Transcript shows early effort to discredit ambassador - Newsday

[TacticalPeek]

Transcript shows early effort to discredit ambassador
Document subpoenaed in CIA leak probe

BY TOM BRUNE
STAFF WRITER

March 6, 2004

WASHINGTON -- A transcript subpoenaed in the CIA leak probe reveals the White House press operation began efforts to personally discredit former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV days before a columnist blew the cover of his CIA-officer wife.

snip

In the subpoenaed July 12 transcript of a briefing in Nigeria, then press secretary Ari Fleischer called Wilson a "lower-level official" and said Wilson had made flawed and incomplete statements. Fleischer did not return calls Friday.

Meanwhile, many of the journalists on the subpoena's list have reported various attempts by the Bush administration last year to discredit Wilson by suggesting his wife arranged for the CIA to send him to Niger.

snip

"I shouldn't talk about it," Mitchell said Friday, declining to say if she attended the reception. Asked why the grand jury might be interested in it, she said, "I can't even imagine."

more
Newsday

(Up at http://talkingpointsmemo.com)

[AZCat]

1. We did it!

This is the same reporter who wrote the article yesterday!

He followed up on our messages- congrats guys!

:party:

[fearnobush]

2. Here's the link he found to the July 12 Doc.

<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030712-11.html>

[Zhade]

25. Hehehe - AZCat knows about the link. He's the one who found it. :-)

And once again, GOOD JOB, AZCat!

[darkstar]

5. Well....

YOU did *most* of it, AZCat.

Followed thread last nite. Great job.

[htuttle]

3. Press 'gaggle' notes show evidence of malice and intent

Seems to me, if I were a prosecutor trying to establish intent, I might want that very document to see if there was an ongoing pattern of attempting to attack former Ambassador Wilson.

It sounds like there are a lot of meaty facts being uncovered. Check out this snippet:

Meanwhile, many of the journalists on the subpoena's list have reported various attempts by the Bush administration last year to discredit Wilson by suggesting his wife arranged for the CIA to send him to Niger.

For example, Time Magazine reported three days after Novak's column that unnamed administration officials had described Plame's relationship to Wilson and suggested she had gotten him the mission.

One journalist, NBC reporter and "Meet the Press" host Andrea Mitchell, appears to have several connections of interest.

They got names, and they got testimony from other journalists who were also contacted, including Time-friggin-magazine!

So it seems to me, the grand jury now knows who did the leaking.

About that reception:

And on July 16, her husband, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, was honored at a White House reception held to celebrate former President Gerald Ford's 90th birthday. The grand jury subpoenaed the guest list, which has not been released.

? I wonder how many threads the grand jury is unravelling ?

This has GOT to be causing some upset stomachs in the Bush administration...

[Occulus]

4. Can a grand jury subpoena

spawn another grand jury, or are all of the relevant facts included in the same one?

For example, if whilst unravling all these tightly knotted threads the grad jury uncovers, say, serious implications of complicity in 9/11, does that allegation go before a new grand jury, or the same one?

[BR_Parkway]

7. I think the grand jury can keep going on anything it uncovers

that falls under the jurisdiction of the court that has convened it. They don't take orders from the prosecuter, the judges or anyone else. They can follow anything they choose.

[reprobate]

23. It's been said that a prosecutor can get a grand jury.....

It's been said that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich if he wants to. My question is who is the prosecutor and what are his/her goals in this investigation. Just the Plame thing, or is it to bring down the * junta?

[DeepModem Mom]

6. kicking, with appreciation

[Disturbed]

8. Kudos

This is great. Looks like DUers can help out in lots of ways. Cool.

[Judi Lynn]

9. Wow! I read that thread yesterday, it was superb. What talent here!

Someone should locate the thread and kick it so we can all read it all over again!

Congratulations to the one who located that briefing hidden under a different date. My God, almost NO ONE would think of that!

So cool!

[Barrett808]

12. Please clue in us sleepyheads who went bed early -- link to thread?

Sounds pretty cool.

[Stephanie]

14. Here is AZCat's thread from yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1196551

[Judi Lynn]

15. That's the one!

I'm sure I wasn't alone in reading that thread in amazement. To think that here at D.U., people were actually able to look behind a deliberate attempt to hide a valuable bit of information, and see it untangled and exposed!

Now how often would you see that on just ANY message board?

Thanks for locating this for DU'ers who haven't seen it, and DU'ers who want to see it again!

