Bush Authorized the CIA Leak?
By Bill W. Wednesday May 28, 2008 12:40pm
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Emptywheel makes the case that Scotty McClellan admitted as much this morning on the Today Show:
During the interview, Scottie revealed the two things that really pissed him off with the Bush Administration. First, being set up to lie by Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. And second, learning that Bush had--himself--authorized the selective leaking of the NIE. [...]
Thus far ... we only had Dick Cheney's word that he had actually asked Bush to declassify this information. We didn't have Bush's confirmation that he had actually declassified the information. In fact, we've had Dick Cheney's claims that he--Dick--had insta-declassified via his super secret pixie dust declassification powers.
But now we've got George Bush, confirming that he, the President of the United States, authorized the leaks of "this information."
Now, though Scottie refers, obliquely, to "this information," he explicitly refers only to the NIE. But as I've described over and over again, it's not just the NIE Bush authorized Dick to order Libby to leak. ...(more)
Do give the rest of it a read. You can watch the entire interview here on the MSNBC website.
Hopefully Keith Olbermann will follow up on this as McClellan is due to appear on tonight's Countdown.
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i read yesterday afternoon/evening that in november 2007 bush read a draft of mcclellan's book and thought it "harsh" but assumed it would be toned down.
what i infer is that he and his cabal tried to bitch-slap mcclellan into "softening the tone" causing mcclellan to make his criticisms of bush & co more harsh (and closer to the truth) than it was in the draft bush saw.
i'm laughing at that. shock! dismay! how could he betray us!
notice they never accuse him of being a liar, only of being a "traitor."
stiffen your spine -- read "cicero" by robert harris
McClellan's revelations makes it even more clear what a disaster the Bush era has been to this nation. I like to think it might even take Bush's approval ratings lower.
Could get interesting if Scotty gets sloppy and blurts out the truth in one of these interviews.
I hear Wackiavelli...again!
ouchies!!!
but pelosi will remain immovable even after she says this!!!
ack!!!
Well, Bush should be firing Bush any minute?
My dream is that as soon as Barack Obama finishes reciting the oath of office he will begin his inaugural address by indicating Bush and Cheney and utter the words "Will the Secret Service please take these men into custody."
Oh Naaaaaaaannnnccyyyy !! ..... ding ding ding!!!! .... do your job !!!!....
Ok, now I need to get this book. Are we sure the profits aren't going to the RNC? :)
Nevada Blue @ 7:
I have that same dream! Only in my dream it's U.S. Marshals.
Of course, there is NO doubt in my mind Scott is telling the truth.
While I don't know about any of you commenting on this site or reading from home or work, I can tell you that I CANNOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT BOOK to find out "what happened" to the idealist George Bush I voted for in 2000 (notice there is NO mention of 2004).
I can't help but think that with all these media figures suddenly awakening from their Rip Van Media schtick that it only another centrally orchestrated scam being put in place. They know that Obama is going to be the next president, so now they're all of the sudden remembering what the job is suppossed to be about. Presto-chango, and they're sudden;y ready to rock. Only now, they'll be waging endless smear campaigns, lies and distortions, slanders and defamations in an endless propaganda war in which Obama and any Congressional Democrats who have the spine to actually behave as Democrats will be the targets of their new-found "journalistic" fervor.
Meanwhile, we'll hear nothing but bitter complaints from the GOPers about how the right-wing propaganda machine we call commercial media is a liberal conspiracy. And the American people will eat it up.
One of the first things Obama is going to need to do is conduct a thorough house cleaning and fumigation of the FCC. He needs to let it be known that use of OUR airwaves is a revocable privilege these propaganda corporations enjoy, not a right.
I bet during his college years, boosh snorted through rolled up one hundred dollar bills plenty of super secret pixie dust.
Scottie needs to go have a talk with Patrick Fitzgerald! Names, dates, places.
he just accused bush of treason
treason
i dont care if that man has less than a year in the wh
begin impeachment proceedings immediatly
and then ship his ass to the world court and let him be tried, convicted and hung for war crimes
jmike @ 10:
I have that same dream! Only in my dream it's the Texas Rangerettes
http://www.chslariettes.com/Photo%20Gallery/Hoffman%20triplets.jpg
Damn, its a shame this guy was such a punk in the whitehouse. I could've actually respected him.
