When Niger-gate was developing a head of steam in July, the Bush White House couldn’t point fingers fast enough. First, it was the British’s fault. Blame quickly shifted to the CIA and George Tenet. By late-July, Bush’s deputy national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, was accepting responsibility.
With this in mind, a couple of readers have asked me why the administration can’t just hang some White House lackey out to dry for the illegal leaks of the Joseph Wilson/Valerie Plame scandal.
I’m sure Karl Rove and others at the White House have been trying to think of just such a tactic. I just don’t think naming a patsy is going to work.
First, they’ll need two fall-guys, not just one. And if two White House officials were working together to leak classified information, questions would naturally arise as to how they obtained the classified information, who else knew about the leaks but didn’t say anything, etc.
Second, this isn’t just about a political embarrassment; it’s about criminal conduct. In Niger-gate, the administration misled people about the nature of the Iraqi threat. Assigning blame was a way to insulate the president from responsibility. This approach more-or-less worked. The White House chalked the whole thing up to an error, no one lost their job, and the media eventually moved on.
The Wilson/Plame controversy, meanwhile, is about illegal leaks and White House officials jeopardizing national security. Anyone who comes forward to admit that they leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent out of petty spite is admitting to a felony that carries a potential prison sentence on 10 years.
Bush has surrounded himself with people of passionate loyalty, but I don’t think they’re that loyal.
For the same reason, two officials can’t just come forward, apologize, and offer their resignations. I’m sure nothing would make Bush happier than to say, “Officials A and B showed poor judgment and they’ve admitted their mistake. I’m confident this won’t happen again. For the good of the country, I think it’s best to move on.”
Same problem as before. No one will want to offer their resignation if they know criminal prosecution is the next step.
With this in mind, I expect the White House to batten down the hatches to see if they can ride this one out. They’ve said they’ll “cooperate” with the investigation, but won’t proactively take any steps to identify the leakers.
I’d imagine that there’ll be fewer press conferences and fewer on-the-record interviews. I don’t think this will work as a long-term strategy, but I don’t see them with a lot of choices.