Plame case solved

The reason Judy Miller isn't talking, rumor is, is because it was she who found out Valerie Wilson was a "spy" and she who leaked it to Libby (not the other way around) and probably even she who cooked up the scheme to smear Wilson through his wife because his claim that the WMD charge was transparently false, made in her own newspaper, made her look really bad because her flimsy reporting was crucial to the Bushist case to go to war.

There's only one course of action for the Times, and that is to report the story fully.

Pass it on.

PS: She probably got the info from John "got milk?" Bolton, who was a source for her story on supposed Iranian bioterror being exported to Cuba and who was also one of the State Department's reps on the panel Valerie Wilson was on that sent Joe Wilson to Niger to investigate the yellowcake claim. Recall that Bolton got in trouble for the Iranian-Cuba hoax during his confirmation hearing.

She's been pushing this for a while.

I've been reading Jay Rosen mostly. Then Juan Cole and Franklin Foer in New York magazine. I was coming to this conclusion, and then I read Arianna:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/judy-miller-do-we-want-_b_4791.html

Don't know how I missed that one until now! (Vacation got in the way, I think.)

This is the latest WH defense - recycled. 'There was no crime because I didn't leak.'

John Bolton?

The Bloviating Blowhard Bully?

I am shocked, shocked,shocked I tell you.

He ought to be indicted along with Bush White House Male Prostitute and Mouthpiece Jeff Gannon.

Traitors.

It still returns to the White House.

I have a tough time buying Judy Miller found out before Dick "I live at the CIA Headquarters" Cheney, or Scooter Libby.

... after all, Valerie Plame and her CIA company were fighting the proliferation of WMDs -- including to terrorists. Bolton wanted any rationalization for war, and screw anyone who gets in his way.

I hope that it turns out that Bolton is one of the evildoers who committed treason. I'd love to see that bullying bastard get the death penalty.

They concocted the Iranian germ program in Cuba scam that Bolton's nomination got snagged on. He concocted it, actually, and she ate it up and threw it up for the Times.

the mustache for posterity. I think it would look good mounted on a trophy board or something.

when said butt is not being used by his boyfriend Bubba in the Federal Pound-Your-Ass Penitentiary.

God, I love that image...

They colluded on the bogus Iranian germs in Cuba story, and he was on the panel with Valerie Wilson that sent Joe to Niger.

the article? Call me crazy but I am still subscribing to peace patriot's theory of planting WMD's

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5049555&mesg_id=5049555

Even if this Moonbat scenario is correct, Miller still had to discover the name from someone. Ahmed Chalabi? Curveball? No matter how it's spun, it still points back to the White House snakepit.

John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton. John Bolton.

admin and then they would talk to other reporters.

Why not just goto the admin its not like he doesn't have connections with these people.

Need more proof for the Bolton theory.

They were working on a story at the same time. He knew Wilson because he was on the panel Valerie was also on that sent him to Niger.

She already knew he was.

I'm sorry this still does not hold water.

Bolton did not work at the Times. Neither did Wilson. Wilson just wrote an Op-Ed. But he'd also "leaked" to Nicholas Kristoff and Walter Pincus.

Considering his history and his seemingly legitimate qualifications to go to Niger (surely, he had connections there). He was far from an unknown in Washington at that point.

Anyway, that's what kills me about the whole story of Cheney or Libby or whomever else wondering "who's this Wilson guy?". I knew who Joe Wilson was years ago just from basic news stories.

him, least of all his involvement with the Niger documents. Her questions about him probably weren't about what neighborhood he lived in or what school he went to, but about what he knew about Nigerian yellowcake.

previously "laundered" information through Judy. She'd get a "scoop" from someone connected to the Administration, perhaps peripherally, get it confirmed by someone else in the Administration, put it in the Times and then when someone questioned the White House about a claim they were making, they'd say hey the NYT has independently confirmed it and is saying the same thing.

That way it looks like there are multiple sources for the info, including the press that is giving it credence, when in truth there is only one real source of origin: the Administration and its cronies.

That's why when Libby and Rove both claimed they heard about Plame via a reporter, intrepid little Judy came to mind to those who were familiar with her mode of operation and how the Administration relied on her to channel info out and also feed it back to them.

she would not have the clearance to know this info (and somehow I just don't think Judy and Val were pals). Someone in the admin told her, I'm pretty sure Fitzgerald is too smart to fall for that.

The evidence indicates that she is, however, an agent of influence of a foreign power, who was working as part of a coordinated WHIG and Pentagon Office of Special Plans (OSP) effort to undermine Plame and others in the CIA who weren't playing ball with the Administration on phony evidence of Iraq and Iran nukes. Please see my post immediately below.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if she turns out to be a spook of some sort.

