"Nothing suggests that Rove used Plame's name or knew she was a covert op"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

In a brief conversation with Rove, Cooper asked what to make of the flap over Wilson's criticisms. NEWSWEEK obtained a copy of the e-mail that Cooper sent his bureau chief after speaking to Rove. (The e-mail was authenticated by a source intimately familiar with Time's editorial handling of the Wilson story, but who has asked not to be identified because of the magazine's corporate decision not to disclose its contents.) Cooper wrote that Rove offered him a "big warning" not to "get too far out on Wilson." Rove told Cooper that Wilson's trip had not been authorized by "DCIA"—CIA Director George Tenet—or Vice President Dick Cheney. Rather, "it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip." Wilson's wife is Plame, then an undercover agent working as an analyst in the CIA's Directorate of Operations counterproliferation division. (Cooper later included the essence of what Rove told him in an online story.) The e-mail characterizing the conversation continues: "not only the genesis of the trip is flawed an suspect but so is the report. he implied strongly there's still plenty to implicate iraqi interest in acquiring uranium fro Niger... "

Nothing in the Cooper e-mail suggests that Rove used Plame's name or knew she was a covert operative. Nonetheless, it is significant that Rove was speaking to Cooper before Novak's column appeared; in other words, before Plame's identity had been published. Fitzgerald has been looking for evidence that Rove spoke to other reporters as well. "Karl Rove has shared with Fitzgerald all the information he has about any potentially relevant contacts he has had with any reporters, including Matt Cooper," Luskin told NEWSWEEK.

A source close to Rove, who declined to be identified because he did not wish to run afoul of the prosecutor or government investigators, added that there was "absolutely no inconsistency" between Cooper's e-mail and what Rove has testified to during his three grand-jury appearances in the case. "A fair reading of the e-mail makes clear that the information conveyed was not part of an organized effort to disclose Plame's identity, but was an effort to discourage Time from publishing things that turned out to be false," the source said, referring to claims in circulation at the time that Cheney and high-level CIA officials arranged for Wilson's trip to Africa.

Fitzgerald is known as a tenacious, thorough prosecutor. He refused to comment, and it is not clear whether he is pursuing evidence that will result in indictments, or just tying up loose ends in a messy case. But the Cooper e-mail offers one new clue to the mystery of what Fitzgerald is probing—and provides a glimpse of what was unfolding at the highest levels as the administration defended a part of its case for going to war in Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8525978/site/newsweek/page/2/

[bluestateguy]

1. Let the legal hairsplitting begin...

Just remember that we were promised in the 2000 campaign that this kind of stuff would all be put to a stop in the morally perfect Bush Administration.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. I get concerned when people react with "Rove is going DOWN"...

There is NOTHING...nothing, nothing, nothing, NOTHING...in that Newsweek article that even BEGINS to suggest that "Rove is going DOWN."

People see Karl Rove's name in a headline and they start banging the drum.

The Newsweek article is NOT "explosive," despite David Corn's enthusiasm.

[formernaderite]

19. Agreed...

so far I'm not willing to get excited. It's all too good to be true, and while I might actually pee in my pants if he does get indicted...I'm to much of a realist to believe it.

[writes2000]

2. Rove Is Spewing Bullcrap!

So they are trying to suggest that Rove knew that Plame worked at the CIA, he knew that she was capable of making important assignments and he knew that she worked on WMD issues but he did not know that she was an operative?

C'mon! Rove, Cheney and the rest of that sick bunch do their homework. They wanted to take Wilson down. They fully researched him. And it sure as hell looks like the CIA themselves coughed up alot of info.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. They are saying:

"Rove didn't call Valerie Plame "Valerie Plame," he called her "Wilson's wife," and there's no EVIDENCE that his INTENT was to "out" her, so maybe this will tie up the loose ends of a messy case."

NO frog march.

If there's anything "explosive" in this article, I sure as hell missed it.

There's no evidence of PROOF. Rove can deny, deny, deny, and until PROOF is produced, nothing's going to happen. As far as the "perjury" rap is concerned, I'm sure Luskin is working on a way out of that one as we speak.

[writes2000]

5. Explosive? No. But There's Alot of Smoke Here

1) Look at how Cooper seems desperate to keep Rove's identity secret in those original emails. If Rove wasn't sharing anything inappropriate then why didn't Rove want to be identified?

2) Rove and the White House claimed that he had nothing to do with outing Plame. Clearly, that was a lie.

And I'm sure the investigators want to know what I want to know. Who gave Rove this classified info in the first place?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

7. It's "connect-the-dots" stuff.

There's a LOT of content coming out. And I'm not an attorney, but the whole "probable cause" scenario is there.

So on your first item...If Rove wasn't sharing anything inappropriate then why didn't Rove want to be identified?...maybe because being identified would lead to the situation we're in right now. I don't know.

On your second item...Rove and the White House claimed that he had nothing to do with outing Plame. Clearly, that was a lie...The dots STILL have to be connected.

On your third item...Who gave Rove this classified info in the first place?...well, a lot of people think that it was Dick Cheney. Pigs will fly when a smoking gun is produced to prove THAT one.

