protected CIA agent because she worked at CIA headquarters. This is also nonsense. Plame, a specialist on weapons of mass destruction, was under cover when she undertook sensitive missions. She was not identified as CIA. Blowing her cover harmed her career and put her at risk.

This all recalls two other famous cases where an administration fell afoul of a special prosecutor. Bill Clinton tried to persuade a grand jury and public opinion that oral sex wasn't sex. He nearly lost the presidency, not for his dumb affair with an intern but for lying. Richard Nixon was disgraced, not for the original Watergate break-in but for the coverup. George Bush, who doesn't know much about history, should take notice.

[grannylib]

2. hey, good read, thanks for the link.

[aquart]

3. I like a meaty apology.

[emulatorloo]

4. The orig column was bizarre - I am glad he revisited it and apologized

This one is a pretty clean and clear summary -- Thanks for posting.

[Talismom]

5. Very well said! Thanks for the link! n/t