Scottie has been saying that Bush authorized the NIE leak, not the CIA leak as your headline infers.
Hey Scotty, spill your guts. Why? It lowers your guilt and sells lots of books. Of course since you lied when you could have not, nothing will undo your choice to lie and cause the deaths of thousands. Sleeping pills only do so much,have a nice night.
uncle joe hussein mccarthy @ 15:
Amazingly treason isn't very important anymore. *sigh*
Rather interesting.
From: MSNBC: McClellan: Plame leak case was turning point
Maybe it runs in the McClellan family - work for a criminal president then tell all.
Well, it's a good thing our sober, rational, even-headed Democratic leadership so sagely and wisely took impeachment off the table!
Imagine if these revelations had come out under oath in front of Congress instead of in a book for the profit of the author the way God intended!
What a disaster that would have been!
Remember, kids: if you can't get a conviction, impeachment is totally pointless. Yes sir. Totally pointless.
jmike @ 14:
Before he does that he should give sworn deposition telling all. Then tell the world that he has done so...before he is "accidented" or "heart attacked" or Stroked" or "untimely demised" by other means.
NAncy Pelosi, of course, is otherwise too pre-occupied to do her friggin' job. I hope Cindy Sheehan's campaign to unseat Pelosi is going well.
all the "this isn't the scotty that we knew" talk makes me wonder if scotty ever saw a shrink while wrestling with his conscience (wouldn't be surprising -- knowing all too well how the bushies operate, scotty's demons probably carry vials of anthrax), and this is a prelude to outing him for having some sort of personality disorder
rings and do nothing even though this is statutory treason by the President of the United States.
Boy, Olberman is going to have a field day with this guy. I cannot wait to see the Right wing sheeptards heads explode one by one. Lets hope the frog marching comes sooner than later.
I wonder when John McBush is going to throw his mentor under the Straight talk express ?? I'll bet it will be SOON and it will be UGLY !!
"And when 'ah finds me som' a them ...som' a them leakers 'ahm a gonna hunt em down and .... uh ....uh .... never mind 'bout that ... ----- mommyyyyy!!!"
Scottie ALWAYS said he would be more forthcoming at a later time. I always assumed it would be after the Plame investigation was done, but I guess he meant after he resigned and his book was being released.
Paul @ 23:
Do I hear the sound of a Subpoena being written? Keep talking Scotty, you'll be easier for the sherriff to find when he wants to hand you "the paperwork"!
Yeah I'm sure Mclellan is shocked -- shocked! -- to learn of the Bush administration's crimes.
Scottie had this to consider: 1.) Disagree with White House, be ridiculed, insulted and fired; 2.) Resign, write a book, disagree with White House, be ridiculed, insulted and make millions of dollars.
gwen @ 30:
Can't decide if he found a conscience or it's just CYA.
Leo Drongo @ 18:
While you are correct that McClellan hasn't (yet) said point-blank that Bush also authorized the leaking of Plame's job, that's the issue that most people are wondering about, hence the thread's title.
Of course, given my knee-jerk defenses of C&L thread titles, feel free to ignore me.
Rupert Murdoch predicts landslide for Democrats
JTM @ 32:
Ignore who?
couldn't resist.
Leo Drongo @ 18:
I believe the word you want to use here is "implies" not infers. Please notice the question mark. It does not mean they are implying anything. Merely asking the question.
Leo Drongo @ 18:
Shhh! Don't be spoiling people's fantasies with facts and logic. :)
Watch your back Scotty!!
Your ex employer and his friends are not to be trusted
oops sorry, its Scottie
That's right Scotty, keep it coming. Wipe that guilt stricken blood off your hands.... with Dubyah's jacket.
I loved Tweety last night: "Can you fault the whore for leaving the whorehouse?"
In reference to Scott.
Woo woo!
dog & pony show--that is all
When you look at the Secretaries of Press for the Bush Admin (Fleicher, Snow, McClellen, Perino), McClellen is the one I would have expected to have a conscience.