To understand Plamegate, one has to put it in the context of the larger operation to influence the US to do the dirty work of a small Mid-East country that didn't much like neighboring unfriendly states. See, "A Clean Break", authored by Messrs Perle, Feith and Wurmser for the Likud Party in 1997. That document called for "regime change" in this order: Iraq; Syria; and then Iran. See, http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm

Then, we have to look at the source of the forged Niger yellowcake document that was cited by Bush and Powell to propel the US and its unfortunate allies to invade Iraq. The source of that document was, according to former CIA Counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro, "very close" to Michael Ladeen, AIPAC grandee at the American Enterprise Institute. http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/000901.html

Next, there is the parallel, but much less publicized, scandal involving many of these same neocon actors in a classified document swapping operation between the Pentagon Office of Special Plans (OSP) and intelligence agents working out of the the embassy of that same small Mid-East country. The trial in the Larry Franklin spy case has already started, and Franklin, the OSP Iran desk officer. has pled guilty. Other defendants, two AIPAC staffers (also Iran experts), will be tried soon.

The thing about the AIPAC-OSP spy case that has been very underreported is that Franklin was conspiring with others frpm late 2002 until his arrest vy the FBI in early 2004 to salt the Pentagon's files with documents about alledged IRAN WMDs. These documents were provided by military intelligence officers of that same small Mid-East country. In a word, that plot was Track II of the same operation that led to the planting of forged IRAQ WMD documents (the Niger yellowcake doc) in the Plame case. See, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/15/12176/9231http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/15/12176/9231

This finally brings us back to Ms. Miller, who has extensive ties with various leading figures in PNAC, AIPAC, OSP, and the intelligence service of that same small Mid-East country, which undoubtedly knew who Valerie Plame was, and her role as a CIA officer working undercover for a CIA proprietary company called Brewster Jennings Associates. Five gets you ten, that if Judy told Scooter about Plame, Judy's source was one of these same friends.

Judy is likely to maintain her cover story that she originally figured out that Plame was undercover CIA through her reporting in the same field of WMDs. She may or may not have finally told Fitzgerald that she confirmed that conclusion through her foreign intelligence sources. In March 2003, she talked to Scooter, and told Scooter and others what she knew about Plame. Scooter still committed a felony when he conveyed this information to others. It matters not at all how he learned classified information, it is illegal for him to convey it to persons without proper security clearances or with the intent to unlawfully disclose it. So, this doesn't get Libby off the hook.

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Operation Mockingbird...turned neocon faith(less)..stovepiping intel into OSP, aware of Brewster Jennings...?

of the demented folks in the WH pushing the WMD story as justification for war.

rather than the other way around.

I don't think this lets either Libby or Rove off the hook, as they passed the info along. It doesn't matter how they got, they gave it out, and that's a crime.

was published?

What can I tell you.

Powell brings State Dept memo which names Plame--note the memo says "Plame" not "Wilson". Apparently she hasn't gone by Plame for some time.

Bolton was not on that plane, was he? But he was in the State Dept at the time? If he saw the same memo he could have been the source for Miller.

If this is a fact and if Fitz knows this (can't see how he can't if it's the truth) there could be some rough times ahead for Ms. Miller.

I'm not too comfortable with this scenerio. It's too complex. My Occam's Razor alert bell is ringing. Bolton-->Miller-->Rove/Libby. It just doesn't seem plausible. How would such a deal even be set up? There's too many unknowns. Will Miller cooperate? Will NYT cooperate? Etc. I think it almost has to be:
Powell-->WHIG(on AF-1)-->Rove/Libby-->Miller.

He knew.

it to Libby and then they leak it back to the other press, why not just have Bolton go straight to Libby or someo other neocon warhawk.

She's a vindictive...reporter. It was her idea to get Wilson. She has a motive. He made her look like the sucker she is.

From 2001-2003, Judy Miller was the queen of the post-9/11 press corps. It wasn't until after the war started and no WMD showed up that she became known as Chalabi's sucker. Apparently, she truly believes she has nothing to be ashamed of in her reporting, but she's known to be aggressively territorial. I think she saw Wilson's protestations (which he launched on CNN just before the war) as a threat to her territory.

My nose says that Moustache might very well be involved, but Judy was *not* Rove/Libby source.

Her long-lost found reporters notes from that meeting likely says that Scooter and she talked about Plame and Wilson.

