Names + Pictures -21 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak

[Guest guest]

r

Sat, 13 Aug 2005 13:55:51 -0400

Names + Pictures -21 Administration Officials Involved In

Plame Leak

 

 

 

Names + Pictures -21 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak

 

Address:http://www.thinkprogress.org/leak-scandal

 

 

Saturday, August 13, 2005

 

 

 

 

21 Administration Officials Involved In Plame Leak

 

The cast of administration characters with known connections to the

outing of an undercover CIA agent:

 

 

Karl Rove

I. Lewis " Scooter " Libby

Condoleezza Rice

Stephen Hadley

Andrew Card

Alberto Gonzales

Mary Matalin

Ari Fleischer

Susan Ralston

Israel Hernandez

John Hannah

Scott McClellan

Dan Bartlett

Claire Buchan

Catherine Martin

Colin Powell

Karen Hughes

Adam Levine

Bob Joseph

Vice President Dick Cheney

President George W. Bush

 

 

Karl Rove

Senior Advisor to President Bush (2001-2005); Deputy White House Chief

of Staff (2005-Present)

 

ADMINISTRATION, ROVE ORIGINALLY DENIED ANY INVOLVMENT IN THE LEAK:

Asked on 9/29/03 whether he had " any knowledge " of the leak or whether

he leaked the name of the CIA agent, Rove answered " no. " That same

day, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, after having " spoken

to Karl, " asserted that " it is a ridiculous suggestion " to say Rove

was involved in the leak. In August 2004, Rove maintained, " I didn't

know her name and didn't leak her name. " [ABC News, 9/29/03; White

House Press Briefing, 9/29/03; RawStory; Newsweek, 7/11/05]

 

ROVE SPOKE WITH TIME REPORTER MATT COOPER: In a conversation with Time

reporter Matt Cooper — a conversation that Rove insisted be kept on

" deep background " — Rove instructed Cooper, " Don't get too far out on

Wilson. " Rove then identified Valerie Plame as " Wilson's wife " who

" works at the agency on wmd [weapons of mass destruction]. " According

to Cooper, his conversation with Karl Rove was the first time he had

heard anything about Wilson's wife. Additionally, Rove told Cooper

that further information discrediting Wilson and his findings would

soon be declassified and ended the phone conversation by saying " I've

already said too much. " [Time, 7/25/05]

 

ROVE SPOKE WITH COLUMNIST ROBERT NOVAK: A week prior to publishing his

column which outed undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, Robert Novak

spoke with Karl Rove. In the 7/8/03 conversation with Rove, Novak

brought up Plame's role at the CIA, and Rove confirmed for the

reporter that Plame worked at the CIA: " I heard that too, " said Rove.

[NYT, 7/15/05]

 

ROVE TESTIFIED " TWO TO THREE TIMES " BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: In his

testimony to the grand jury, Karl Rove reportedly admitted " that he

circulated and discussed damaging information regarding [Plame] with

others in the White House, outside political consultants, and

journalists " and " is said to have named at least six other

administration officials " who were involved. From Rove's description

of the administration's efforts, sources characterized the actions as

" an aggressive campaign to discredit Wilson through the leaking and

disseminating of derogatory information regarding him and his wife to

the press, utilizing proxies such as conservative interest groups and

the Republican National Committee to achieve those ends, and

distributing talking points to allies of the administration on Capitol

Hill and elsewhere. " [American Prospect, 3/8/04; Newsweek, 7/11/05]

 

MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Rove was a regular participant

in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the other

individual who has been confirmed as a leaker, Lewis Libby.

[Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

I. Lewis " Scooter " Libby

Chief of Staff to Vice President Cheney (2001-Present)

 

CHENEY AND LIBBY PRESSURED CIA ON URANIUM: Cheney and Libby visited

the CIA headquarters to engage the CIA analysts directly on this issue

of uranium acquisition in Africa, " creating an environment in which

some analysts felt they were being pressured to make their assessments

fit with the Bush administration's policy objectives. " [Washington

Post, 6/5/03]

 

LIBBY, WITH ROVE AND HADLEY, PREPARED TENET'S RESPONSE TO NIGER

CRITICISMS: Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby Jr., were helping to prepare

what became the administration's primary response to criticism that a

flawed phrase about the nuclear materials in Africa had been included

in Mr. Bush's State of the Union address six months earlier. They had

exchanged e-mail correspondence and drafts of a proposed statement by

George Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, to explain

how the disputed wording had gotten into the address. Mr. Rove, the

president's political strategist, and Mr. Libby, the chief of staff

for Vice President Dick Cheney, coordinated their efforts with Stephen

Hadley, then the deputy national security adviser, who was in turn

consulting with Mr. Tenet. [New York Times, 7/22/05]

 

