Libby says Bush personally authorized leak to NYT

April 6, 2006

We learned in February that [tag]Scooter Libby[/tag] told a grand jury that he was authorized by his “superiors” to disclose classified information to reporters about Iraq’s weapons capability in June and July 2003. Who did that include? The conventional wisdom was that it was Dick [tag]Cheney[/tag]. Yesterday, Libby reportedly explained that it went a little higher.

A former White House aide under indictment for obstructing a leak probe, I. Lewis Libby, testified to a grand jury that he gave information from a closely-guarded “National Intelligence Estimate” on Iraq to a New York Times reporter in 2003 with the specific permission of [tag]President Bush[/tag], according to a new court filing from the special prosecutor in the case.

The court papers from the prosecutor, Patrick [tag]Fitzgerald[/tag], do not suggest that Mr. Bush violated any law or rule. However, the new disclosure could be awkward for the president because it places him, for the first time, directly in a chain of events that led to a meeting where prosecutors contend the identity of a CIA employee, Valerie [tag]Plame[/tag], was provided to a reporter.

It’s quite a story. Libby reportedly explained that Cheney told him it was “very important” for parts of NIE to get leaked to Judith [tag]Miller[/tag]. Libby claims to have resisted the suggestion because the NIE was classified, but according to the story, Cheney told him he got permission for the release directly from Mr. Bush.

As a court filing filed by Fitzgerald explained, “Defendant testified that the vice president later advised him that the president had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE.”

Expect the leak story to get a lot more interesting.

FDL and the Left Coaster have more.

“Yeah, but at least he didn’t lie about getting a blowjob, so I’m okay with this.”
-Chris Matthews

  • “Cheney told him he got permission for the release directly from Mr. Bush.”

    Cheney’s straight lipped smile reminds me of a ventriloquist. The real question is can Dick drink a glass of water while George is talking.

  • One one hand that lets Cheney off a bit but I am not sure I totally believe it. Cheney has always seem to take the lead in these areas but Cheney still may have wanted to go though the fiction that Bush is boss. Of course Scooter could be looking after Cheney by putting it more on Bush.

    He should have gotten Bush and Cheney’s signature on the OK.

  • The NY Sun is a right wing propaganda sheet so take this with a mine of salt.

    Yes, but Josh Gerstein, who wrote the article, is a solid reporter.

  • When questioned about this revelation, the President answered
    “NIE? What the hell is that?”

  • This seems like it ought to be a nuclear bomb of a story, with in essence the President and Vice President shown to be guilty of the important Plame accusations. It also would indicate that Bush flat-out lied when he claimed not to know anything about Plame.

    [aside] I do recall at the time Bush was playing dumb about Plame that there was this bizarre verbal construct they kept using. Was it “unauthorized release of classified information”? I’m guessing they weasel out of it by saying it was authorized. Yeah, that’ll fly politically.[/aside]

    My guess it this’ll mostly be ignored by the main news outlets unless the blogs keep screaming about it.

  • 32 years ago, in April 1974, this kind of information would have been the “smoking gun” that Howard Baker said was needed to answer the question, “what did the president know, and when did he know it?”

    This IS evidence of an impeachable crime.

    And now, a bit of self-congratulatory personal ass-patting: there is an article here – http://thatsanotherfinemess.com – by Yr Hmble Srvnt on the kind of “surprise” Bush could have in the works for November to save his ass and prevent the congressional majority that would be able to follow up on this evidence. It’s the kind of surprise people were afraid Nixon was capable at about this point in time 32 years ago.

  • “It’s quite a story.”

    Strange. It hasn’t made our Seattle newspapers. I just news-googled “Libby” and it’s only made “Editor & Pulisher” and “Think Progress, DC” so far.

    It is a quite a story. It’s a shame the news media are ignoring it. Obviously the blogs (including this one) are on it. Guess we’ll have wait for Comedy Central to air it on TV.

  • I just got a phone call from a friend who says it’s “Breaking News” on MSNBC.

    I don’t have a TV here in my office, but is this true?

  • Libby SAYS Cheney SAID Bush ‘said it was okay to release the NIE’.

    First of all, Libby is spouting hearsay.

    Second, at the time Cheney had the authority to begin a declassification of the NIE.

    Third, nothing here says that they actually declassified the NIE according to procedure. If they had, any news organization (or American Citizen) would have equal right to access the document. That is clearly NOT what Cheney wanted. He wanted his pet reporters at the NYT to write articles slanted to support the war.

    Fourth, Is someone here lying?

    This doesn’t tie Bush to the Plame leak. But it still looks like a crime and certainly a reason to pull Cheney’s security clearances.

  • Now we’ll see who really wears the pants in our government and media. Those people who ignore this are bought. If the story starts getting legs, there may yet be hope for our dying republic. Stay tuned…

  • I wonder if sometimes the media is looking for something that will nail W, for all the he** he’s put them through with lying and so on. Seems like at one point the dam would have to burst. You’d think so, wouldn’t you?

    Now, back to reality, dams intact.

  • Remeber when Bush was spouting all that BS about wanting to get to the bottom of the leaks and promising to fire the leaker ?

    I guess he just had to look in the friggin’ mirror.

  • Oh this is all just another scheme by the liberal left to smear our beloved president. It’s just another evil plot by those godless, boy-kissin’, San Francisco socialists to drag the good name of the Chimp-in-Chief, er, Commander-in-Chief through the mud.

    I can’t say that this is particularly a proud day in this fine land. It doesn’t particularly make me feel good to point out that 51% (give or take) voted for this corrupt administration…TWICE. At least the truth is finally coming out.

    I wonder how Faux News is gonna spin this one….

  • He pledged to fire leakers, he said he didn’t know who leaked– but it turns out that he authorized Libby to leak?

    Sorry, kids, but that just doesn’t add up.

    Could this be *it* for Chimpy & Cheney? Please-oh-Please-oh-Please!

  • “Defendant testified that he also spoke to David Addington, then Counsel to the Vice President, whom defendant considered to be an expert in national security law, and Mr. Addington opined that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document.”

    Sorry Addington, I’ve read the Executive Order. Cheney saying Bush said to leak the NIE does not give the intelligence authors the necessary chance to defend the classification of their sources and methods, and thus is not legal.

    Gah! How stupid can these people get.

    And I still say, Libby’s testimony is only hearsay whether Bush actually authorized the leak. Cheney has not sworn under oath that Bush did, nor has Bush confirmed it.

    And releasing the NIE is not the same as outing Plame (which is worse, there is a law involved there).

  • As for the Hyposcrisy of the Bushies, remember that they are re-classifing documents that the Clinton Administration took all the appropriate steps to declassify.

    They are going to the National Archives and pulling documents off the shelves to satisfy the various Intelligence agencies. Yet here they release the NIE without any process or notification just to fight Ambassador Wilson.

  • I’m with HS; I really, REALLY want to see how the Fox Brigade is going to spin their beloved, fearless leader divulging classified intelligence material. Given that the US was already fighting “the war on terror”—and divulging classified information during wartime could be thought of as a form of treason—wouldn’t that leave a whole lot of Americans thinking that Mr. Bush is a traitor?

    Oh, this is just too-oooooooo good!

  • The Faux News Thug Brigade covered this as the third news item…after Cynthia McKinney and the immigration bill.

    But I do think Brit Hume’s nose pimple was doing an unnerving little jiggle when he started talking about Libby. a subconcious admittance of the truth, perhaps?

    Naaaah.

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