Tim Russert on CNBC about Wilson, Cheney, CIA Leak...

[cynatnite]

Andrea Mitchell, Pete Williams and David Gregory are with him. They are having a discussion over all of it. Very interesting so far.

[justiceischeap]

1. I like David Gregory

He seems to talk about issues no one else will touch.

[DainBramaged]

11. David Gregory spoke French to Doo Doo head

at the press conference a year ago and pissed him off.

[MADem]

79. He spoke french to Chirac, and that pissed the monkey off

He mocked DG, and said "que bueno" in his MexiTexass accent, very sarcastically, and he said "See, I know a foreign language, too!"

[writes2000]

16. Ooo, Russert just pointed out Bush's telling comment about the leak

They were wondering what was Libby thinking by telling such a detailed, refutable lie. They wondered if he was relying on the press to keep quiet.

Russert then pointed out that Bush quote where he claimed to want to get to the bottom of the leak and then said "But you reporters are pretty good about keeping quiet."

It wasn't an exact quote but Bush's shit stains are all over this.

[ThoughtCriminal]

24. Russert himself seems to have been pretty quiet - nt

[blm]

61. Yeah, they all were for TWO YEARS and before an election while they gave

the GOP operatives all the airtime they needed to smear Wilson as a lying campaign hack working for Kerry.

[tsuki]

63. Wouldn't you be also. A lot of people, myself included, are

wondering why such a smart guy as Scoo-Scoo-Scooter would lie in such detail about "on or about July 10, 2003."

Like maybe, he expected Russert to back him up?

[Garbo 2004]

69. Scooter lied to the Feds in 2003, before Fitz, before grand jury.

He likely thought the investigation would be buried in the Ashcroft DOJ. But Ashcroft pretty much was forced to recuse himself from the case under pressure from career DOJ attnys (based on what they'd already dug up) and external calls from Congress. He didn't want to wind up open to clear conflict of interest and possible obstruction.

Once Fitz was on the case, Libby was sort of married to his claim. He tried and is trying the "I forgot that I previously knew" but that didn't fly with Fitz. When Russert said, hell no I didn't know and we never discussed it, Libby was caught.

After thinking about it, because I wondered why Russert, I'm figuring Scooter checked his phone log for media contacts and picked one who might be enough of a DC insider to plausibly be a source. He had talked to Russert during the suspect time frame. Scooter likely thought the investigation would not result in the journalists he talked to ever being forced to testify. (Which Russert was: he agreed to a deal rather than face contempt of court charges.)

[tsuki]

81. Russert was/is the NBC Bureau Chief, and quite the Conservative

cheer leader. I think Scoo-Scoo-Scooter expected back-up from Russert. He could not be sure that Russert could not be compelled to speak to the Feds. He knew that the Conservatives have been trying to breach confidentiality for thirty years.

The lie, even to the Feds, was stupid. I truly believe he expected Russert to be a "team player." With both of them on the same page, Russert would have been hung out to dry. I don't think Libby understood that Russert would know that.

But it's all speculation.

[FreedomAngel82]

75. Maybe this is why Fitzgerald

saw Bush's lawyer recently.

[lovuian]

80. Bingo!!! Bush did a wee bit of a slip there!!!

They were counting on the Freedom of Speech!!!

[FreedomAngel82]

74. I like him pretty well too

[rodeodance]

2. thanks

[EVDebs]

3. Pete Williams used to work for Dick Cheney. Does he make a point of

disclosing this prior to his utterances ? Pete Williams was Cheney's assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.

[EVDebs]

12. Operation Mockingbird on display

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmockingbird.htm

Media manipulation. I guess the Libby defense will be either 'I'm above the law and just forgot when I used her name' or 'Ignorance of the law IS my excuse, you knaves'.

[KoKo]

35. That explains why he's consistently Propagandizing for them. Is that

ethical that he would flip over to CNN. Embeds with Embeds?

Oh well...I know the answer to that. :puke:

[Rose Siding]

36. Jeeze, you're kidding me!

Out of a panel of 4, HALF have insider govt connections. What a world.

[EVDebs]

41. As I said, who will tell the people about Operation Mockingbird ?

I'm waiting. I'll hold my breath now. I'm turning blue now...

Maybe we can get some Red Staters to join us in asking questions and they, too, can turn blue with me.

[JerseygirlCT]

53. Reallly? Wow. Never knew that. nt

[maryallen]

71. Pete Williams was the biggest jerk at Fitz's press conference yesterday.

Go back and listen to the questions Williams asked. He could barely hide his contempt for Fitz and the investigation. Every question was pointed, as well as being an attempt to support Liddy's case.