LIBBY SPOKE TO JUDITH MILLER: " Two sources say Miller spoke with

Libby, during the key period in July 2003 that is the focus of

Fitzgerald's investigation. The two sources, one who is familiar with

Libby's version of events and the other with Miller's, said the

previously undisclosed conversation occurred a few days before Plame's

name appeared in Robert D. Novak's syndicated column on July 14,

2003. " " According to the appellate court's opinion, Fitzgerald knows

the identity of the person with whom Miller spoke and wants to

question her about her contact with that 'specified government

official' on or about July 6, 2003. Miller never wrote a story on the

subject. " [Washington Post, 7/15/05 | Washington Post, 2/15/05]

 

LIBBY SPOKE TO WALTER PINCUS: " Pincus answered questions about Libby

as well. Both he and Cooper said they did so with Libby's approval,

and both said that their conversations with Libby did not touch on the

identity of Wilson's wife. " [Washington Post, 9/15/04]

 

LIBBY SPOKE TO GLEN KESSLER: " Fitzgerald took a tape-recorded

deposition that will be played to the grand jury from Washington Post

reporter Glenn Kessler. Kessler said he agreed to be interviewed, at

the urging of I. Lewis " Scooter " Libby, chief of staff to Cheney,

about two telephone conversations he had with Libby. Kessler said he

told the prosecutors that in conversations last July 12 and July 18,

Libby did not mention Plame or Wilson. " [Washington Post, 6/24/04]

 

LIBBY SPOKE TO MATTHEW COOPER: Libby tells Time magazine reporter

Matthew Cooper that Dick Cheney had not been responsible for Wilson's

mission. Speaking on the record, Libby denies that Cheney knew about

or played any role in the Wilson trip to Niger. Speaking on

background, Cooper asks Libby if he had heard anything about Wilson's

wife sending her husband to Niger. Libby replies, " Yeah, I've heard

that too. " [Time, 7/25/05]

 

WHITE HOUSE DENIES LIBBY INVOLVEMENT: During press briefing, Scott

McClellan says of Libby and others that " they assured me that they

were not involved " in " leaking classified information. " [White House,

10/10/03]

 

CHENEY ASKED ABOUT LIBBY BY PROSECUTORS: " Vice President Dick Cheney

was recently interviewed by federal prosecutors who asked whether he

knew of anyone at the White House who had improperly disclosed the

identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer. Mr. Cheney was also asked

about conversations with senior aides, including his chief of staff,

I. Lewis Libby . It was not clear how Mr. Cheney responded to the

prosecutors' questions. " [New York Times, 6/5/04]

 

LIBBY NOTES FREQUENTLY REFERRED TO BY PROSECUTORS: " One set of

documents that prosecutors repeatedly referred to in their meetings

with White House aides are extensive notes compiled by I. Lewis Libby,

Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff and national security

adviser. Prosecutors have described the notes as `copious.' " [New York

Times, 2/10/04]

 

LIBBY TESTIFIED BEFORE GRAND JURY, MAY HAVE MISLED: Libby told special

prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that he first learned Plame's identity

from Tim Russert. Russert said in a statement last year that he told

the prosecutor that " he did not know Ms. Plame's name or that she was

a CIA operative " and that he did not provide such information to Libby

in July 2003. [bloomberg, 7/22/05]

 

MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Libby was a regular participant

in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the other

individual who has been confirmed as a leaker, Karl Rove. [Washington

Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Condoleezza Rice

National Security Advisor (2001-2005); Secretary of State (2005-Present)

 

RICE WAS ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: Rice was one of several senior

administration officials on a July 2003 flight to Africa, during which

it was decided that she would appear on the Sunday shows to " protect

Cheney by explaining that he had had nothing to do with sending Wilson

to Niger, and dismiss the yellowcake issue. " [Newsweek, 7/17/05]

 

RICE RECEIVED TOP SECRET BRIEFING BOOK ON AFRICA TRIP: " To allow her

to prepare on the long flight home to D.C., White House officials

assembled a briefing book, which they faxed to the Bush entourage in

Africa. The book was primarily prepared by her National Security

Council staff. It contained classified information — perhaps including

all or part of the memo from State. The entire binder was labeled TOP

SECRET. " [Newsweek, 7/17/05]

 

RICE SAID SHE LEARNED OF WILSON'S TRIP FROM ABC NEWS APPEARANCE: "

[O]n Ambassador Wilson's going out to Niger, I learned of that when I

was sitting on whatever TV show it was, because that mission was not

known to anybody in the White House. " [state Department, 7/11/03]

 

RICE CLAIMED NO KNOWLEDGE OF LEAKS: " I know nothing of any such White

House effort to reveal any of this. And it certainly would not be the

way the president would expect his White House to operate. " [Fox News,

9/28/03]

 

MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Rice was a regular participant

in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the two

individual who have been confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis

Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Stephen Hadley

Deputy National Security Advisor (2001-2005); National Security

Advisor (2005-Present)

 

ROVE COMMUNICATED HIS CONVERSATION WITH COOPER TO HADLEY: After Karl

Rove spoke to Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper about Joseph Wilson

(according to Cooper, this was the first time he learned of Plame's

identity), Rove wrote Hadley an email. The July 11, 2003 email said:

