Can someone explain the CIA(?) scandal to me?

[Loyal]

I have been hearing about this CIA scandal but I didn't see it on yahoo news. That's where I usually go to check for news. Can someone paste some links in here because I've seen other threads, and I'm really confused about what's going on with the scandal. I don't even know what it is. Thanks. :)

[sandnsea]

1. A little bit

Ambassador Wilson, wife Plame. Bob Novak speaks to somebody at the White House about Ambassador Wilson and the Niger uranium story. Wilson's wife's is connected, indicating she was the CIA operative who had connections to Niger allowing Wilson to be called to go. The CIA asks Novak not to print her name, he does anyway. So somebody in the White House knowingly leaked the name of a CIA foreign operative, ending her career and whatever work she had in progress, and possibly endangering the lives of people connected to her.

I don't have any links and am too lazy to go get them. If you put wilson plame novak in google, I bet you come up with a hoard of stories.

[Booberdawg]

2. From LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=136409

[mhr]

3. Here You Go

Hi All,

Some may remember the 16 word controversy that occurred this summer when the White House was forced to admit it lied about Iraqi uranium in Bush's state of the union address.

This disclosure was forced when Ambassador Joseph Wilson exposed the White House claim publicly in a NY Times article where he recounted his fact finding mission to Niger at the request of the Vice President's office.

What did not receive much attention at the time was the later disclosure by columnist Robert Novak that Wilson's wife was a covert CIA agent. Presumably this was done as retaliation toward Wilson and to send a message to others, don't tread on the White House.

The problem, though, is that outing a CIA covert agent is a FELONY and the source for Novak's disclosure has been traced back to the White House, specifically, one Karl Rove.

On Friday, the CIA formally asked the Justice Department to investigate the disclosure. If pursued this could lead to felony charges landing on the White House doorstep.

Time will tell, but this could truly become Bush's "nigergate."

There are too many stories to copy here but the links below provide all that is needed to follow the story so far.

Enjoy
------
Leak of CIA Name Being Investigated
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11208-2003Sep27.html

CIA seeks probe of White House
http://www.msnbc.com/news/937524.asp

The Wilson War Continues
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,490646,00.html

C.I.A. Seeks Inquiry Into Naming of an Operative
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/national/28WILS.html?ex=1065326400&en=9c82e52f10cc2ed2&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

A Vengeful White House?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/27/eveningnews/main575449.shtml

Talking Points Memo
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
(Joshua Marshall has some good thoughts and further comments on the
situation. He also has a good interview with Ambassador Wilson as well.)

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Will Novak take a hit for Rove?

Is it possible that Novak will plead Mea Culpa in order to take the heat off Rove?

[RainDog]

11. since someone within the administration has admitted

that others did this action, I don't see why Novak, or the six other reporters which someone in the white house approached to leak this classified information, should be called to reveal their sources.

I think Novak has seriously discredited himself by his action, however. He's trying to claim the warning wasn't "strong enough" not to out a CIA agent involved in intel in the sensitive areas of Africa and the middle east???

He has more common sense than that. He was simply willing to be the conduit for a white house smear, while at least five other reporters were not.

[TexasEditor]

4. Here's another link...

Scroll down to "CIA wants White House investigation."

http://www.dailykos.com/index.html

[TreasonousBastard]

5. I think the real story is...

the rats are deserting the sinking ship and everyone is covering their asses.

Watch the dynamics between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the White House. A shitstorm may be brewing.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I like your picture.

:)

[RC]

8. The picture may be good

But not in a sig line. The graphic is too big and gets old real fast. Can you imagine what DU would be like if too many posters used big graphics in their sig line? Lots of scrolling past useless repetitive bandwidth and discouragingly slow loading for dial-up. Please don't encourage them.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Are you a moderator?

Just wondering.

(I still like the piccie. :) )

[RainDog]

10. Dangerous White House Plame Game

a brief history, with links.

Ambassador Wilson was asked by someone under Cheney to find out if the "purchased yellow cake uranium" claim that Bush wanted to put in his state of the union address was true.

Wilson went to Niger and looked at the financial records for yellow cake purchases and other factors and determined that Saddam had not purchased yellow cake uranium from Niger. (the Niger uranium is controlled by a consortium of western countries, led by France, and the International Atomic Energy people keep track of what's going on as well...they also determined the claim was not true.)

Nevertheless, Bush included this claim in his speech to convince Americans that Saddam was a imminent threat to American's safety. This was a lie.

Wilson wrote an editorial in the New York Times which revealed that he had given this information to persons under Cheney's command, and therefore Bush et all should have known this issue was not one which they could use to justify an invasion of Iraq, and to do so was to lie to the American people.

After some media coverage of this issue, Novak, in his column for the Chicago Sun, wrote that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, got Wilson the job of finding info on Niger, and that she was, in fact, a CIA operative. Novak claimed this came from two White House Officials..which means it came from high up in the Bush administration. The White House, in other words, was trying to smear Wilson's credibility by insinuating that his wife got him the job, therefore his info was unreliable...uh, okay.

David Corn wrote about Novak's article in The Nation and noted that Novak was protected even though he may have outed a CIA agent because he's a journalist and did not display a pattern of willfully outing agents.

However, the persons in the White House who ratted out Plame WERE guilty of high crimes, and a violation of the Identities Protection Act, which was passed back when Frank Church, a democrat, was initially charged with outing an agent. Bush I himself claimed this was false, but the Republicans jumped all over this issue when Church and others were investigating the illegal and unconstitutional activities of the Reagan Administration and their use of the CIA during Iran/Contra and other nasty pieces of work.

This was picked up by Time and Newsday. Bloggers were all over it. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called it a "cancer in the White House."

Wilson has been interviewed in various media about the issue. He frames it as an attempt to put fear into anyone else who would try to tell the truth when the Bushies want to hide their illegal actions, and therefore a dangerous precedent.

This pretty much brings us up to this weekend when, on Friday, CNBC revealed the CIA thinks their was illegal action. Now Ashcroft has to decide if outing a CIA agent is worse than Tommy Chong selling a bong. If he decides this is so, the FBI will investigate.

I strongly suggest you follow the links and read Josh Marshall's talkingpointsmemo for what's going on now, and for an EXCELLENT (and long) interview with Wilson on these issues.

here are links-



Novak's article

http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak14.html

David Corn's article

http://thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=823

More Nation, later on this topic

http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=888

Cancer on the White House

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/134261_ambassed.html

info/opinion via blogs

http://markarkleiman.blogspot.com/2003_08_01_markarkleiman_archive.html#106187733028759156

another blog
http://www.johnmccrory.com/wrote.asp?this=55

[SaintLouisBlues]

13. Nicely done

And if I may add, the story today is on the front page of the Washington Post, and Condi was asked about it on Meet The Press this
morning.

It has hit the lamestream media, and we have to turn up the outrage level to keep it there and to keep the Bushistas from weaseling out of this one.

[elfin]

12. Amb Wilson will be on CSpan tomorrow AM

Then it should become clear - and SHOULD gather steam, until Ashcroft shuts it down - probably quietly late some Friday.