[« Today's Quotables:] [Those Summer Blockbusters Movies... »]
07/03/2005: Rove's Fiery Plame Out...
“…. Now that Time Inc. has turned over documents to federal court, presumably revealing who its reporter, Matt Cooper, identified as his source in the Valerie Plame/CIA case, speculation runs rampant on the name of that source, and what might happen to him or her. Friday night, on the syndicated McLaughlin Group political talk show, Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst, claimed to know that name--and it is, according to him, top White House mastermind Karl Rove.
Today, O'Donnell went further, writing a brief entry at the Huffington Post blog:
"I revealed in yesterday's taping of the McLaughlin Group that Time magazine's e-mails will reveal that Karl Rove was Matt Cooper's source. I have known this for months but didn't want to say it at a time that would risk me getting dragged into the grand jury.
….
Other panelists then joined in discussing whether, if true, this would suggest a perjury rap for Rove, if he told the grand jury he did not leak to Cooper….”
MSNBC Analyst Says Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove as Source in Plame Case by Greg Mitchell.
And make no mistake, this is NOT about protecting anonymous sources who act as “Whistleblowers” to expose harms and protect the public. It is the opposite side of that very issue – the two sided coin – of punishing (and properly so) people who leak federally protected secret/confidential/classified information for the purpose of perpetrating harm on the nation and that person (as was done in this instance).
So many commentators are purposely conflating these two issues, and blithely waving this issue around as “the ability of the press to continue collecting and reporting information” and look at who “abused their power” and what this “abuse of power” really involved in this particular situation
It is because a Federal crime was involved and runs up to the highest offices in our government. This investigation into this leak has been going on for nearly over two years. President Bush promised an investigation, yet I’m expected to believe that G.W. (who presumably talks with Karl Rove quite frequently) never was told “Gee, you’re looking to who passed on info about Ms. Plame, it was Me.”
It’s taken a full investigation, a Federal U.S. District Judge, contempt of court citations and all for a question the President and his V.P. could have answered all during this time? All the way up the Supreme Court for this information to be revealed that leads right back to Karl Rove?
It was George Bush Sr. who once stated that there was no excuse for anyone to ever reveal publicly the names of undercover CIA agents, and that people who did so were “traitors to their country.”
Ambassador Wilson was critical of the misinformation Bush touted on WMD’s in the speech for going to war in Iraq, and coincidentally, Karl Rove just happens to reveal Wilson’s wife as a covert CIA agent.
That woman’s life is in jeopardy, and not from some imaginary source, but from her own government and the very highest offices in government. That’s reason enough to demand accountability and responsibility for the people involved in this heinous crime.
All the way up to and including G.W. and His Administration. And how about those Traitors who cover up and lie for these Traitors to our Country? Time to demand and expect some accountability from this President and All His Men.
Karen on 07.03.05 @ 10:10 AM CST