" Matt Cooper called to give me a heads-up that he's got a welfare

reform story coming. When he finished his brief heads-up he

immediately launched into Niger. Isn't this damaging? Hasn't the

president been hurt? I didn't take the bait, but I said if I were him

I wouldn't get Time far out in front on this. " [Associated Press, 7/15/05]

 

HADLEY SEEN AS " EYES AND EARS " FOR CHENEY: In 1989, Hadley served as

assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under

then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. Hadley admitted Cheney was " a

factor " in his hiring as deputy national security adviser by President

Bush in 2001. The Washington Post reported that some saw Hadley as

Cheney's " eyes and ears " at the NSC. [Washington Post, 7/25/01]

 

HADLEY WAS WARNED NOT TO CITE URANIUM EVIDENCE: Hadley briefed

reporters on July 22, 2003 to explain why the bogus intelligence

should have been excluded from Bush's State of the Union. Hadley noted

his receipt of a memorandum from the CIA, dated October 6, 2002, that

explained why references to Iraq's pursuit of uranium was dropped from

Bush's October 7 speech against Iraq. According to Hadley, the memo

provided " some additional rationale for the removal of the uranium

reference. " The memo described " some weakness in the evidence, the

fact that the effort was not particularly significant to Iraq's

nuclear ambitions because the Iraqis already had a large stock of

uranium oxide in their inventory This memorandum was received by the

Situation Room here in the White House, and it was sent to both Dr.

Rice and myself. " [Hadley/Bartlett Gaggle, 7/22/03]

 

HADLEY REVIEWED POWELL'S SPEECH TO U.N. WHICH DID NOT CONTAIN URANIUM

REFERENCE: Prior to Powell's speech, Condoleeza Rice's deputy Stephen

Hadley led " the White House effort to sift through the intelligence

with the help of the CIA, " and tried " to determine what can be

released without damaging the agency's ability to gather similar

information. " The uranium reference mentioned in Bush's 2003 State of

the Union just one week prior was deleted from Powell's speech to the

U.N. because Powell said it did not stand " the test of time. "

[Washington Post, 1/30/03]

 

HADLEY COORDINATED WITH TENET ON TENET'S APOLOGY: The Washington Post

reported, " Behind the scenes, the White House responded with twin

attacks: one on Wilson and the other on the CIA, which it wanted to

take the blame for allowing the 16 words to remain in Bush's speech.

As part of this effort, then-deputy national security adviser Stephen

J. Hadley spoke with Tenet during the week about clearing up CIA

responsibility for the 16 words, even though both knew the agency did

not think Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger, according to a person

familiar with the conversation. " [Washington Post, 7/27/05]

 

MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Hadley was a regular participant

in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the two

individual who have been confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis

Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Andrew Card

White House Chief of Staff (2001-Present)

 

CARD GIVEN A TWELVE-HOUR HEAD START ON THE INVESTIGATION: On September

29, 2003, the Department of Justice informed then-White House counsel

Alberto Gonzales that it was launching a criminal investigation into

the leak of Valerie Plame's identity. Gonzales was instructed to

notify the White House staff to preserve all documents related to the

case. By his own admission, Gonzales didn't comply with the request

immediately; he went to Chief of Staff Andrew Card and told him that

the White House staff would be told to preserve all documents related

to the leak the following morning. As a result, Card had a 12-hour

window to tip off White House staff about the request — an amount of

time that " would give people time to shred documents and do any number

of things. " [CBS, 7/24/05; Democracy Now; Fox News, 12/31/03]

 

CARD WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE: Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was on

Air Force One accompanying President Bush on the July 2003 trip to

Africa. A " senior State Department official confirmed that, while on

the trip, Powell had a department intelligence report on whether Iraq

had sought uranium from Niger. " The State Department memo in question

— a " key piece of evidence in the CIA leak investigation " — stated

that " Wilson's wife had attended a meeting at the CIA where the

decision was made to send Wilson to Niger. " The memorandum " contained

information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked

`(S)' for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration

official who read it should have been aware the information was

classified… " [Newsweek, 8/9/04; Washington Post, 7/20/05, 7/20/05;

Knight Ridder, 3/5/04]

 

CARD INITIATED CONVERSATION BETWEEN TENET, BUSH ABOUT INVESTIGATION:

Two days into the Justice Department investigation, Card initiated a

conversation between President Bush and then-director of the CIA

George Tenet about the leak investigation. Though Tenet was not

planning on discussing the issue with the President at the daily

intelligence briefing, it was Card who brought up the subject. [New

York Times, 10/5/03]

 

MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Andrew Card was the founder and a

" regular participant " in the weekly meetings of the Bush

Administration's White House Iraq Group. The main purpose of the group

was the systematic coordination of the " marketing " of going to war

with Iraq as well as selling the war here at home. One clear example

of this fact is that " the escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the

pre-war stage, " including the introduction of the term `mushroom

cloud' into the debate, coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The

group included the two individual who have been confirmed as leakers,

Karl Rove and Lewis Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Alberto Gonzales

