Our Gal Val, Back In The News

Valerie Plame is back in the news and drawing a downbeat Fact Check from Glenn Kessler of the WaPo.

Old times! In fact, I feel like a recovering alcoholic holding a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. But let me see if I can stop at two:

First, as CIA Acting General Counsel John Rizzo eventually claimed in his 2014 book, and as Bob Woodward, Andrea Mitchell and Dana Priest had reported years earlier, Plame's "outing" was just not that big a deal in terms of national security or personal danger. A Rizzo excerpt:

Secondly, what drove this investigation? Why did Special Counsel Fitzgerald look so hard at the White House yet ignore the obvious, easily detected, unconfessed leaking from Armitage (and probably Powell, and others) from State?

I say it was a mini-Deep State Coup. Democrats allied with moderate Republicans such as Comey in a DoJ revolt intended to pare back or eliminate Dick Cheney. Fitzgerald's team took it in when Richard Armitage of State admitted he leaked to Novak. It took the sleuths at the AP to obtain Armitage's appointment calendar for June 2003 and see a meeting with Woodward. Pretty heavy investigative work!

As a recap, Cheney's man at Doj, John Yoo, left the Office of Legal Counsel in June 2003 and was replaced by Jack Goldsmith. Goldsmith withdrew the OLC opinion backing enhanced interrogation and put the warrantless surveillance program under a microscope. By December the DoJ was in something like a revolt over Cheny's handling of that, which culminated in the famous Comey/Ashcroft/Card hospital room showdown in March 2004.

And during all this, the DoJ decides (Oct 2003) to take the Plame referral seriously and actually investigate the leak Rizzo laughed off. By December, Comey was appointing Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel. The target was Cheney, not Bush, not Rove and most assuredly not "the truth" about who leaked what.

BONUS (But I can quit anytime): Why did Armitage leak at all? Surely it wasn't to punish Wilson? No, it wasn't, and stop calling me Shirley. In the summer of 2003 a dispute raged about who had said what and when about Saddam's WMDs and nuclear aspirations. The gist of the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate had been made public. The CIA (with other intel groups) came down on the side of "Definitely maybe" as to whether Iraq was a nuclear threat. The State Department's INR had dissented, but that was lost in a footnote. Prophets without honor!

So when the dispute raged in June 2003 Armitage discussed with his old pals Novak and Woodward that tidbit about the CIA research effort - the CIA had cobbled together a trip to Niger that was never to going to be conclusive, sent off some retired ambassador (sponsored by his wife!) and come back with an inconclusive report. Did Armitage describe the CIA effort with the phrase "clown show"? We can only hope. But the mention of the wife's role was not meant as punishment; it was meant as a punchline.

Comments

[Jim Eagle]

In other news, A Scottish Court has ruled against the proroguing of Parliament, and the government will go to the Supreme Court of the UK for an appeal.

So the Scots, are the 9th Circuit of the UK.

[henry]

Do they wear plaid robes? or just issue plaid decisions?

[henry]

also, 2 more of this post by TM.

[Narciso79]

Because Valerie got on armitages nerves steoping all over his inr, the fellow who wrote the memo rahr had been the deputt chief in niger three years before, so he had his auspicions.

[henry]

new followed by new

[Narciso79]

Should have wrapped it in haggis,

[Narciso79]

Stepped, deputy, suspicions, so inatead of sending someone to really investigate they sent joe wilson good friend of the alamoudis.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

OK, I'm on strike until one of these threads is The Chosen One, h/t Donald J Trump.

[Jim Eagle]

Why are we reliving this?

We are giving more legitimacy to Plame than she deserves. Groundhog day is February 2nd.

[Another Bob]

“Why are we reliving this?”

Opportunity to use her to illustrate how republican administrations will unfairly and dangerously screw with innocent public servants who cross them, in preparation for Spygate indictments?

With a side of pumping Plame’s victim status for votes.

[Jim Eagle]

AB,

On this particular day, we should be reliving the decisions or non-decisions by a more senior Democrat: Jamie Gorelick.

[Dave (in MA)]

Is this the old, old, new thread?

[KevlarKid]

Scots and their spotty dick. Plame too.

[JimNorCal]

All the old comments are jettisoned when TM updates a post?
Yike.

Off topic: Dems question if the Bill of Rights deserves preservation.

"Vote accordingly."
https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2019/09/11/clyburn-im-not-sure-wed-hold-bill-rights-debate-today/