Wilson: Questions Remain Over CIA Leak

Despite Libby Conviction, Ex-Ambassador Says White House Still Needs To Come Clean

(CBS/AP)  Former Ambassador Joe Wilson said Wednesday that he and his wife, Valerie Plame, feel a "sense of personal relief" at the conviction of former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, but don’t consider the case closed by any means

Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing an investigation into the leak of Plame's identity as a CIA operative. He was the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since the Iran-Contra arms and money affair two decades ago.

Despite the conviction, Wilson said he and Plame are moving ahead with a civil suit, alleging the White House was behind the leak.

Wilson told CBS News' The Early Show that President Bush and Vice President Cheney "really need to step forward and reassure the American people that they had nothing to do with this - or explain to the American people what they had to do with it."

Wilson said he and his wife are going forward with their civil suit against the vice president, White House political adviser Karl Rove and others, because they "want the whole story to come out."

The trial revealed Cheney's eagerness to discredit Wilson, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's Iraq war policy, as well as the administration's policies on talking to reporters and its strategies for dealing with a crisis.

But the case offered little new information about whether Mr. Bush was involved or whether he authorized any leaks. Defense attorneys never delivered Cheney or Libby to the witness stand as promised to discuss the White House effort to undermine Wilson's credibility, a campaign that resulted in the disclosure of his wife's job at the CIA.

Libby's attorneys offered few details about a supposed White House conspiracy to protect Rove from prosecution.

It also was never explained why former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who originally leaked Plame's identity, was never charged.

Now that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says his investigation is complete, those questions are likely to go unanswered. Nobody will be charged with actually leaking Plame's identity. Libby was convicted of lying to cover up his conversations about Plame.

"The results are actually sad," Fitzgerald told reporters after the federal jury's verdict. "It's sad that we had a situation where a high-level official person who worked in the office of the vice president obstructed justice and lied under oath. We wish that it had not happened, but it did."

One juror said Libby was being made a scapegoat.

"There was a tremendous amount of sympathy for Mr. Libby on the jury. It was said a number of times, 'What are we doing with this guy here? Where's Rove? Where are these other guys?'" juror Denis Collins said. "I'm not saying we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. It seemed like he was, as Mr. Wells put it, he was the fall guy."

Libby's fate remains unclear. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced June 5, but his federal sentencing guidelines are much lower. His lawyers promised to ask for a new trial and said they'll ask that Libby remain free while any appeals are fought.

"We have every confidence Mr. Libby ultimately will be vindicated," defense attorney Theodore Wells said. He said Libby was "totally innocent and that he did not do anything wrong."

And then there's the lingering question of whether Mr. Bush will pardon Libby, as the president's father did in 1992 for former Reagan administration officials caught up in the scandal that grew out of arms sales to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to the Nicaraguan rebels.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., immediately called on Mr. Bush not to pardon Libby. The White House wouldn't say what the president might do.

[randalds]

Of course. And the Nuremberg trial redone.

Posted by abbe7 at 10:52 AM : Mar 08, 2007

I'm all for a new Nuremberg style trial, but this time with the new Nazi's, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld facing charges of crimes against humanity and waging a war of aggression. Both of those carry the death penalty you know. So after they're legally convicted of course and using the same type of trial methods they're using in Gitmo, let's broadcast the punishment on pay-per-view!

[abbe7]

"a good man and a patriot, Mr. Libby, has to rot for this much ado about nothing. President Bush - pardon Libby, and pardon Ramos and Compean, the two Border Agents unjust jailed.
If the Fascists and Botox Girl doesn't like it - tough.
Posted by Lieber1881


hey liebrsissy do you think Jonathan Pollard should be pardoned too? "

Of course. And the Nuremberg trial redone.

[abbe7]

Time to make other GJ testimonies public. Am I dreaming ?

[karlimhof]

a good man and a patriot, Mr. Libby, has to rot for this much ado about nothing. President Bush - pardon Libby, and pardon Ramos and Compean, the two Border Agents unjust jailed.
If the Fascists and Botox Girl doesn't like it - tough.
Posted by Lieber1881


hey liebrsissy do you think Jonathan Pollard should be pardoned too?

[iceman_1960]

"This fat pig Wilson deserves to face a firing squad, and his 'ho Plame needs to find a cathouse to suit her needs." - Lieber1881

Talk is cheap on the Internet, where the worst consequence of this kind of mouthing off is a painless banishment from the forum, and a re-registration that only takes a few seconds.

In real life, Lie-ber1881 would be hit with a lawsuit and wind up losing his trailer park home and moving to a homeless shelter.

But talk is real cheap here.

[rharrin1]

Now it will be another test for the decider after stating anybody in his administration committing a crime will be punished. Now did bush tell the truth or a lie yet again? I lay odds on the lie.

[karlimhof]

The Intelligence communities of the world have never backed off their claim that Saddam Hussein was indeed trying to buy Uranium ore in Africa just as the President said in his state of the Union address. Yes there were some forged dcocuments uncovered, but they did not invalidate the stroy - Seafang

To use your own words: what a crock of sh..., Seafang !

Michael Ledeen, through his italian contacts is most likely the source of the forged documents. The letterhead and stamp were stolen at the Niger emabssy in Rome - the only items missing. Mysteriously finding their way to M16 - to give them more credence.

Ledeen, neocon, Iran-contra hoodlum, AEI confidant, so-called "patriot" but in reality someone who despises our democratic system, believes in world dominion, like his cohorts Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, etc.

If the CIA had not called Cheney on this one, they could have closed shop. Good work! Now let's get the other criminal neocons still out there.

