Kerry Dumps Joe Wilson From Campaign Team

[RebelYell]

By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
July 27, 2004

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Last week, the presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) very publicly distanced itself from former National Security Advisor Samuel "Sandy" Berger after it became known that Berger was under investigation for removing highly classified documents from the National Archives. Talon News reported that Kerry's anti-terror policy was removed from the candidate's web site immediately following Berger's dismissal as a campaign advisor.

But in the last few days, another advisor has apparently been jettisoned from the Kerry campaign. All traces of former Ambassador Joe Wilson, the central figure in the controversy of faulty intelligence about Iraq and uranium has disappeared from the Kerry web site. Wilson had appeared on a web site www.restorehonesty.com where he restated his criticism of the Bush administration. The link now goes directly to the main page of www.johnkerry.com and no reference to Wilson can be found on the entire site.

Wilson was discredited by a Senate Intelligence Committee report that contradicted Wilson's public statements about how he was selected for a sensitive mission to Niger in 2002 and the results of his report about Saddam Hussein's attempt to purchase uranium in Africa. Wilson represented his investigation as proof that President Bush misled the United States in making the case for the invasion of Iraq. An investigation into British intelligence confirms that Bush's claim was "well founded."

It is likely that Kerry's handlers took advantage of the Berger affair to quietly break official contact with someone who has proved to be something of a loose cannon. The ambassador was known for his vitriolic rhetoric against members of the Bush administration, particularly political advisor Karl Rove. Last year he suggested that Rove be "frog-marched from the White House in handcuffs," over the alleged leak of his wife's identity.

The Kerry campaign did not respond to a Talon News inquiry about Wilson's departure.

http://www.talonnews.com/news/2004/july/0727_kerry_dumps_wilson.shtml

(This is a right wing news site. Restore Honesty does indeed redirect to Kerry site. No mention of Wilson on Kerry site. This appears to be a correct assumption.)

[genius]

1. Is this because Kerry is expecting Bush to be impeached over Plame

or because Kerry's principles are becoming shallow?

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. No way.

No way. If this is true, I will be very disappointed in the Kerry Campaign.

[Eloriel]

8. What, you thought they had guts or something?

Dream on.

[sangh0]

12. What, you thought Wilson was a part of the "Kerry campaign team"??

Dream on.

WIlson isn't part of the Kerry campaign team. Never has been.

[RebelYell]

22. The restore honesty site

was Joe Wilson's Kerry campaign site. I saw it with my own eyes, while reading the Plame threads here.

[sangh0]

31. So what?

If the site belongs to Wilson, then Kerry can't be blamed for what Wilson does with his website.

[RebelYell]

62. He was a campaign advisor

Obviously is no friend of either Wilson or Kerry, but shows that Wilson was involved with Kerry campaign.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040214-120835-4661r.htm

Spouse of outed CIA officer signs on with Kerry

By Joseph Curl
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Joseph C. Wilson, a former Clinton appointee whose unsubstantiated charge that senior White House officials leaked the identity of his CIA officer wife and prompted a grand jury probe, has taken a prominent role in the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry.

The career diplomat and senior director for Africa policy for the National Security Council during the Clinton administration has campaigned for the Democratic presidential front-runner in at least six states. Mr. Wilson has also been offering the Massachusetts candidate speechwriting tips.

