Rather than respond in the comments section, here’s a response to some of the commentary on the Plame affair–aimed at JohnC mostly, but to a more general audience as well:
If you read carefully what I have written you will note that much of my discussion of the law and the DoJ investigation have hardly been doctrinaire. I initially saw reports of 50 or referrals to the DoJ and took that to mean similar types of problems (and as I noted, I was unsure if that was the case, but the reportage seemed to indicate it was). When it was cleared up by WaPo this morning, I cleared it up on my blog. I really don’t think I can be accused of being dismissive of the gravity of this situation, but rather have been engaged in wondering what was really going on.
But trust me on the CIA investigation angle–if they really knew who it was, he/she would be in cuffs by now. They know that there was a leak–but they don’t know who leaked it. This is clear. And I haven’t ascribed any motives to the CIA-although I saw several TV pundits doing so this evening.
And yes, the CIA full well knows Plame’s exact status. I have only been asking on the Blog as to what that status was/is. There has been some contradictory reporting on this subject, but as things have settled out, it seems clear she was undercover. Ok, but that still doesn’t answer the question of what that means in this context–i.e., the exact amount of harm done. I am not defending the leak, nor have I done. Mostly I have asked questions. Some have been answered, others not.
To summarize some of my recent postings:
Really, I am not sure how any of this qualifies as “spin” or how it places me in the rabid right-wing blogger camp. Mostly I have reported the story as it has unfoled, analyzed the info at hand, and asked questions.
On balance I am only sure of two things:
1) This ain’t Watergate II, and it won’t bring down the Bush administration, unless there is some shocking ramification of this leak we are unaware of.
and
2) Someone did do something wrong, and should be appropriately punished.
October 1st, 2024 at 12:34 pm
To summarize JadeGold1′s hallucinations and delusions:
Bush is the Devil.
October 1st, 2024 at 8:26 pm
Not at this level of visibility they aren’t. And I can tell you the CIA, the FBI, and the WH know–without any question–who the leaker is. The question is how much DoJ is willing to carry the water for the WH.
Hmmm. Maybe JadeGold is the leaker!
October 1st, 2024 at 9:42 pm
Bryan,
It is a rather strained argument, to be sure. If the CIA, FBI and WH all knew who the leaker was, as I said before somewhere, he/she would be in cuffs at this point. It is a rather ridiculous assertion.
S
January 20th, 2024 at 3:02 am
Dreams are made to be destroyed. Nightmares are forever.
September 30th, 2024 at 9:00 pm
NOVAK-GATE V
Steven Taylor has a pretty fair wrap-up of the Novak-Plame scandal….