There was an earlier draft of the same memo circulated on AF-1 which Bolton appears to have had access to in March. We don't know yet whether Bolton gave it to Scooter before Libby talked to Miller.

Now the WH may want people to *think* Miller sourced Rove/Libby to escape accountability. But I have zero doubt that this was entirely an inside job, with the information going through the West Wing via State Dept and WHIG, not through Miller. Miller's a pawn, not a knight. IMHO.

She's probably going into seclusion until the whole thing blows up, which it will very soon.

in a similar fashion to the other NYT reporter involved, after his testimony. Whether she is forthcomong or not is another story.

Did she say? She declined to tell reporters on Wednesday if she planned to talk to the Times reporters who are working on the big piece Keller promised.

ok... let's wait and see! I hope she does.

It was her idea. She was angry and vengeful.

She is angry - goes to Bolton because their tight and says what do you know about this Wilson guy that went to Niger.

Bolton then passes Plames name and job identity

Judy then passes it on to Libby who then brings in the rest of the WHIG to leak the name to the other press - Novak

Why did she go through the neocons - why not just leak it to another reporter that could use the confidentiality clause for protection

Why would the neocons risk so much to help Judy?

Why was the additional information leaked about the whole B/J group.

Pretty elaborate plot with alot of big time players just for some pay back among writers.

Sorry I am still skeptical, I do find your line of reasoning entertaing though.

And as stated before peace patriot's WMD theory holds more water

I don't know how the subject came up, but when you're working closely with someone who has as much stake (or more) in the effect of your reporting as you do, you see each other's enemies as your own enemies. It's not hard to imagine the subject coming up between them. Remember: Bolton went to visit Miller in jail. Why would he do that if their relationship were merely professional (as opposed to comradely)?

What is peace patriot's theory, in a nutshell?

but why the neocons risk sooooo much for pay back between reporters as stated above she could have leaked the info from Bolton to another reporter that could use the "Hey I'm not revealing my source routine" this is much simpler and what would the neocons have to gain by this and remember this is before Wilson published his article so the neocons are not in pay back mode yet.

Here is the link for PP's summary

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5049555&mesg_id=5049555

Maybe because they're reptiles who had it in for Wilson too? Maybe smearing Wilson suited their purposes too?

at least. I don't know what to make of the planting WMD theory because I haven't seen any evidence suggesting it's based on reality, but it or some other scheme could also have been a further purpose. It certainly does seem odd that the WH wanted to get Wilson so badly.

imony.
She seemed please that she only had to testify about Libby and not other sources. I thought she was protecting Cheney but maybe it was Bolton?

However, Bolton visited her in jail. Didn't the Patriot Act make it likely that Miller and Bolton's jail conversation was listened to?

served as a conduit for information about the identity of Plame was to minimize the risk to the others of prosecution under the Intelligence Identitities Protection Act (IIPA).

Miller, who isn't a USG employee, can't be prosecuted under the Act. Bolton or Libby thought they could avoid prosecution if Miller was the conduit to other reporters, particularly since Miller could plausibly claim to have found out about Valerie's CIA identity through other sources. See my post above about who that source most likely was.

But, Fitzgerald is not prosecuting with the IIPA, and will instead get them for conspiracy, perjury and obstruction pursuant to prosecution of Scooter or Bolton (and whoever touched the original State Department document that discussed Plame and Wilson) for violation of the Espionage Act.

Not to Novak, in particular. Rove was clearly one of Novak's two sources.

if Miller was an internal conduit within WHIG for Plame's identity.

If Libby and the others could make a plausible claim that their source was Miller, and only Miller -- and that they didn't have access to classified documents revealing Plame's identity as an undercover CIA operative prior to her identity being revealed -- then they might not be liable to prosecution under IIPA.

This then is what the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 says:

"Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to received classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the U.S. is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent‘s intelligence relationship to the U.S. ."

To figure out the elements that must be proved, you simply break this run-on sentence into subparts in the following manner:

A defendant must:

(1) have authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent;

(2) "intentionally disclose" the information;

(3) disclose it to one not authorized to receive classified information;

(4) know the information he is disclosing identifies the covert agent (PRESUMABLY BY REFERENCE TO AN AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE, SUCH AS A CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT - IF THE SOURCE IS LESS THAN AUTHORITATIVE (PLAME) THEN THEY MIGHT GET AWAY WITH IT BY CLAIMING THEY THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A RUMOR BEING SPREAD BY A REPORTER); and

(5) know that the U.S. is taking affirmative measures to conceal the covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States.

Proof of these five elements -- and no others -- is required for a conviction under IIPA.