Scotty's first mistake was taking the job. But once he did that, he was screwed. Imagine being in his position, with black-hearted scumbags like Cheney breathing down your neck?
Cheney: "Listen, sonny: I work on the dark side. You don't wanna mess with me. Just go out there, do your thing and it will all be over soon. Remember Bull Durham, where Costner is teaching Robbins his "cliches"? It's like that. Here are YOUR cliches. Learn 'em, love 'em, live 'em."
You keep covering for them until they tell you otherwise or fire your ass. To me, this might go a long way to explaining Butterbutt's apparent incompetence when addressing the WH press corps using endless repetitions of "Ongoing investigation" and the like. Maybe he made a compromise with himself and stuck with a set of cover phrases and lies and repeated them over and over again, minimizing to the best of his ability his own culpability (and the danger to his immortal soul) until he could get the hell out of that nightmare job. I'll say one thing for ol' Butterstuff: he annoying as all-heck, but never as nasty as Fleischer, Snow or "Too Much Cappuccino" Perino.
That being said, I am not giving Butternut much credit just yet. As far as I am concerned he was still a player then and is intent upon selling books now. Let's see what the real fall-out turns out to be.
ysbaddaden @ 13:
Oh, but Duhbya "doesn't remember" that! Righto!
scotty is starting to sound more like a left wing blogger: accurate, and truthful
thanks for the kudos turdblossom
Carol @ 38:
I hope he makes enough money from his book to quickly hire body guards.
He sounds more convincing here than he ever did at the WH podium and it is not because of the message.
go scotty...wished we could have heard this sooner but Bu$h Co. probably would have crapped on you so hard no one major would have picked up the book....better late than never...
Paul @ 23:
Not buying into your conspiracies that someone would actually 'off' Scotty over this, but had the same question here. Where the heck was McClellan two years ago? He resigned in April 2006, before Pelosi took impeachment off the table in May of 2006. Also Fitzgerald had open access to McClellan before Libby's trial began, and could have easily subpoenaed him as a prosecution witness.
pissed off patricia @ 46:
He should stay off small planes as well. Maybe with his book out and him doing the talk show circuit the horse is already out of the barn, but if I were him I'd still take Amtrak for the foreseeable future.
Leo Drongo @ 18:
No. Please do follow the link to Emptywheel's post, apropriately tiled "George Bush Authorized the Leak of Valerie Wilson’s Identity" (Notice, no question mark) and then you can come back and give us a 'my bad'.
I think rage Against the Machine said it best:
The movie ran through me
The glamour subdue me
The tabloid untie me
I'm empty please fill me
Mister anchor assure me
That Baghdad is burning
Your voice it is so soothing
That cunning mantra of killing
I need you my witness
To dress this up so bloodless
To numb me and purge me now
Of thoughts of blaming you
Yes the car is our wheelchair
My witness your coughing
Oily silence mocks the legless
Ones who travel now in coffins
On the corner
The jury's sleepless
We found your weakness
And it's right outside our door
Now testify!
---
Testify, Scotty. Testify.
KYJurisDoctor @ 11:
Don't run out and buy the book now. In a years time you will be able to buy it on AMAZON for less than $ 10.00 . In the mean time just read the book reviews on AMAZON which should be more entertaining than the actual book.
Surely Dick wouldn't have done anything without George's permission, right?
But seriously folks, there has never been a doubt in my mind that Bush signed off on this. He may not have known exactly what he was doing. He certainly did not care. I can imagine him rubbing his hands together with glee saying "Dick, we're gonna git her and her bigmouth hubby. It'll be awesome."
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
There's a word to describe people like Scottie and George Tenet, who knew the truth, but don't speak the truth until the damage is already done. The word is "coward".
Bush Authorized the CIA Leak?
Did he call the plumbers?
I don't know what exactly motivated him to write this book. Maybe it was his conscience eating him alive, maybe it was anger, maybe he felt it was his duty. But whatever it was, it has stirred up a firestorm than has been needing fired up for a long time.
Had he come out with this info in the past years it is very likely he would have been "Dixie chick-ed" and no one would have listened to him.