Don't get me wrong...I think that Rove is the lowest form of human excrement. I'm just not seeing a "frog march" on the horizon after reading that Newsweek article. The dots are still dots.

[writes2000]

12. I Disagree on The Second Item

There have been several quotes made by the White House spokesperson and by Rove himself claiming that he had nothing to do with outing Plame. He claimed that he didn't know who she was. He also claimed that he did not speak to reporters on the matter. I think the emails prove that those were lies. He DID know who she was. He DID speak to reporters about it. Now the question is did he know what he was doing when he did it. But there have certainly been evasions of the truth and outright falsehoods spoken by the Bush camp about this.

One more thing. Did Rove admit to these conversations when he testified earlier this year? If he didn't, it is no wonder that Fitz is going after him so hard. If Rove didn't admit to the conversations with Cooper upfront, it makes him look guilty as hell.

[DemsUnited]

16. How did Rove testify in the Grand Jury, that is critical.

Scotty and Rove's bald-faced lies to the public are sleazy, but not illegal. Illegal is if Rove lied when he testified (three times) under oath to the Grand Jury.

Bottom line is we don't know what he said under oath. But I really, really hope we find out soon!

[aquart]

9. And there's a common sense question, too.

If Rove knew "Wilson's wife" was in an intelligence position of any kind, should he not, as a responsible member of this administration, have checked to make CERTAIN that mentioning her was not going to endanger national security or any of our "assets"?

Is there NO obligation to respect and protect our national security by such simple precautions? These ARE the people who ignored explicit warnings about Osama bin Ladin. These ARE the people who lied to us about Saddam's weapons AND intentions. They have been careless with American lives and American security. Is this simply another episode of that treasonous carelessness?

[writes2000]

13. Yep, completely agree. At BEST, it's Treasonous Carelessness

Most likely, it's far more sinster and corrupt than that.

Good to see you. :)

[aquart]

15. You, too!

[Azathoth]

6. It doesn't matter; the damage has been done

Rove is the leaker and the public knows it now; they don't care about legal hair-splitting. If we're lucky and Fitzgerald is able to secure an indictment (for either leaking Plame's name OR perjury), then Rove's career in this administration is over.

Dubya's credibility (what little if any he has left) is also badly damaged, since he promised the public that whoever leaked Plame's name to the press would be punished, and now he has no choice but to make a fool of himself and back away from that promise.

[BCBud]

8. Is this even close to the truth?

Rove told Cooper that Wilson's trip had not been authorized by "DCIA"—CIA Director George Tenet—or Vice President Dick Cheney. Rather, "it was, KR said, wilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on wmd issues who authorized the trip."

[shraby]

10. I believe Wilson said that

the V.P. requested someone be sent to look into the Niger thing so the CIA found him because he had been there a few years ago I believe as ambassador.

[LunaC]

11. Rove lied to Cooper re: authorization for Wilson's trip

Published on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 by the lndependent/UK

"Joseph Wilson, a former US ambassador, said he was asked by the CIA to go to Niger and investigate the claim in a request from the Vice-President's office."

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Cheney_under_pressure_071603.htm


Rove knew Plame had nothing to do with Wilson's trip and there was no reason to be discussing her for any reason. In his attempt to discredit Wilson's assertions against the Admin, Rove tried to paint Plame and Wilson as unsanctioned "rogues" . Yet he revealed that "Wilson's wife" worked at the CIA on wmd issues. He knew who really authorized the trip and he had to have known Plame's position with the Agency to "sell" her involvement to Cooper with plausability.

[Disturbed]

14. We don't know what...

Fitzgerald knows. We must wait a few weeks. No point in jumping to conclusions but I guess it's fun to speculate.

[Kagemusha]

17. The law is about disclosing identity, not the name per se

SSN number would do too. (Real one not fake)

But anyway, if Rove didn't even know Plame's name but just knew "Joe Wilson's wife" was CIA and on the wmd beat, and it never occured to him she was undercover and it never occured to him to check, and he just callously ignored the consequences to suppress the media with allegations of nepotism and abuse of government resources by a CIA... employee, well then he is just the scum of the earth...

Now if this isn't enough to frog march HIM, by itself, it does make him a key material witness who stands to be grilled very hard about how he found out about Plame. Some are already suggesting Judith Miller is how he knew about that angle.

The part about Plame covering wmd issues is the key part in terms of hunting where the leak came from, which is, after all, the purpose of this investigation. Not to get Rove (per se).

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

18. He's just going to deny it all

He "didn't use the name" and "didn't know the woman whose name he didn;t use was CIA."

The word "knowingly" is also being tossed around too much. It's becoming Rove's "I DID NOT have sex with that woman" defense (sorry, Big Dog, but you know where I'm coming from with that)...

:patriot:

And yeah, the purpose of this investigation is to discover the source of the leak, not "get" Rove, but it's like a long drive down a country road the day after a skunk got run over. The skunk may be gone but the stench lingers. "IF" Rove did it...BIG "IF"...he's going to put on the blinders and lie, deny, lie, deny...OR give up someone higher in the organization like Cheney, which I see as wishful tinfoil hat thinking.