She had been a source of hers going back to 1991 or 1993. As soon as Joe Wilson started exposing the WMD lies Judy burned her source to Libby who then plotted with the WHIG and Rove... (we know the rest of the story)

that Plame exposed herself.

However, these Miller theories are all still new to me. I'm skeptical.

For one, a judge cleared her of contempt charges yesterday. Does that mean she is clear of any indictments? If any of these theories are true, Judy has clearly committed some criminal acts.

She can still be indicted too.

testify. It doesn't mean she won't be indicted.

In which case she won't be indicted, she'll get immunity.

I think she's been given immunity and is spilling the beans.

She cracked, testified, got caught in a lie, got presented with it, and made a deal. She wouldn't be out of jail unless she was talking, and she wouldn't have "found" additonal notes without knowing she would walk.

I think. Actually, I infer, therefore I am. --- Rene Somebody.


http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst

Cooper got his info from Rove, right?

Rove is going down. Period.

Miller can't reveal the identity of a CIA agent. She is in the media. She doesn't have access to that information. If someone told her Plame is an agent, that person will be prosecuted. Was it Libby? Was it Bolton? Was it Rove? Was it Cheney? I don't know, but that's Fitzgerald's job to figure it out. By now I would hope she's telling the truth about where she got the info or she'll be facing purgery charges on top of whatever else.

All this talk about Miller being the one to leak the information, or that she figured it out herself is hogwash. Even if she "figured it out" someone gave her the info to put 2 and 2 together. Whoever that person is, or people are, they are responsible, and they have broken the law.

There are other sources out there, as I explained above. Don't worry. It doesn't matter who originally told Miller about Plame. The others cooperated in the scheme to make her CIA identity public, and that's conspiracy -- the underlying crime being espionage - those who fibbed to the GJ (Rove and Scooter), are going to get nailed for perjury.

They're all going down, one way or another.

I bet Bolton told her. But I bet she wanted to know.

The main problem with my theory is that Bolton has not made more than one appearance before the grand jury (if any) that I know about. But he was definitely in a position to know about Valerie Plame, to give that info to Stephen Hadley and to Miller. And he had a motive (and the temper) to want to hit the Wilson's hard.

would explain why he hasn't received much attention. The other explanation for that is that he didn't have a key role. We will see which it is.

My theory is merely an attempt to provide an alternative explanation for how Miller might have been the original source, and where she might have gotten her info -- if it wasn't Bolton or Scooter or Cheney, etc.

The tie-in I see between the Plame and Franklin hasn't been sufficiently developed by other analysts, and this is my effort to try to create a bigger picture about the common motives of the players in both scandals.

according to an article by Douglas Jehl that Jay Rosen has linked to.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/politics/28leak.html?ex=1280203200&en=0cca192ef541a966&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

The first two episodes, involving the columnist Robert D. Novak and the reporter Matthew Cooper, have become the subjects of intense scrutiny in recent weeks. But little attention has been paid to what The Post reporter, Walter Pincus, has recently described as a separate exchange on July 12, 2003.

In that exchange, Mr. Pincus says, "an administration official, who was talking to me confidentially about a matter involving alleged Iraqi nuclear activities, veered off the precise matter we were discussing and told me that the White House had not paid attention" to the trip to Niger by Joseph C. Wilson IV "because it was a boondoggle arranged by his wife, an analyst with the agency who was working on weapons of mass destruction."

...

Mr. Pincus has not identified his source to the public. But a review of Mr. Pincus's own accounts and those of other people with detailed knowledge of the case strongly suggest that his source was neither Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political adviser, nor I. Lewis Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, and was in fact a third administration official whose identity has not yet been publicly disclosed....

about two administration officials.

I doubt it. Legally it shouldn't matter who tells you secret info, you still have to keep it secret.

It also means the NYTimes has been lying to us about why she went to jail. They've maintained all along that she went to jail to protect a source, not to protect herself as the source. And all that stuff about Libby and the letter telling her to testify? That was all smoke and mirrors?

This theory has been going around for months now. I don't buy it. If it is true, the NYTimes is over and they did it all to protect Judy Miller? Why?

to other journalists. I think Bolton, Rove and Libby may be in the deepest trouble because it's they who violated the law. (If my theory is right, which I'm less sure of than I was earlier.)

She's just a reporter and finding out the information of who Plame was was top secret. Not even Karl Rove had that type of access and he was Bush's political advisor. I think someone had to tell her. I wouldn't be surprised if it was either Bolton or Cheney. Bolton was at the CIA and Bush promoted him to the UN (and Bush promotes those who are loyal to him and help him out) and Cheney was making a lot of visit's to the CIA.