Chief White House Counsel (2001-2005); Attorney General (2005-Present)

 

GONZALES INTERVIEWED BY THE GRAND JURY: Gonzales testified in front of

the Grand Jury about the Plame leak on June 18, 2004. [Washington

Post, 6/19/04]

 

GONZALES WAITED TWELVE HOURS BEFORE INFORMING WHITE HOUSE STAFF OF

INVESTIGATION: On 9/29/03, the Department of Justice informed White

House counsel Alberto Gonzales that it was launching a criminal

investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame's identity. Gonzales was

instructed to notify the White House staff to preserve all documents

related to the case. Gonzales, however, waited 12 hours before

informing White House staff about the investigation. Instead, he told

only Chief of Staff Andrew Card about the inquiry, in effect giving

Card a 12-hour window to tip off White House staff, including Karl

Rove, about the request. [Face the Nation, 7/24/05]

 

GONZALES SERVED AS `GATEKEEPER' OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION:

After the Justice Department launched its investigation into the Plame

leak, Gonzales was the chief advisor to White House staffers on

complying with the investigation. He also acted as " gatekeeper, "

invoking " executive privilege " in order to hold back certain sensitive

White House documents from investigators. Gonzales personally spent

days screening all requested documents before handing them over to

investigators. [CBS, 10/7/03]

 

 

Mary Matalin

Senior Advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2002)

 

MATALIN WORKED CLOSELY VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: Mary Matalin was

senior advisor in Vice President Dick Cheney's office at the time of

the leak. While in the White House, she worked closely with Scooter

Libby — the Vice President's chief of staff who was one of Matt

Cooper's sources. [Washington Post, 2/3/01]

 

MATALIN INTERVIEWED BY THE GRAND JURY: Matalin testified in front of

the Grand Jury about the Plame leak on January 21, 2004. [Washington

Post, 2/10/04]

 

MEMBER OF THE WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Matlin was a regular participant

in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the two

individual who have been confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis

Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Ari Fleischer

White House Press Secretary (2001-2003)

 

IN EARLY JULY, FLEISCHER READ MEMO ABOUT PLAME ON AIR FORCE ONE: " On

the flight to Africa, Fleischer was seen perusing the State Department

memo on Wilson and his wife, according to a former administration

official who was also on the trip. " [bloomberg, 7/18/05]

 

FLEISCHER TOLD GRAND JURY HE NEVER SAW THE MEMO: " Mr. Fleischer told

the grand jury that he never saw the document, a person familiar with

the testimony said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of

the prosecutor's admonitions about not disclosing what is said to the

grand jury. " [New York Times, 7/23/05]

 

FLEISCHER AMONG FIRST GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO CRITICIZE WILSON:

Newsday reported, " In the subpoenaed July 12 [2003] transcript of a

briefing in Nigeria, then-press secretary Ari Fleischer called Wilson

a " lower-level official " and said Wilson had made flawed and

incomplete statements. " The transcript of the briefing was pulled from

the White House site but has since been restored. [Newsday, 3/6/04;

White House, 7/12/03]

 

FLEISCHER TALKED TO NOVAK ONE DAY AFTER HIS COLUMN WAS PUBLISHED:

Fleischer's " telephone log showed a call on the day after Mr. Wilson's

article appeared from Mr. Novak, the columnist who, on July 14, 2003,

was the first to report Ms. Wilson's identity. " [New York Times, 7/23/05]

 

FLEISCHER INTERVIEWED BY FBI ABOUT LEAK: [Washington Post, 2/10/04]

 

FLEISCHER A FOCUS OF FITZGERALD INVESTIGATION: " `Ari's name keeps

popping up,' said one source familiar with special prosecutor Patrick

Fitzgerald's probe. Another source close to the probe added there is

renewed interest in Fleischer, `based on Fitzgerald's questions.' "

[New York Daily News, 7/15/05]

 

 

Susan Ralston

Personal assistant to Karl Rove (2001-Present)

 

RALSTON IS ROVE'S RIGHT-HAND: ABC News reported on August 2, 2005 that

Susan Ralston, Karl Rove's long-time right-hand, testified before the

grand jury. The National Journal reported, " If Karl Rove is Bush's

main man, then it's Ralston who makes this White House go — because

she's indispensable to Rove. " According to Newsweek, Ralston was

suggested to Rove by ethically-troubled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, for

whom she previously served as a top aide. [ABC The Note, 8/2/05;

Newsweek, 4/20/05; National Journal, 6/18/05]

 

 

Israel Hernandez

Personal assistant to President Bush (2001-2005)

 

ROVE AIDE HERNANDEZ TESTIFIED: ABC News reported on August 2, 2005

that Israel Hernandez, a Rove aide in July 2003 during the leak of

Valerie Plame, testified before the grand jury. Hernandez was tapped

as assistant secretary of commerce. [ABC The Note, 8/2/05; NY Daily

News, 6/24/05]