If a little guy like that can stop or even slow down this freight train that's heading over the cliff, fine by me. Better late than never.
He had to make his book interesting for people to buy it. Scotty is hated for his lies. I will never buy a lying POS Republicans book.
Meredith Viera is such a hypocrite, but how nice of her to confirm McClellan's point that the press did not do there job either. Sure McClellan was protecting his career by keeping his opinions to himself and "drinking the cool aide", just like Meredith and the rest of the self-serving MM press do every day. They suck up to their bosses and the administration to gain prestige and access. They think, "Screw their viewers, readers and their country." This does not mean that the things McClellan is now saying in his book are less than the truth. I always know when big government and big corporations are lying about disagreements with former employees - they use the term "disgruntled." That's all you got Bushies?!!!!
The Bulldog Manifesto @ 52:
o yeah ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JSBhI_0at0
KYJurisDoctor @ 11:
No offense, but I don't believe that George ever existed; I never even came close to considering a vote for what I saw as a joke of a candidate (little did I know he would actually go on to pretend to be president for 7+ years, but that is another topic). We've just had 7 very, very long years to watch his real personality reveal itself by his words and most certainly be his deeds.
SCHRODINGER'S CAT @ 53:
Better yet, STEAL it.
Bonkers @ 61:
By the way, good on you for your turn around in 2004. Didn't want to gloss over that.
Peace!
Nevada Blue @ 7:
man you really are a dreamer, nothing changes ,the right hand washes the lefy hand!
Cool. Now we can impeach!
Yeah. Sure.
marko @ 5:
She and Reid will author a sternly worded letter, then go over to the White House for Drinks with Bush and Cheney.
I-M-P-E-A-C-H !!!
Of course the justice department is in Bush's hands, so that won't do any good.
Where are the Jedi when you need them?
tehghey @ 65:
Its too late for impeachment. A DOJ criminal investigation is the ticket.
karen marie @ 1:
That's shocking!!!
Chimpy knows how to read?
"McClellan Knew About, Defended Bush Leak of Iraq NIE."
From April 7, 2006:
Q: He was asked about leaking classified information, but the President said, "I've constantly expressed my displeasure with leaks." Not just classified information. He says "particularly leaks."
MR. McCLELLAN: The President believes the leaking of classified information is a very serious matter. And I think that's why it's important to draw a distinction here. Declassifying information and providing it to the public, when it is in the public interest, is one thing. But leaking classified information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious. And there is a distinction.
Now, there are Democrats out there that fail to recognize that distinction, or refuse to recognize that distinction. They are simply engaging in crass politics. Let's make clear what the distinction is.
Poor lil' boy. My bottom lip is quivering.
What delusion are these right wing thugs contemplating, Bush devils have nothing but contempt of these country, If they hate something about the country they have avenues of changing things, but to actually destroy all virtues is lower then dirt on a garner snake.
Leo Drongo @ 18:
Here let me get that for ya:
CNN:
"The first of the "defining moments," McClellan told NBC's "Today" show, was when CIA operative Valerie Plame's name was leaked to the media.
The second, he said, was when he learned that President Bush had secretly declassified a report on Iraq so Vice President Dick Cheney and Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby could disclose it to reporters. "
Yer welcome.
Hm. Well, Bush did say that anyone leaking info in his administration would not be working in his administration anymore. Perhaps its time to help our president keep his word.
I'm also wondering what this could do to the status of Libby's pardon. If there are grounds to prove Bush pardoned Libby in an effort to cover his own ass, would it be possible to overturn the pardon? Probably not.
Accountability of any kind has not been the current Administration's strong suit, and as long as it has the Mukasey stranglehold on the Justice Department I doubt things will change much.
But chickens do, after a time, have a way of coming home to roost. I'm wondering whose mug shot we will see first, and how long we will have to wait.
Death Star @ 74:
"Garner snake"?
...trouser snake and garner!
:D
pissed off patricia @ 57:
Part of it had to be money. Not that there's anything wrong with that. He has to make a living like everybody else.
The controversy is gonna send this book through the roof. Already #1 on Amazon. McClellan is going to make a shitpile o' cash. I'm sure that will help make up for the end of all his neocon friendships.