A two-day visit to Seattle last week, just a day before the state's Democratic caucuses, illustrates the role Mr. Wilson will play as the Kerry campaign ramps up.

~~~~~~~~~

[RebelYell]

63. Dupe

[hedda_foil]

65. You're wrong, Sangaeioua

Wilson has been very much a part of the Kerry team and has been working as a surrogate speaker at Kerry fund raisers in the $25-$40,000 range.

That said, I have no idea whether the report is true or not. I've never heard of this news service.

[blm]

25. You haven't figured out that indictments are coming down

and Kerry and Wilson don't want the Bushies getting airtime complaining it's just presidential politics? Surely anyone HALFWAY aware of the situation could figure that one out without too much difficulty.

[Democat]

3. Is this is a right wing propaganda site, why post it here?

How about a Vince Foster article too? :)

[buycitgo]

10. really really hope this is wrong

I think that guy is one of the hacks that always asks very leading questions of Scotty Poopants at the WH bafflers

he, Les Kinsolving, Bill Sammon, and who else can always be relied upon to lay out the blastfax points

that said, if this is correct, what does it SAY about the dems giving in to RW propaganda?

this is horrible, if true

[RebelYell]

21. Check the links

The restore honesty site redirects to Kerry site. It was Joe Wilson's site for the Kerry campaign. Kerry's site scrubbed all mention of Joe Wilson.

[sangh0]

32. You are not telling the truth

The Kerry campaign did NOT scrub his website. Wilson was never a part of the Kerry web site.

[RebelYell]

39. Yes, I am telling the truth

The Wilson page was on the Kerry site here:

http://www.johnkerry.com/honesty

[KittyWampus]

46. Wilson Was NOT Part Of The Kerry Campaign

He. Was. Not.

[RebelYell]

66. See post #62

nt

[bossfish]

4. What is "Talon News"?

[annxburns]

5. TALON NEWS!

Jaysus people, CONSIDER THE SOURCE. This might as well come from a Bob Novak column.

Arrghhhh

[Rosco T.]

6. Prehaps the indictments are imminent and Kerry wants them to stand ..

on their own.

[umtalal]

9. Bingo. n/t

[lancdem]

17. If this is true

that's what I was thinking. If that is the case, makes great sense to me.

[sangh0]

7. It's a lie

Wilson never was a part of the Kerry campaign team, so there's no way he could've been dumped from it

[The Night Owl]

11. More unprovoked smearing of Wilson. Indictments must be coming soon!

:bounce:

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. I hope you're right!

:bounce:

[wicket]

19. God I hope you are right!

[leyton]

14. Wilson shouldn't have been involved in the first place.

His endorsement of Kerry immediately politicized the Plame scandal. Before, it was "mean nasty Republicans pick on impartial diplomats" and now it's "mean nasty Republicans pick on member of Kerry's campaign." Yes, the scandal was political before, by nature, but now Wilson's status as a public Kerry supporter throws the scandal into question.

For example, what if you found out that Monica Lewinski endorsed Republican candidates in 1998? People here at DU would immediately accuse of her of being a Republican hack who was out to get Clinton... by the same token, Wilson should not have joined our team.

[FullCountNotRecount]

15. The Truth is the truth no matter who you support for Prez

That's the way justice is supposed to be...rational and not emotional.

"Oh, you support Kerry so who cares if your wife was put in danger by her being outed as a CIA agent as well as all her contacts."

[msmcghee]

23. In politics, the truth is never the truth.

It is whatever your side can spin in your favor.

Wilson being close to Kerry gives the pukes a huge spin advantage on the whole Plame affair - and even gives them a negative spin advantage on Kerry. It's a double whammy for them.

The Kerry team is wise to establish distance. Should have done it earlier - but needed to solidly lock in the base first (that's us).

[leyton]

49. Exactly. The truth is the truth is the truth, BUT

who's to say what exactly is the truth? The better you present it, i.e., the more nonpartisan, the more objective it looks, the less it has to do with political campaigns, the better.

[spotbird]

54. Monica gave Clinton a blow-job and saved the evidence.

Valerie Plame served her country, secretly until the administration chose to reveal that fact.

The indictments, if they come, will have nothing to do with whether Wilson dates Kerry's daughter, whether Wilson lies or tells the truth, whether Wilson has a chimp voodoo doll and sticks pins in it each morning before breakfast.

The attack on Plame and Wilson's politics are unrelated, except in the minds of the Republican smear and slimers. Connecting the two is exactly what the Republicans will try desperately to do, and in all probability will succeed at doing. By all accounts this latest siming of Wilson has been hugely successful and for good reason.

[leyton]

55. It's not just the Republican smear machine.

Average voters - anyone with common sense, really - would question the validity of Wilson's claim if first he claims that the Bushies outed his wife and then becomes a public Kerry supporter. Sorry, but that's how it is. DUers do that sort of thing all the time, but of course, we question Republicans, never our own kind.

[spotbird]

56. What does Wilson's support of Kerry have to do with

the crime committed against the United States by the administration through Robert Novak?

Please, please connect the two.

[leyton]

58. Nothing, but the question shouldn't have to be raised in the first place.

I don't doubt that someone in the administration outed Plame through Novak. I'm saying the fact that Wilson accused them of it and endorsed Kerry ought to raise a question, because let's be honest, if it were the other way around, and someone accused Kerry of a crime and then endorsed Bush, DUers would be pissed.

[spotbird]

59. You've still lost me.