 

John Hannah

Aide to Vice President Cheney

 

HANNAH A " MAJOR PLAYER " IN FITZGERALD PROBE: According to the UPI,

" The investigation, which is continuing, could lead to indictments, a

Justice Department official said. According to these sources, John

Hannah and Cheney's chief of staff Lewis `Scooter' Libby were the two

Cheney employees. `We believe that Hannah was the major player in

this,' one federal law enforcement officer said. Calls to the vice

president's office were not returned. Hannah and Libby did not return

calls. [uPI, 2/4/04]

 

FITZGERALD PRESSURED HANNAH TO NAME SUPERIORS: The strategy of the FBI

is to make clear to Hannah `that he faces a real possibility of doing

jail time,' as a way to pressure him to name superiors, one federal

law enforcement official said.' " [uPI, 2/4/04]

 

 

Scott McClellan

Deputy White House Press Secretary (2001-2003); White House Press

Secretary (2003-Present)

 

MCCLELLAN WAS NOT ON AFRICA TRIP: " Fleischer and Bartlett were with

Bush on a July 7-12 trip to Africa just prior to publication of

Novak's column, and McClellan, then Fleischer's deputy, was on

vacation. " [Associated Press, 2/11/04]

 

MCCLELLAN SAID THE PRESIDENT " KNOWS " KARL WASN'T INVOLVED: " Q All

right. Let me just follow up. You said this morning, `The President

knows' that Karl Rove wasn't involved. How does he know that? MR.

McCLELLAN: Well, I've made it very clear that it was a ridiculous

suggestion in the first place. I saw some comments this morning from

the person who made that suggestion, backing away from that. And I

said it is simply not true. So, I mean, it's public knowledge. I've

said that it's not true. And I have spoken with Karl Rove… " [White

House, 9/29/03]

 

MCCLELLAN SAID THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE ANYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE OR VICE

PRESIDENT'S OFFICE WAS INVOLVED: " There's been nothing, absolutely

nothing, brought to our attention to suggest any White House

involvement, and that includes the vice president's office as well. "

[White House, 9/29/03]

 

MCCLELLAN SAID IF ANYONE IN THE ADMINISTRATION WAS INVOLVED THEY'D BE

FIRED: " If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they

would no longer be in this administration. " [White House, 9/29/03]

 

MCCLELLAN SAID ROVE, LIBBY AND ABRAMS WERE NOT INVOLVED: " Q Scott,

earlier this week you told us that neither Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams

nor Lewis Libby disclosed any classified information with regard to

the leak. I wondered if you could tell us more specifically whether

any of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA?

MR. McCLELLAN: Those individuals — I talked — I spoke with those

individuals, as I pointed out, and those individuals assured me they

were not involved in this. And that's where it stands. " [White House,

10/10/03]

 

MCCLELLAN REFUSES TO COMMENT FURTHER BECAUSE " THE INVESTIGATION IS

ONGOING " : Even though he made his previous comments while the

investigation was ongoing. [White House, 7/11/05]

 

 

Dan Bartlett

White House Communications Director (2001-2005); Councelor to the

President (2005-Present)

 

BARTLETT WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE: Bartlett was one of several senior

administration officials on a July 2003 flight to Africa. During the

trip, Bartlett gave a background briefing in which he urged reporters

to look into the CIA's sole in sending Joe Wilson to Niger. The

briefing has not drawn " substantial interest " the prosecutor's office

recently. One source for a New York Times article on the subject said

Prosecutor Fitzgerald knew about the briefing but was not pursuing it.

A different source for the same article said the Mr. Bartlett did not

see the State Department memo that was otherwise witnessed on the

plane. [NYT, 7/27/05]

 

BARTLETT TESTIFIED BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: According to Anne Kornblut

of the New York Times, citing " a person who has been briefed on the

case, " Bartlett told investigators that " he did not know who Ms.

Wilson was " when her name was leaked. Bartlett's attorney has refused

to discuss the case, citing requests by the special counsel. [[NYT,

7/27/05; Washington Post, 7/21/05]

 

BARTLETT HAS LONGSTANDING TIES TO KARL ROVE: Rove and Bartlett go way

back, and the influence of the former still has a tendency to affect

the later. As Newsweek reports: " Technically, Rove was in charge of

politics, not `communications.' But, as he saw it, the two were one

and the same–and he used his heavyweight status to push the message

machine run by his Texas protege and friend, Dan Bartlett. " [Newsweek

July 25, 2005.] He has worked closely with both Bush and Rove since

1994, when he worked on Bush's first successful campaign for governor.