[Stephanie]

17. There is another story in that thread that needs to be untangled

Read post #25 and the follow-ups. Why is the WH censoring information on the WH website?

[belle]

29. That actually got my attention more, the list of "disallowed" files

What are they trying to hide? And why are they doing such a half-assed job of it? It looks really bad.

[Zhade]

26. That was all AZCat - deserves all the kudos we can muster!

I was really impressed. Good detective work!

[Robb]

10. My favorite part of this whole story...

...is that at some point, there had to be an exchange like this:

"Web lackey!!"

"Duuuh, yah boss?"

"Get that gaggle transcript off the website. NOWWW!!"

"Sure 'ting, boss. Okey dokey."

...

"Boss wants me to get da transcript offa da site. I know, I'll just, duh, take away the link. That'll do it! Boss will be so pround of meeeee...!" :eyes:

[Stephanie]

20. Yes - I wonder who gives those orders?

Who decides what history will be scrubbed from the WH website?

And since they are preventing search engines like Google from finding certain key words on the WH site, I wonder who is making those calls? It must be someone's full-time job just to decide what public information the WH needs to try to hide from the public every day.

Aren't transcripts of press briefings public property? There's nothing secret about that information - the WH press corps asking questions of the WH press secretary. So what is their justification for hiding it?

[Zhade]

27. As of August 2001, it was White House Webmaster Jane (Hampton) Cook.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/images/20010831.html

Ms. Cook "is the former web master for the Texas Governor's office."

http://www.xatrix.org/article668.html

Apparently, she is (or was?) also "Deputy Director of Internet News Services" for the White House.

http://cjonline.com/stories/090402/nie_whitehouse.shtml

"A Fort Worth native, Cook earned her bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1992 and a master’s degree from Texas A&M University in 1995. She and her husband, Dr. Kim Cook, reside in Alexandria, Va."

http://pr.baylor.edu/story.php?id=004198

Here's an expanded bio, which also lists her speaking fees as $2,501 - $7,500 (it also states she is the former Deputy Director of Internet News Services): http://www.nashspeakers.com/cgi-bin/speakers/display.pl?speaker=568

Her official Verizon website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3sjfn/

Her email address: [e-mail]

Google is pretty damn helpful! :)

[RamboLiberal]

31. Subpoena List

Robert Novak, "Crossfire," "Capital Gang" and the Chicago Sun-Times

Knut Royce and Timothy M. Phelps, Newsday

Walter Pincus, Richard Leiby, Mike Allen, Dana Priest and Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post

Matthew Cooper, John Dickerson, Massimo Calabresi, Michael Duffy and James Carney, Time magazine

Evan Thomas, Newsweek

Entire list at link

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uslist0306,0,1686020,print.story

[TacticalPeek]

11. Kick.

[Protagoras]

13. So if a BJ was worthy of Impeachment

This should be worthy of Impeachment and a bag of chips!

Bush Behind Bars...Next on Faux! Well I can dream.

[Stephanie]

16. What does everyone think the Andrea Mitchell connection is?

Why would she be important?

[displacedtexan]

19. She's married to Greenspan.

She and hubby were probably at Ford's B-Day party. Hmmmmmmmmm...

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. And now that transcript is back up

on the WH Press Briefings page.

Good work, AZCat!!!!! :toast: The Newsday article is incredible!

Have saved that transcript to disk.

This story deserves a :kick:

[Zhade]

21. Kick

Back to page one wit' ye!

[Whoa_Nelly]

22. Kickin' this back

to keep it on page one
(An O8) made me do it)
:kick:

[neverforget]

24. The plot thickens........This was definitely an organized political

hatchet job that has Karl Rove's hoof prints all over it. The leaker may have been in the VP's office, but the strategy was definitely decided by Rove. Unless Ari takes orders from the VP's office and not the Presidents.........

[Stephanie]

28. Right - I thought it was going to stay in Cheney's office

But this, plus the request for records from Air Force One, indicates there was collusion in the WH.

Frog March, Frog March, Frog March!!!

[Serendipity36]

30. Peace

Peace for all the childrens of the world. Stop the fighting.

[Just Me]

32. Here's to you, AZCat!!!!

:toast:

Way to go!!!

I like the kind of Pandora's Box this grand jury is opening.

[proud patriot]

33. Yes ...More proof that each of us can make a real difference

:D