Totally unobjective ...

[babylonsister]

4. Thanks! Watching now! nt

[H2O Man]

5. It is interesting.

My pile of "indictment tapes" is rapidly growing.

[tulsakatz]

19. indictment tapes

you have indictment tapes? I thought I was the only one who did that!!

I still have 5 hrs on a tape (that I taped yesterday) that I haven't had time to watch yet.

[H2O Man]

23. I have over 120 hours

of the 2000 election conflict, etc. This case will result in even more. My wife encourages me to use DVDs more frequently, of course, for reasons of space!

[tulsakatz]

32. oh my God!!!

I don't have that many. I taped the Democratic convention in '04 and then I taped the indictment coverage yesterday.

I have a DVD too but I just prefer making tapes.....

[s-cubed]

44. Tapes

Do you have tapes of election night that show how the "votes" changed around midnight? TIA (Truth is all) and some other people were trying to find some information from election night, and didn't have all the states. It might be important if you have tapes of continuous coverage election night.

[tulsakatz]

48. sorry......I don't have any tapes of that

on election night, I was convinced that Kerry would win, it didn't even occur to me to tape that.

Sorry, I wish I could help......

[H2O Man]

50. I think so.

I'm not positive, but I think so. If I were to guess offhand, the people you mention are not as interested in the fairly well-documented nonsense in Florida, as in another state in the southwest. I've always been interested in magic tricks myself, and have learned that more goes on where people aren't looking, than where they are.

[Straight Shooter]

56. Where people aren't looking ...

Well, Texas is a big state and it's hard to stay focused over such a big area, eh?

[Gloria]

67. I've got a boxload of tapes of the 1992 campaign! From the primaries on!

The good old days when "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" had more hopeful connotations...

[Awsi Dooger]

73. I have maybe 10 or 12 VHS tapes from 2000

Maybe 1/4 of it prior to the election, then election night itself, and 6 or 8 tapes of the post election chaos. Very painful to watch. It would have been something to cherish if Gore had been inaugurated. It's probably declining in quality so I should save it to DVD.

[Duer 157099]

37. hehehe, me too

I just set the DVR to record (either CNN or MSNBC) for 6 hours starting at 9am pacific -- had to leave and couldn't watch.

still haven't watched yet, but looking forward to seeing the whole thing

[tulsakatz]

45. haha.......that's funny!

I work weekends so I haven't had time to watch them yet. Last night, I had to watch Olbermann (I never miss him) and he had a really good show last night.

Anyway, I hope to watch my tape either tonight or tomorrow. I want to get the full effect of what happened yesterday while I was at work.

[Duer 157099]

52. I know, that's the problem, finding the opportunity

when nothing else is on. Right now, that's a window that's hard to find!

[tulsakatz]

62. true..........

......usually there is nothing on TV! Now there are lots of good programs to watch!

I even watched Rita Cosby last night and I NEVER watch her!!

[Gabi Hayes]

6. ooohhhh, she forgot her joint compound

fatso talking about Libby's conversation with him, then his 20-30 minute GJ testimony

[DainBramaged]

7. Andrea Mitchell should just go get coffee until 2009

[Faygo Kid]

8. Interesting. An insider's view.

Denies being Libby's source. Cheney behind it, but Rove deeply involved. I still think Rove - not Libby - will throw over Cheney to save his butt.

[writes2000]

9. Andrea Mitchell just explained that no one called her to leak.

She said the WP reported erroneously so Fitzgerald asked her about it.

Interesting.

[EVDebs]

27. Refer to Post #12 above. She's an asset already on payroll

apparently. Domestic ops are illegal but, hey, who cares really when the CIA has a Domestic Operations division already and that violates its charter.

Deep Throat --A few more thoughts about Watergate
by Bob Harris
www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/07.03.97/scoop-9727.html

"I have told Woodward everything I know about the Watergate case, except the Mullen Company's tie to the CIA."--Robert F. Bennett, testifying before House Special Committee on Intelligence, July 2, 1974.

Robert Bennett was the head of Robert R. Mullen and Co., a CIA front headquartered in the very same building as the CIA's Domestic Operations Division. The Mullen Co. did legitimate PR work; it also did PR for other CIA fronts and provided cover abroad for CIA operations. Bennett's most notable employee was Howard Hunt, a former chief of covert actions for the Domestic Operations Division of the CIA."