Before that, Bartlett was an employee of Karl Rove and associates, a

political consulting firm established by Karl Rove after the 1980

primary defeat of George HW Bush against Ronald Reagan. [Link; White

House]

 

BARTLETT OFFERED CONTRADICTORY EXPLANATIONS OF 16 WORDS: In July of

2003, Bartlett, referring the infamous " 16 words " in Bush's State of

the Union address, told reporters that " there was no debate or

questions with regard to that line when it was signed off on. " The

very same week Condoleeza Rice told reporters that there was

" discussion on that specific sentence, so that it reflected better

what the CIA thought. " [Washington Post, 7/15/03;=]

 

MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Bartlett was a regular participant

in the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the two

individual who have been confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis

Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Claire Buchan

Deputy Press Secretary (2001-2005)

 

BUCHAN ANNOUNCED THAT PRESIDENT BUSH HAD SPOKEN WITH A LAWYER

REGARDING LEAK: On Wednesday, June 2, 2004, Buchan announced that Bush

had consulted a lawyer, Jim Sharp, about the growing leak controversy.

" The president has said that everyone should cooperate in this matter

and that would include himself, " said Buchan at the time. [Associated

Press, 6/2/04]

 

BUCHAN TESTIFIED BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: Buchan testified on February

6, 2004–the same day as Adam Levine, a former press office employee,

and Scott McClellan. " I was pleased to cooperate, " said Buchan at the

time. She has declined to reveal any details of her testimony. [Fox

News, 2/11/04]

 

BUCHAN CLAIMED THAT NO WHITE HOUSE STAFF HAD BEEN ASKED TO SIGN

WAIVERS: Despite the fact that the White House is " fully cooperating, "

Buchan said that no one had been asked to sign a form waiving the

right to privacy. White House officials said that privacy waivers were

routinely sought from government employees in the course of

investigations to find the sources of sensitive or classified

information, even though the procedure was not widely known. [NYT,

1/3/04].

 

 

Catherine Martin

Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs (2001-2004)

 

MARTIN DENIED THAT CHENEY HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE OF WILSON OR HIS REPORT:

In response to claims that Joe Wilson had circulated his Niger report

prior to the State of the Union Address, Martin denied that Cheney had

any knowledge of it. " The vice president doesn't know Joe Wilson and

did not know about his trip until he read about it in the press, " said

Martin. [The New Yorker, 10/20/03]

 

MARTIN INTERVIEWED BY FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS: The FBI interviewed

Martin about the leak. It is suspected, though uncertain, that Martin

testified before the grand jury. [Newsday, 2/24/04; Washington Post,

11/26/04]

 

PROSECUTORS EXPRESS INTEREST IN CALLS MADE TO AND BY MARTIN:

Prosecutors have reportedly asked about calls made to and from

Martin's cell phone in July of 2003. [NYT, 2/10/03]

 

MARTIN CLAIMED IGNORANCE OF WHETHER OR NOT LIBBY HAD TALKED TO NOVAK:

According to a Newsweek article, Martin denied knowledge of whether or

not Scooter Libby had talked to columnist Bob Novak. " I don't know the

answer, " Martin said when asked about Scooter's possibly involvement.

Her response is considered part of a larger White House tactic to

avoid answering such questions. [Newsweek, 10/8/03]

 

 

Colin Powell

Secretary of State (2001-2005)

 

POWELL WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE: Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was

on Air Force One accompanying President Bush on the July 2003 trip to

Africa. A " senior State Department official confirmed that, while on

the trip, Powell had a department intelligence report on whether Iraq

had sought uranium from Niger. " The State Department memo in question

— a " key piece of evidence in the CIA leak investigation " — stated

that " Wilson's wife had attended a meeting at the CIA where the

decision was made to send Wilson to Niger. " The memorandum " contained

information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked

`(S)' for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration

official who read it should have been aware the information was

classified… " There are also indications that Fitzgerald subpoenaed

phone records from Air Force One — where the memo was first seen by

many administration officials — to " determine whether presidential

aides used the aircraft's phones to leak the name of a CIA employee to

reporters. " [Newsweek, 8/9/04; Washington Post, 7/20/05; Knight

Ridder, 3/5/04]

 

POWELL TESTIFIED BEFORE THE GRAND JURY: Though not a subject of the

inquiry, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before the

federal grand jury on July 16, 2004. Powell's appearance was seen " as

the latest sign the probe being conducted by prosecutor Patrick

Fitzgerald [was] highly active and broader than [had] been publicly

known. Sources close to the case say prosecutors were interested in

discussions Powell had while with President George W. Bush on a trip

to Africa in July 2003, just before Plame's identity was leaked to

columnist Robert Novak. " Sources saw the decision to question Powell

as indicative of " the thoroughness with which Fitzgerald is conducting

the probe–and that knowledge about Plame was circulated at the highest

levels of the administration. " [Newsweek, 8/9/04]

 

 

Karen Hughes

White House Aide (2001-2002); Under Secretary of State for Public

Diplomacy (2005-Present)

 

HUGHES INTERVIEWED BY SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: In the questionnaire for her

confirmation proceedings, Karen Hughes listed that she had been

interviewed by the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. [New York

Times, 7/22/05]

 