The simple fact that Ashcroft had to step aside says everything about the fact that there was a major legal breach. Does Ashcroft become a conspirator with Wilson for sending the case out for further investigation?

If your point is that the right will be more successful than usual in distorting the reality of the crime because of Wilson's association with Kerry, I'll agree with you. Every answer to these charges will begin with a phrase like,"Ambassador Wilson has made claims which were untrue against the president, we believe these charges against (insert name here) will be proved to be equally unreliable." Connecting unconnected events. As so many here have said before it is probable that the latest attack on Wilson was orchestrated for that very purpose.

But because Wilson rang the bell is in reality unrelated to the fact that some low-down people cared more about political points than the law.

[leyton]

69. Well, basically, that is what I was getting at.

"If your point is that the right will be more successful than usual in distorting the reality of the crime because of Wilson's association with Kerry, I'll agree with you."

That's what I'm trying to say, perhaps I didn't make my point very well.

[Jim Sagle]

57. Chickenshit bullshit.

[spotbird]

60. How is it that a person with common sense would agree

that it is permissible to commit a crime against a woman for the acts of her husband? How does common sense dictate that a major intelligence breach against the entire nation should be tolerated because one of the accusers is a partisan?

Please explain.

[kaitykaity]

16. Thanks for letting us know it's RW site.

Typical balderdash.

Just wish I'd read the disclaimer before I wasted my
time reading the rest of the post.

:shrug:

[blm]

18. This is likely because things are about to heat up in this case and

it's best if the Bushies can't claim politics or blame the Kerry campaign as a distraction from their guilt.

BTW, Rebel...You shouldn't fall for rightwing spin when you post your subject line. People might get the impression that YOUR subject line is accurate when it's merely wingnut spin.

[RebelYell]

67. Thanks for the tip

Appreciated

Some sites won't let you change the name of the article

[AngryAmish]

20. There is no way the Kerry campaign would do this

It must be a computer bug.

Listen, Joe Wislon has proven himself to show the remarkable honesty and courage that the Democratic Party is known for. Everything in recent weeks about Joe Wilson is a RW lie. It simply cannot be true.

[RebelYell]

24. One more time......

I saw the restore honesty site - it was linked in one of the Plame threads. It was Joe Wilson's Kerry campaign site. Joe Wilson was advising on foreign affairs. Wilson was also mentioned on Kerry's site. All mention of Wilson is gone.

Lots of people on the Plame threads saw the site too.

The sites speak for themselves, IMO. Joe Wilson is gone from both sites.

[sangh0]

34. A lie doesn't become truth when it's repeated

Kerry's site was not scrubbed because Wilson was ot a part of the Kerry website. The honesty web page belonged to Wilson, and Kerry isn't responsible if Wilson decided to shut it down or redirect people.

[RebelYell]

37. Please don't misunderstand

I KNOW that the article is RW BS. I'm saying that the pages are either gone or redirected, that's all. It's the conclusions of the author that are completely incorrect. Another smear job.

I apologize if I wasn't clear.

[sangh0]

41. You are very confused

If Wilson shut his site down, then how could Kerry's site continue to link to Wilson's site? You can't link to a page that's no longer there.

I repeat, Kerry changed NOTHING. It's all Wilson.

[spotbird]

61. If everything you say is true, it only says the links were removed.

Not that Wilson was fired.

You've made a major leap with very little information.

[RebelYell]

26. Whois search

shows that the RestoreHonesty.com domain is registered to:

Registrant:
John Kerry for President, Inc.
519 C St. NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: RESTOREHONESTY.COM
Created on: 22-Oct-03
Expires on: 22-Oct-04
Last Updated on: 22-Oct-03

[redqueen]

27. Gee thanks - I don't get enough right wing media in my life

:puke:

[RebelYell]

28. In addition

Kerry had Wilson's page on his site, it now redirects to Kerry's front page

http://www.johnkerry.com/honesty

[oasis]

35. Wilson exposed Cheney's lies about yellowcake uranium, he did his

job for us. The Plame issue will now bubble to the surface.

I can't wait to get rid of these pretenders in the White House. The dirty dogs and their followers can all eat shit.

[Zorra]

29. Bwaaaahaaaahaaaahaaaaa. jeffgannon.com:

http://www.jeffgannon.com./

Federal Grand Jury Could Subpoena Talon News Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A federal grand jury has subpoenaed White House records on administration contacts with more than two dozen journalists and news media outlets in a special investigation into the alleged improper leak of a covert CIA official's identity to columnist Robert Novak last July. MORE

Website seeks to silence opposing viewpoints - MINE!

The Washington Post reported that a Democrat operative has created a web log to criticize me and my reporting. Those lovers of free speech just can't stand someone who disagrees with them. More hysterical hatred from the Hard Left.:nopity:

[H2O Man]

33. Can you explain this?

In more detail? Thanks ......

[Zorra]

51. Well, it's a RW site similar to rushlimbaugh.com, and,

Joe Wilson owes Bu$h an apology?

"I'm sorry I complained that someone in the WH exposed my wife Valerie as a CIA agent. Please forgive me."

Gannon apparently didn't even think the leak should have been investigated. Not investigating the outing of a CIA agent? What reason would someone have for not wanting to see an incident of this type not be investigated?

Federal Grand Jury Could Subpoena Talon News Correspondent
By Jim Hauser
Talon News
March 9, 2004