Regarding illegal domestic operations by the CIA:

"This activity led the CIA to establish proprietary companies, fronts, and covers for its domestic operations. So widespread did they become that President Johnson allowed the then CIA Director, John McCone, to create in 1964 a new super-secret branch called the Domestic Operations Division (DOD), the very title of which mocked the explicit intent of Congress to prohibit CIA operations inside the U.S. (2) This disdain for Congress permeated the upper echelons of the CIA. Congress could not hinder or regulate something it did not know about, and neither the President nor the Director of the CIA was about to tell them. Neither was J. Edgar Hoover, even though he was generally aware that the CIA was moving in on what was supposed to be exclusive FBI turf. (3)

References
2. Morton H. Halperin, et al., eds., The Lawless State (New York: Penguin, 1976), p. 138.
3. Ibid. "

from
Domestic Surveillance:
The History of Operation CHAOS
by Verne Lyon
from Covert Action Information Bulletin, Summer 1990
(Verne Lyon is a former CIA undercover operative
who is now a director of the Des Moines Hispanic Ministry)

http://www.serendipity.li/cia/lyon.html

Now, when Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald declines to investigate Judy Miller and the rest of Operation Mockingbird, you will know WHY he is doing what he isn't doing. Did I say that right ?

[jazzjunkysue]

40. Who's invading Andrea's face? Is this the price exacted by the devil

for media whoring?

I know her batting average for truth is a bit higher than the average pundit, but, knowing how she gets on the TV through her husband's connections makes her fair game. It also explains how the inner cancer of GOP whoring is beginning to show.

[Garbo 2004]

46. Perhaps not, but Mitchell told Wilson on July20, 2003 of the tips she got

from "senior WH sources" that stressed to her the story wasn't the 16 words but Wilson and his wife. She certainly was in the pipeline for the smear campaign against Wilson.

[stop the bleeding]

10. Sorry could you guys summarize on this thread, am stuck at home

and can't turn on the TV.

Thank you

[EVDebs]

42. They're mostly media assets of Operation Mockingbird

an illegal CIA media manipulation project referred to in Post #12 above.

Regarding illegal domestic operations by the CIA:

"This activity led the CIA to establish proprietary companies, fronts, and covers for its domestic operations. So widespread did they become that President Johnson allowed the then CIA Director, John McCone, to create in 1964 a new super-secret branch called the Domestic Operations Division (DOD), the very title of which mocked the explicit intent of Congress to prohibit CIA operations inside the U.S. (2) This disdain for Congress permeated the upper echelons of the CIA. Congress could not hinder or regulate something it did not know about, and neither the President nor the Director of the CIA was about to tell them. Neither was J. Edgar Hoover, even though he was generally aware that the CIA was moving in on what was supposed to be exclusive FBI turf. (3)

References
2. Morton H. Halperin, et al., eds., The Lawless State (New York: Penguin, 1976), p. 138.
3. Ibid. "

from
Domestic Surveillance:
The History of Operation CHAOS
by Verne Lyon
from Covert Action Information Bulletin, Summer 1990
(Verne Lyon is a former CIA undercover operative
who is now a director of the Des Moines Hispanic Ministry)

http://www.serendipity.li/cia/lyon.html

Now, when Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald declines to investigate Judy Miller and the rest of Operation Mockingbird, you will know WHY he is doing what he isn't doing. Did I say that right ?

BTW, get well soon !

[writes2000]

13. They are really nailing Libby here. I'm surprised.

[cynatnite]

14. It sounds like the 'I forgot' defense isn't going to fly n/t

[babylonsister]

17. If these people came to that conclusion, I imagine Fitz

is way beyond that by far. It'll be interesting if Libby thinks that will save him.

[tulsakatz]

49. the last I heard.......

....that's what Libby's attorney is planning on using.

[tulsakatz]

26. 'I forgot' doesn't fly!!!

The 'I forgot' defense doesn't work and here's why.....

Libby lied to the FBI and he lied to the Grand Jury when he said he got the info from journalists. Now that the evidence has been uncovered, all of a sudden, he remembers that he got it wrong?

Sorry, it doesn't work that way. If you remember to tell the same lie in more than one conversation, you didn't forget......you just didn't want to admit it. That is......until you got caught!

[Catchawave]

15. Just found this show surfing.....

...sometimes CNBC does turn up some gems :)

What a panel...!

[Duer 157099]

18. Arrrgh! I wish I could join in their discussion!

So frustrating, like watching Maher last night, too... seeing points that need to be made and then AREN'T by anyone!

still watching... taping, too, so I can watch again and get frustrated anew!

