WP picks up the story: "Bush Aide Learned Early of Leaks Probe"

[Pirate Smile]

Bush Aide Learned Early of Leaks Probe

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 25, 2005; Page A02

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday that he spoke with White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. immediately after learning that the Justice Department had launched a criminal investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. But Gonzales, who was White House counsel at the time, waited 12 hours before officially notifying the rest of the staff of the inquiry.

-snip-
Gonzales said yesterday on "Fox News Sunday" that he is among the group of top current and former Bush administration officials who have testified to the grand jury about the unmasking of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative. Gonzales, who has recused himself from the case, would not discuss details of his testimony but said he learned about Plame's work from newspaper accounts.

In the New York Times yesterday, columnist Frank Rich reported that when Gonzales was notified about the investigation on the evening of Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, he waited 12 hours before telling the White House staff about the inquiry. Official notification to staff is meant to quickly alert anyone who may have pertinent records to make sure they are preserved and safeguarded.

Asked on CBS's "Face the Nation" about the report, Gonzales said the Justice Department had informed his office around 8 p.m. and that White House lawyers said he could wait until the next morning before notifying the staff. He did not say why he called Card.

more at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/24/AR2005072401058.html

[annerevere]

1. Thanks for the post! nt

[Bumblebee]

2. Hope they move it to Page One.

[bleever]

3. "White House lawyers said he could wait until the next morning

before notifying the staff."

Well, wasn't that generous of their own lawyers?

[Pirate Smile]

4. The big question - when did Rove find out?

From Think Progress:

So the one person who knew that an investigation was underway was Chief of Staff Andrew Card, who also happened to be aboard Air Force One in July 2003 with Ari Fleischer, Colin Powell, and the top secret State Department document that contained the identity of Valerie Wilson. So, did Card tell Rove or Libby or anyone for that matter the night before Alberto Gonzales sent out the email to staff that they would soon be asked to preserve all documents?

On a separate note, Gonzales did an admirable thing on Fox News Sunday this morning. When asked whether he was involved in the leak, Gonzales did not duck the issue nor did he hide behind “an ongoing investigation.” He answered the question directly and has cleared his name for now. He also admitted that he has testified before the grand jury:

HUME: You were in the White House as counsel at the time that investigation was initiated. Have you been asked to testify in this case?

GONZALES: I was asked to testify. This was over a year ago. I did testify before the grand jury, yes.

HUME: And, can you tell us if you at any time were aware of Valerie Plame, either by name or by identification with Joseph Wilson? Were you aware that she was in the CIA? And did you have — and if you were — did you have any idea what kind of work she was doing?

GONZALES: … I had no information regarding Ms. Plame and her role at the CIA.

If the Attorney General of the United States can answer questions on the ongoing investigation, why can’t the White House?

UPDATE: The AP is reporting:

The White House did not immediately respond to questions Sunday about whether Card passed that information to top Bush aide Karl Rove or anyone else, giving them advance notice to prepare for the investigation.

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/24/gonzales-raises-questions-for-andy-card-to-answer/

[fooj]

5. He was the WH Lawyer!

Isn't that a hoot?

Peace.

[Patsy Stone]

6. Why wake people up?

You know, it could probably wait. :hi:

[Pirate Smile]

7. I'm sure Andy woke them up so why would Gonzales worry about it.

[kentuck]

8. DoJ lawyers?

that work for the justice dept? Not WH lawyers? Right?

[Pirate Smile]

9. There is a lot of confusion on this point. Is it WH lawyers or DOJ lawyers

Do you think the WH will clear this up? :eyes:

Here's hoping they get pounded over the head with this bit of confusion until they start talking.

I just watched the clip from Face the Nation but now I can't remember exactly which one he said on the show. I'm going to go check it out again.

edit to add - I just watched it again and he says he had the WH attorneys (working under him, I'm sure) contact the Justice Department and ask them if they needed to notify people immediately or if it could wait until early the next morning. The Justice Dept. told the WH attorneys that they could wait until the next morning.

[Zen Democrat]

10. It's White House lawyers. Here's why it's confusing ....

Gonzalez said he asked White House lawyers if this could be delayed til morning. The "White House lawyers" called the "Department of Justice lawyers", asked them about this, and the Dept. of Justice lawyers said it would be okay to wait until morning.

However, I'm sure the Justice Dept. did not tell the WH lawyers that it would be okay to alert the Chief of Staff 12 hours in advance of implementing the order.

I think Gonzalez is hanging out all over on this. Telling Card was a no--no. Now the question becomes, "Who did Card tell?"

Ultimately the question, the big question, is "What did the president know, and when did he know it?" Bush was on Air Force One when Powell had the memo. Maybe the only person Powell told about the memo was none other than George W. Bush. Maybe Powell has testified to that. Ari Fleischer wouldn't have contacted Rove and Libby from Air Force One to disclose the memo's contents unless he was told to do so. Who would have told Ari to do that? I can think of only one person who would have done that -- yep, Dipshit himself.