HUGHES DECRIED LEAK, DENIED ROVE'S INVOLVMENT: In her book, Ten

Minutes From Normal, Hughes discussed the leak, calling it " wrong " and

" unfair " to Bush. Hughes earlier said the leak was " disruptive to

democracy. " In her book, she said whoever conducted the leak " should

come forward and not hide behind journalistic ethics for his or her

self-protection. " She added, " The use of unnamed sources has become a

convenient way for too many political operatives to hide and avoid

accountability for their statements. " Additionally, Hughes commented

that she knew Rove wasn't involved in the leak because " Karl has said

he was not involved. " [Ten Minutes From Normal; POE News, 10/2/03]

 

HUGHES INVOLVED IN DRAFTING 2003 STATE OF THE UNION WITH FALSE URANIUM

CLAIM: In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush

declared, " The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein

recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. " It has

been reported that Karen Hughes was " involved in drafting the speech. "

She said her primary goal in the process was to answer: " Why is Saddam

Hussein's continued defiance a threat to our country and to peace in

the world? " Intelligence from the CIA and the State Department at that

time indicated Iraq was not attempting to acquire uranium from Niger.

Furthermore, the inclusion of the false statement led to apologies

from Condi Rice, Stephen Hadley, Ari Fleischer, and George Tenet.

Instead of addressing the allegations at the time they were made,

Hughes defended the false intelligence and devised a communications

strategy that questioned the motives of those who criticized the

president. [President Bush, 1/28/03; The Houston Chronicle, 1/27/03;

Baltimore Sun, 7/23/03; Washington Post, 7/20/05; MSNBC, 9/28/03;

White House Press Briefing, 7/29/03; CNN, 7/11/03; USA Today, 3/14/02]

 

HUGHES HAS PREVIOUS HISTORY OF SMEARING WHITE HOUSE CRITICS: Hughes

" was an advocate of the howitzer treatment " of the former Bush

counter-terrorism chief and White House critic Richard Clarke. In an

attempt to attack and smear the character of Richard Clarke, the White

House released numerous pieces of information that were previously

classified, including an email from Clarke to Condi Rice shortly after

9-11 and Clarke's resignation letter. The White House also revealed

Clarke to be the source of an anonymous background briefing he had

done on behalf of the president. However, the White House refused

Clarke's request to declassify his correspondence with Rice prior to

9-11 about the threats that were being ignored. Hughes admitted on

ABC's 20/20 that she was involved in these efforts against Clarke:

" I'm involved in White House discussions about those issues… I think,

from personal knowledge, that many of the things he said are not

true. " [New York Times, 3/28/04; CNN, 4/9/04; CNN, 3/4/04; ABC's

20/20, 3/29/04]

 

MEMBER OF WHITE HOUSE IRAQ GROUP: Hughes was a regular participant in

the weekly meetings of the Bush Administration's White House Iraq

Group. The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination

of the " marketing " of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the

war here at home. One clear example of this fact is that " the

escalation of nuclear rhetoric " during the pre-war stage, " including

the introduction of the term `mushroom cloud' into the debate,

coincided with the formation " of WHIG. The group included the two

individual who have been confirmed as leakers, Karl Rove and Lewis

Libby. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

 

 

Adam Levine

Communications Aide (2001-2003)

 

LEVINE WAS ONE OF FEW PRESS AIDES TO SPEAK TO REPORTERS DURING AFRICA

TRIP: " Levine was one of the few press officials at the White House to

answer reporters' calls [during the Africa trip]. " [CNN, 2/10/04]

 

LEVINE AMONG THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY BEFORE GRAND

JURY: Levine testified on February 6, 2004. " Levine's testimony was

described as `brief' and non-combative, and followed several

interviews with FBI agents. The source said there were many questions

about which reporters [Levine] and other senior officials talked to,

suggesting investigators are trying to get as much information as

possible from press officials, knowing the reporters are unlikely to

talk. " [Newsday 2/24/04; CNN, 2/10/04]

 

LEVINE SAID TO TESTIFY ABOUT `WHITE HOUSE PROCEDURES': " Dan French,

former U.S. attorney for New York's Northern District, and Don

Kinsella, the district's longtime criminal bureau chief, are

representing a former White House press aide, Adam Levine `The

President of the United States has asked his staff to cooperate, and

even though Levine's no longer on the staff he's adhering to the

President's request,' French said. `He has been called to testify

before the federal grand jury concerning his knowledge of White House

procedures, in particular phone calls with reporters. He was called to

testify and we represented him in those proceedings.' " [The Times

Union (Albany, NY) 2/12/04]

 

LEVINE LEFT ADMINISTRATION IN DECEMBER `03, BUT RELATIONSHIP

CONTINUED: New York Times: " Levine left the Bush administration in

December after working as the principal liaison between the White

House and television networks. " Later, the Washington Post describes

Levine as " a former White House aide who portrayed Russert in mock

sessions with administration officials, " referring to White House prep

for President Bush in advance of his Meet the Press appearance in

early February `04. [NYT, 2/10/04; Washington Post, 2/5/04]