[tulsakatz]

34. what's the name of the show?

I might see if they rerun it tonight if I know what to look for.....

[babylonsister]

38. MY TV just read "Tim Russert". He often interviews

authors or columnists in this time slot, but tonight was good.

[tulsakatz]

51. thanks!

I've seen that listed before but I haven't watched it. Thanks for the info.........

[justiceischeap]

20. David Gregory discussing political fallout for Shrub

And the questions he must answer.

[Disturbed]

28. Headline: Neo Fascist Shills discuss scapegoating...

Ex Chief of Staff of Corupt VP.

[Zen Democrat]

21. Did you hear Russert's comment about Bush saying

that "you reporters are good about covering your sources." The thinking being that the WH crowd would go in and blame everything on reporters, thinking that reporters wouldn't be able to breach their sources, ergo there would be no testimony contrary to what Libby and Rove were saying to the FBI.

Egads! They never expected a Special Prosecutor. They thought this would be handled by Ashcroft. What a bitter surprise.

[writes2000]

29. Yep, I perked up on that point as well.

I bet Bush is very nervous about people reviewing his conduct and his quotes.

[Duer 157099]

33. Yes, that was very telling

He obviously gets the point, that putting the press as the source was a deliberate cover attempt

[tulsakatz]

39. that was a bad strategy for Bush, etc.......

...because when you think about it, these same reporters deserve much of the credit for selling the war!! And now they want to blame their mistakes on the same reporters who built them up? Not a good idea in my opinion.....

[Zen Democrat]

57. Definitely not a good idea. The aspens turned.

[tulsakatz]

59. :-) they certainly did! n/t

[EVDebs]

47. This was one of Nixon's impeachable offences, abusing a federal agency

The CIA. Like when he tried to blackmail Richard Helms re that "Bay of Pigs thing" that would come out...

Strange thing was that the CIA's Helms was good friends with Ben Bradlee of the WashPost..."Benjamin Bradlee was born in Boston on 26th August, 1921. One of his closest friends as a child was Richard Helms."
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbradleeB.htm

who had quite an intell background himself, just like his cub reporter Bob Woodward,
http://www.webcom.com/ctka/pr196-woodward.html

who had a source named Robert F. Bennett who worked for Mullen & Co, a CIA front that did domestic ops with E Howard Hunt and those Cuban burglars who did a certain break-in...

""I have told Woodward everything I know about the Watergate case, except the Mullen Company's tie to the CIA."--Robert F. Bennett, testifying before House Special Committee on Intelligence, July 2, 1974. Robert Bennett was the head of Robert R. Mullen and Co., a CIA front headquartered in the very same building as the CIA's Domestic Operations Division. The Mullen Co. did legitimate PR work; it also did PR for other CIA fronts and provided cover abroad for CIA operations. Bennett's most notable employee was Howard Hunt, a former chief of covert actions for the Domestic Operations Division of the CIA."
www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/07.03.97/scoop-9727.html

So it looks like when the Praetorian Guard intell agency gets bitch-slapped by an imperial Presidency and starts breaking all sorts of laws, like they can get away with ANYTHING...you wanna know something ? That agency can play unpatriotic sure, we all know that, but it can also play PATRIOTIC too.

There's an internal war going on right now for the heart and soul of the CIA and its sister intell agencies. They can provide 'cover' for the crap that Bush & Co. have been up to for so long, or they can be real Patriots and fix the mess we're all in right now.

It's really up to them. We can only beg they choose the right course of action, the honorable one.

[tulsakatz]

58. Bradlee

I had no idea that Bradlee was that close to someone in the CIA!

Great post.....thanks for the info.

[justiceischeap]

22. Now talking about using this as an effort to put Iraq war on trial

eom

[EVDebs]

55. The media either does or Operation Mockingbird goes public

as Dick Cheney would say "BIG TIME". It's up to the professional journalists this time, "we can either have great wealth or a democracy, but we can't have both" (Louis Brandeis).

If the media MSM doesn't follow up on Operation Mockingbird and start exposing their own dirty laundry the only other option that spares them the embarrassment is a trial...where these untidy matters can be put away discretely. However, a Grand Jury of citizens can start flapping their lips and the juicy leaks about Mockingbird and the abuse of the War Powers Act of 1973...it all will come out.

Better to come clean and in court or have a huge scandal do it. Either way....the truth will out.

