9/29 Sorry kids! Better luck next time! In Novak's own words,
'Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this. In July I
was interviewing a senior administration official on Ambassador
Wilson's report when he told me the trip was inspired by his wife, a
CIA employee working on weapons of mass destruction. Another senior
official told me the same thing. As a professional journalist with 46
years experience in Washington I do not reveal confidential sources.
When I called the CIA in July to confirm Mrs. Wilson's involvement in
the mission for her husband -- he is a former Clinton administration
official -- they asked me not to use her name, but never indicated it
would endanger her or anybody else. According to a confidential source
at the CIA, Mrs. Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert
operator, and not in charge of undercover operatives'
\_ Sounds like a leak to me. Reread the second sentence over again.
Just because Novak called the official doesn't mean that he didn't
have a responsibility to keep her identity secret from the press.
Plus, there are those six other reporters that were contacted
by the White House....
\_ Reread the last sentence you twink.
\_ I agree: Novak is telling it like it happened, and it still
sounds bad. There were no calls to Novak according to him,
but two senior Bush officials did reveal her identity. The
CIA told Novak not to use Wilson's wife's name. Novak found
out -- possibly only recently -- that the wife was an analyst
and not undercover.
The effect is still to intimidate, the law still broken
by the two senior administration officials, and someone may
end up going to jail.
\_ If she wasn't a covert operative then no law was broken and
there's no intimidation.
\_ sure, and analysts are desk workers who are never ever
in danger from foreign governments.
\_ As the other person pointed out, Novak was told that revealing
her name would cause problems. The real blame lies with the
leakers, who according to a second SAO leak to WaPo, did this
purely to indimidate. They broke federal law and anyone who
knows about it and doesn't come forward is also guilty according
to US Code (misprision of felony) --aaron
\_ Let me quote DailyKOS: (--aaron)
A couple of things:
This changes nothing re: the law -- two senior administration
officials still revealed the identity of an undercover CIA officer.
Also, if Novak is correct, then what about the other reporters
contacted with the information? Novak has had a rocky
relationship with this administration, but at the end of the
day, he would rather have a Republican in the White House than a
Democrat. He _is_ a partisan, and his statement (which remember,
doesn't exculpate the administration from wrongdoing) is simply
the first salvo of the administration's counterattack.
\_ Now you're mix n matching to suit your agenda. She worked for
\_ Sounds like a leak to me. Reread the first sentence over again.
the CIA pushing paper, not as a field agent. One is a felony,
the other is nothing.
\_ BTW, I hope none of the impressionable young motd readers
out there actually believe this "analyst" spin. Novak
himself was even backpedaling on that when Ensor stated
that his sources say she was undercover. Wilson also stated
the same thing on NPR.
\_ The reply to you above said it all. Your response are very
revealing. Let me guess, you were one of the many who
screamed about every Arkansas Project invention from
Troopergate (found to be fabricated with bribes from
Scaife) and Travelgate (found to be cooked up by RNC) |
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