 

 

Bob Joseph for Nonproliferation at National Security Council

(2001-2005); Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and

International Security Affairs (2005-Present)

 

JOSEPH SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR INCLUSION OF URANIUM CLAIM IN STATE OF

THE UNION: The New York Times reported that senior intelligence

officials said that Alan Foley, a C.I.A. expert on weapons of mass

destruction, said " he was asked by Bob Joseph, the director for

nonproliferation at the National Security Council, whether the

president's address could include a reference to Iraq's seeking

uranium from Niger. " [NYT, 7/18/03]

 

JOSEPH GUIDED WMD CASE AGAINST IRAQ: Bob Joseph, " the senior director

dealing with weapons of mass destruction, guided the process of

building the case against Iraq " from the White House. Thus, it appears

likely he would have seen the State Department memo that contained

Plame's identity. [Newsweek, 9/30/03]

 

 

Vice President Dick Cheney

 

CHENEY INTERVIEWED BY FEDERAL PROSECUTORS: " Vice President Dick Cheney

was recently interviewed by federal prosecutors who asked whether he

knew of anyone at the White House who had improperly disclosed the

identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer. Mr. Cheney was also asked

about conversations with senior aides, including his chief of staff,

I. Lewis Libby . In addition, those people said, Mr. Cheney was asked

whether he knew of any concerted effort by White House aides to name

the officer. It was not clear how Mr. Cheney responded to the

prosecutors' questions. [Cheney] was not questioned under oath and he

has not been asked to appear before the grand jury. " [NYT, 6/5/04]

 

CHENEY SEEMS TO BE THE COMMON DENOMINATOR: Four members of the Vice

President's staff — " Scooter " Libby, John Hannah, Mary Matalin, and

Catherine Martin — have either been implicated in the leak or

testified before the grand jury. In addition, Stephen Hadley worked

under Cheney at the Defense Department and is considered by some to be

his " eyes and ears " on the NSC staff. [Washington Post, 7/25/01]

 

CHENEY AND LIBBY PRESSURED CIA ON URANIUM: Cheney and Libby visited

the CIA headquarters to engage the CIA analysts directly on this issue

of uranium acquisition in Africa, " creating an environment in which

some analysts felt they were being pressured to make their assessments

fit with the Bush administration's policy objectives. " [Washington

Post, 6/5/03]

 

 

President George W. Bush

 

WAS BUSH INVOLVED IN THE LEAK? In July 2005, the New York Times raised

the possibility that Bush could be involved in the leak. " It is still

not clear what the investigation into the leak of a C.I.A. operative's

identity will mean for President Bush. So far the disclosures about

the involvement of Karl Rove, among others, have not exacted any

substantial political price from the administration. And nobody has

suggested that the investigation directly implicates the president.

Yet Mr. Bush has yet to address some uncomfortable questions that he

may not be able to evade indefinitely There is the broader issue of

whether Mr. Bush was aware of any effort by his aides to use the

C.I.A. officer's identity to undermine the standing of her husband, a

former diplomat who had publicly accused the administration of

twisting its prewar intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program. " [NYT,

7/24/05]

 

BUSH QUESTIONED BY FITZGERALD FOR OVER AN HOUR: On June 24, 2004,

special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and several of his assistants

questioned the president for about 70 minutes in the Oval Office. Bush

retained a private lawyer, Jim Sharp, for the interview. A prominent

First Amendment lawyer, Floyd Abrams, said " It's hard to believe the

special prosecutor would be burdening the president with an interview

unless they had testimony to the effect that the president had

information. " [Washington Post, 2/25/04]

 

STARR DEPUTY SAID BUSH INTERVIEW SUGGESTED HIGH-LEVEL INVOLVEMENT IN

LEAK: The New York Daily News reported, " The Bush interview `indicates

there's obviously a belief that the leak was at a high level,' said

Sol Wisenberg, a former [Ken] Starr deputy who questioned Clinton.

`The President usually doesn't meet and knock around ideas with

midlevel staffers.' " [New York Daily News, 6/25/04]

 

BUSH WAS ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT MEMO: A

classified State Department report that contained Valerie Plame's

identity was sent to Secretary of State Colin Powell and other

administration officials who were aboard Air Force One with the

president on July 7, 2003. The extent of the circulation of the memo

is not known. [Washington Post, 7/21/05]

 

BUSH CLAIMED TO WANT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LEAK: On September

29, 2003, a senior administration official told the Washington Post

that Bush said, " I want to get to the bottom of this, " during a daily

staff meeting which Karl Rove attended. [Washington Post 9/30/03]

 

BUSH TOLD TENET HE WOULD COOPERATE WITH THE INVESTIGATION: A

conversation between the president and Tenet about the investigation

did not consume, according to Andy Card, " any significant amount of

time or discussion or angst. It was basically, `We're cooperating,

you're cooperating, I'm glad to see the process is moving forward the

way it should.' " [NYT,10/4/03]

 

© 2005 American Progress Action Fund