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A federal grand jury has subpoenaed White House records on administration contacts with more than two dozen journalists and news media outlets in a special investigation into the alleged improper leak of a covert CIA official's identity to columnist Robert Novak last July.

Talon News has learned that one of the journalists being targeted is Jeff Gannon, Washington Bureau Chief and White House correspondent for Talon News.
snip-------
"I will tell you that the information did not come from inside the administration," Gannon told Talon News. "For something that is supposed to be classified, it seems that this document is easily accessible."

"I don't know why I'm on the list of journalists being called before the Grand Jury," Gannon told Talon News. "I have been an outspoken critic of the leak probe and an aggressive questioner of the motives behind it. That seems to have drawn the attention of someone with the authority to issue subpoenas."

http://www.jeffgannon.com./Making%20News/federal_grand_jury_could_subpoen.htm

Since this article was posted on March 9, 2004, if the Plame memo was as easily accessible as Gannon claims, and did not come from the WH, it should be simple for investigators to find out where the leak came from and put a wrap on this case. He states, definitively, that the leak did not come from inside the administration. Therefore, he is indicating that he has an idea of where it came from. But again, why is he complaining about a probe of the outing of a CIA agent, which is a serious crime and a matter of national security?

Gannon is a hard core right winger. First he says that he knows that the information did not come from within the administration and that a classified document is easily accessible, and in the next breath says he does not understand why he is on a list of journalists called before a grand jury. LOL. Go figure.

According to David Corn in the Nation, July 19, "NBC News reported recently that the probe had expanded to examine possible acts of perjury and lying to investigators".

[H2O Man]

30. Not true.

Simply not true.

The far-right is trying to confuse the situation. There is no problem between Kerry and Wilson

The Plame indictments need to be dealt with by Fitzgerald in a manner that is far above partisan politics.

The fact that the web-site has changed is not "proof" of a split between Kerry and Wilson. Remember that even a few days ago, the rabid republicans were saying there was a huge rift between the Kerry campaign and the Clintons.

It would be pretty hard to view the Clinton speeches as helping president bush.

Do not believe right-wing reports. The rabid republicans lack the moral capacity to tell the truth twice consecutively. The last time one of them came close to telling the truth was when Novak exposed Plame a year ago. Everything they've said since then is a lie to confuse the public and cover their tracks.

[piece sine]

36. OK..I'll bite....

then where is the Wilson website, besides linking to Kerry's? Where is it?! WHERE is it? I can't find it. Go to Kerry's site and search on Joe Wilson.. oooops...no Joe Wilson, former foreign policy advisor to Kerry. One day you're in; next day you're out. But don't pretend we're jsut stupid victims of a right-wing hoax, because two days ago the site was there and I was linking to it!

[H2O Man]

38. You say "former foreign policy advisor"

Can you support that with anything other than a right-wing article and the fact that the Kerry web site is not stagnate? Please give a credible source of your claim that Wilson is "former" .....

[dryan]

40. Did anyone check these two sites...

Ijust did and they look vastly different. Is there a reason for this? I don't believe that Joseph Wilson who is a respected diplomat would get involved in something that isn't true.

[sangh0]

42. I'll explain

Wilson shut his site down, so Kerry obviously couldn't keep linking to it, so the Kerry site changed the page that linked to Wilson's page (which is no longer there) so that it now redirects to a web page that still actually exists, instead of linking to Wilson's page which no longer exists.

[oasis]

43. Sounds logical to me. Practical too.

[H2O Man]

44. Thank you

for being a voice of reason.

[RebelYell]

68. Thank you! nt

[restorehonesty]

48. the Clinton speeches as helping president bush

I have to wonder after hearing Bill's remarks about the AWB. I thought gun control was off the table until after the election.

[H2O Man]

50. Right.

The entire world is focused on that point. For this reason, the bush campaign is likely to play both Clintons' speeches over and over.

[nose pin]

45. Here are a couple of pages

that are now missing. I included the google cache link to each.

http://www.johnkerry.com/honesty/geyer.html
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:4Vn0qV4SFhwJ:www.johnkerry.com/honesty/geyer.html+wilson+site:johnkerry.com&hl=en

http://www.johnkerry.com/honesty/la_times.html
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:_wsuE68_vWgJ:www.johnkerry.com/honesty/la_times.html+wilson+site:johnkerry.com&hl=en

If you check the related story links at the end of the cached pages, most of those also are gone.

[restorehonesty]

47. He is correct. Here are the cached link connections

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:lj7bP06hogsJ:www.johnkerry.com/honesty/nation.html+%22www.johnkerry.com/honesty%22&hl=en

It says right on it... "Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc."

For many more linksgo here...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22www.johnkerry.com%2Fhonesty%22&btnG=Google+Search

It does look like it was scrubbed.

[sandnsea]

52. Lots of stuff removed

They redid the web site and alot of stuff was removed, particularly to outside links, blogs, yahoo groups, etc. Looks to me like the campaign is working hard on controlling the message and keeping visitors within the site.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

53. Wilson wasn't "discredited" by anyone. Why keep posting this crap?

[leesa]

64. Very unfortunate that the tradition continues...the no truth zone