Annoyed Canuck @ 78:
Why didn't the Bush administration arrange for him to get a cushy lifelong job, doing nothing important?
They are big on hanging folks out to dry.
of course he did. he was authorized by the patriot act, or the iraq war act or the "authorization to use force after lying his ass off"
Seems Scott ( and the administration as well ) like to have things both ways. He says they didn't "lie", but ignored/massaged other bits of crucial evidence that would have probably thwarted an invasion (which has cost us over 4,000 American lives and God knows how many Iraqi and coalition forces) of Iraq.
So guess what you just described Scott? Not a guy who was just doing his best thinking he was protecting America. No, not hardly. He was in the midst of full blown DERILICTION OF DUTY and IMPEACHABLE offenses. What does each president swear to do at the inaugural ? Faithfully exectue the office of president of the United States. Swears to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the U.S, so help him God. Not destroy, weaken or ignore.
He failed in his oath, as they all have. Can there really be more evidence and reason not to impeach and begin criminal proceedings? I mean, it's not like he just had some pizza & a hummer with an intern, then lied about it.
peaceful easy feeling @ 49:
I asked the question on another site whether McClellan had ever testified under oath about the CIA Leak, and while he was not a witness at the Libby trial, he did testify under oath to the grand jury in 02/04.
Right now dirt bag Ed Schultz (do they measure IQ's as low as his?) defending the "elite" media with David Schuster saying that "only" about 1/4 of the congress voted against the war. When did 25% go below the radar and make something not worthy of investigating?
innocent bystander @ 24:
Yeah, I found that pretty freaky as well. They're all saying the same thing, "That doesn't sound like the Scotty I used to know..."
I think it may somehow be connected to this story...
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/28/purported-ufo-video-be-shown-friday/
...and a prelude to the bombshell revelation that Scotty was abducted by far-left librul aliens.
This man is a self professed liar. How can you believe anything he says? He has zero credibility. And it's sickening how he's become the media darling. Liars praising liars.
If boosh authorized the CIA leak
Who shook him off afterwards?
Nothing short of hauling a truckload of these criminals to jail (including this worthless prick) will restore justice in our country.
But that will never, ever, ever happen. Not even one of them will ever stand trial.
Nothing will change. Nothing ever changes because the democrats (save for a few) and our media are chickensh*t.
We're screwed, you do know that don't you people?
rekroc @ 84:
...and Barack is their leader, of course...
Dear Scott,
I have no respect for you, you self serving sack of butt pudding - where the hell was your spine and the truth when it would have mattered?
You come "out" now and spill these truths which were no secret to start with, but you happily plastered over the cracks for a buck back in the day.
No respect.
You spineless, unAmerican fuck.
You could have eased our national nightmare and shortened the Bush / Cheney malaise and criminal, immoral, warmongering bullshit, but you waited until you got a book deal.
FOAD.
Congress is now, as far as I am concerned, fundamentally required to open an impeachment investigation.
It's not about whether we can convict anymore. It's not about whether it will be popular for the Democrats anymore. It's not about whether it's a distraction anymore.
An official of the Bush White House has made a public declaration that this Administration distorted intelligence in the run up to war and actively sought to out a CIA agent. This, of course, comes as no surprise to everyone who could plainly see that that is what happened, but the Administration always had the "lack of a smoking gun" argument.
No there there. Just "left-wing bloggers and their paranoid conspiracy theories."
Look, if Jack Ruby had come out and said "Oswald had nothing to do with it. I shot JFK and the CIA helped me do it." Well, that might be disappointing, that might not be the Jack the CIA remembers, that might be self-serving, it may even be a lie, but it would DEMAND investigation.
This is no longer about gaming the political system. Either Congress opens an impeachment investigation OR congress is 100%, totally complicit in all of this just as much as if it was their idea to begin with. It is then incumbent upon all of US to vote ANY congressperson who opposes an investigation (not any congressperson who votes to acquit, any who opposes the INVESTIGATION) out of office and to seek to have them prosecuted for dereliction of public duty.
That's it. And it doesn't matter what the fuck your "caucus" has to say about it you party loyalist hacks. Go get a real job.