[j0hnwi11iams]

If they can get you to believe religion, they can get you to believe anything. "sought significant quantities of uranium from Niger". How exactly is this NOT a lie? The word "significant" is what makes this a lie, because as Joe Wilson proved, there is no way Saddam could have gotten uranium from Niger without alerting the entire world. The document was a forgery. This claim was made while cooking the intelligence to sell the idea that Saddam was a threat to the US.

[randalds]

seatang

Wow that's a long post. I looked and I couldn't find one true statement in it. Good job.


Posted by frankly6

This guy's new to the NEOCONMEN but he's good, eh?
Posted by bm6005 at 11:00 PM : Mar 07, 2007

It WAS amazing for a first effort. He/she/it has a big future as a Bush speech writer. Well for the next 20 months or so. ;-)

[wayfedup]

badaxhomomofo...

Would you PLEASE, for those who missed it awhile back, tell us ALL how the 200+ TONS of CASH that Bush GAVE the IRAQI people only amounted to about $35,000.00 U.S.? PULLLLEEEASE? ,I LOVED THAT ONE!!!

[bm6005]

seatang

Wow that's a long post. I looked and I couldn't find one true statement in it. Good job.


Posted by frankly6

This guy's new to the NEOCONMEN but he's good, eh?

[bm6005]

while the nation works at 4.6% unemployment, etc...
Posted by badaxmofo

BTW let me know who in the gov't to thank for sending my job offshore? You know the laws they pass that reward the movement of jobs to other countries. Luckily I can retire this year but many others are going to suffer from this BS. I intend to make legislators very aware of what they're doing!

[frankly6]

clemenhagen1

These folks are willfuly ignorant. The information you give them is public record and yet they prefer to parot the pundits rather than inform themselves of the truth.

[frankly6]

seatang

Wow that's a long post. I looked and I couldn't find one true statement in it. Good job.

[clemenhagen1]

SEASIC POSTS: "What a crock; there was no secret information to be leaked; Joe Wilson himself had already bragged about his wife's identity and she wasn't undercover anyway; so there was NO crime to be investigated, and in particular there was no justice to be obstructed since their was NO crime."

Just a quick recitation of a few key FACTS in this case to counter all the fictional spin:

Plame (who was a NOC meaning "non-official cover") was not the only CIA operative outted by the administration. The name Brewster-Jennings was printed in the paper. When they exposed Brewster-Jennings as an active CIA front-company, a front by its very nature being covert, they revealed the identity of any CIA agent or foreign national who cooperated with the CIA by being associated with Brewster-Jennings. Someone outted that CIA operation, and the perpetrators clearly appear to have been directed by VP Cheney's office. How is outting Brewster-Jennings not an act of treason against those people working for our national security? How is outting Brewster-Jennings not an "underlying crime?" Those are the fundamental questions none of the right-wing posers will answer because they simply have no counter. Try reading for a change of pace: it settles the mind, especially after all those commercials on Fox when the volume is turned up too high.

[clemenhagen1]

Clinton created a net total of 22 million jobs.

The Bushies never give the real job numbers because he lost a net total of jobs during his first several years. Net total for Bush: 5 million jobs. And of course the vast majority of Bush jobs are low-level, non-union, non-manufacturing. Can you say WalMart!

Clinton: Inherited huge budget deficits from 12 years of Reaganomics and Bush Voodoo Economics. Result: Final four years of Clinton a balanced budget - three straight surplus years with the record single-year surplus equalling 236 billion. When Clinton left office the forecast for fiscal surplus extended to the horizon meaning the following: pay off national debt, eliminate the annual 16 percent interest on debt payments, invest in health care, education, etc.
Bush: Immediate tax cuts for wealthy along with corporate welfare for war profiteers and oilagarchies. Today? Five straight years of record deficits including the all-time record 440 billion in one fiscal year. Spin the numbers all you want but these numbers are the truth and they do not lie!

[david1737]

badaxmofo

Bush sold off T-bills to China for low interest rates.

[seafang]

What a crock; there was no secret information to be leaked; Joe Wilson himself had already bragged about his wife's identity and she wasn't undercover anyway; so there was NO crime to be investigated, and in particular there was no justice to be obstructed since their was NO crime.

And what of Tim russert who claimed under oath that he was not aware that you couldn't take an attorney into a grand Jury hearing; this is Tim Russert; the attorney we are talking about not some TV news reader. Even I know you can't have an attorney ion GJ proceedings.

And howcum, neither Wilson nor Plame, nor the guy who actaually told the press about her, were brought before the jury to find out who knew what.

Wilson himself is a proven liar, and he couldn't even find out the name of a good French restaurant in Niger, where he was sent courtesy of his wife to come back with a bunch of baloney.

The Intelligence communities of the world have never backed off their claim that Saddam Hussein was indeed trying to buy Uranium ore in Africa just as the President said in his state of the Union address. Yes there were some forged dcocuments uncovered, but they did not invalidate the stroy; you may recall, that Moamar Khadafy got religion, and came clean before he ended up in a spider hole like Saddam.

[frankly6]

badaxmofo


.....while Bush charges the war, the tax cuts for the wealthy and everything else on the nations credit card. Rejoice!

[bm6005]

Bush haters rejoice - while you pay 6% on your mortgage on the house that tripled in value since Bush took office, while that new highway goes in because of the largest public works appropriation in history passed by Bush, while Saddam rots in hell, while NK decommissions its nuclear program, while the nation works at 4.6% unemployment, etc...
Posted by badaxmofo

All right some meat for me tonight. I just sold my house and I made 52% since '97. Quite a bit less than 300%. 4.6% unemployment? I'm an advisory engineer who just got laid off with 43 yrs of manufacturing experience. Tell me again how good I've got it ******!! And I really, really, really HATE BUSHS.H.I.T