[Gabi Hayes]

60. I hope you're right, but what MSM journalist besides Bernstein himself

--if you can count him as mainstream now--has ever mentioned the existence of OM?

like, "HI, I'm Walter Pincus and I've been on retainer with the CIA for thirty five years"

I know it's not that simple, but where's the impetus going to come from

we know the media has been bombarded since before the 2000 selection with cries to cover stories, for a modicum of fairness, to no avail

Still, nothing on Brewster Jennings and ramifications of that fiasco

when are they going to cover the important stories in a satisfactory manner, if at all

not holding breath

great posts, btw....excellent recap of the Watergate investigations

[EVDebs]

65. Impetus is pure rational patriotism

No SELF-RESPECTING journalist today can look themselves in the mirror and say they want to turn out just like Judy Miller, security clearance and Times seat at WH briefing rooms and all that faux prestige.

Your good name is all you got when it comes time to meet St. Peter (Jennings ?).

Yeah, that's the ticket ! Back when ABC was just 'another broadcasting company' and the CIA's own Wm Casey and his Cap Cities wheelers and dealers wanted to turn it into the CIA's Network Jennings threw a fit (from what I've heard)

From CIA, Drugs and Wall St
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ciadrugs/dontblink.html

"Disney owns ABC and has a huge retail, resort and entertainment empire that benefits from the "drug multiplier." Would ABC consider hurting its parent's stock value? Ronald Reagan's CIA Director, William Casey had been Chief Counsel to Cap Cities Broadcasting until 1981. His old law firm represented Cap Cities when it bought the ABC network in 1985. ABC's Peter Jennings, by the way, had been doing a series of investigative reports on the CIA drug bank (and successor to the Nugan Hand bank) Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong when the buyout was initiated. Cap Cities (not surprisingly) secured SEC approval in record time and effectively and immediately silenced Peter Jennings who had previously refused to back down from Casey's threats. Thereafter ABC was referred to as "The CIA network."

I have no doubt that the ABC "object lesson" was front and center for CNN founder Ted Turner and Time-Warner when Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and (CIA vet) John Singlaub put the pressure on in the wake of April Oliver's 1998 "dead bang accurate" Sarin gas stories connecting CIA to the killing of American defectors."

also, Jennings in the Bishop Baldwin Rewald Dillingham & Wong banking scandal from Mass Media Coverup at
http://www.wanttoknow.info/massmedia

"At the center of the uproar was Scott Barnes who said on camera that the CIA had asked him to kill Rewald. After the show aired, CIA officials met with ABC News executive David Burke. They presented no evidence to counter the charges made in the program. Nonetheless, Burke was sufficiently impressed “by the vigor with which they made their case” to order an on-air “clarification” in which Peter Jennings acknowledged the CIA’s position but stood by the story. But that was not good enough. Casey called ABC Chairman Leonard H. Goldenson. The call led to three meetings between ABC officials and Stanley Sporkin, CIA general counsel. On November 21, 1984, despite all the documented evidence presented in the program, Peter Jennings reported that ABC could no longer substantiate the charges, and that “We have no reason to doubt the CIA’s denial.” He presented no evidence supporting the CIA’s position. (pp. 131, 132)"

Peter at least tried to stand by the story! Bless his immortal soul. Now who else values their name in the business ?

[writes2000]

25. Wow, Andrea Mitchell made another good point

There were THREE officials who stated that the uranium/Niger story wasn't true at the time. Wilson was only one.

Go David Gregory! He's keeping them on point.

[shance]

30. Wow. The name of the show should be "Meet the Accomplices"

n/t

[dzoner]

31. reply

Surprised she (AM) let that out about the other two sources as about ten minutes ago Andrea Mitchell seemed to be discrediting Joe Wilson for being correct that the papers were false now stating he could not 8 months ago have known that, and now 8 months later she brilliantly can say they are false!

[grasswire]

72. was it AM or Williams who said...

...that Wilson "lied" in his report about the yellowcake? I think it was Williams.

I wonder if Media Matters has taken this on.

[Catchawave]

43. Hey kids....ya know....

DU is the best at keeping in touch with MSM personalities/journalists...hint..hint..if you see a 'moran' pundit, use your email skills, send a short/sweet note of agree/disagree, and please include your REAL name/address. (sorry, anonymous emails don't corporately count, of course !)

Here, I'll give ya's a leg up:

http://www.nbc.com/News_&_Sports/

Have fun :hi:

[Duer 157099]

54. Can we send them a link to this thread?

I wonder if they read this place

[Catchawave]

66. Absoulutely....

DU has the best minds on the "internets" :hi:

[wishlist]

64. This Tim Russert show on CNBC is scheduled to repeat at 10pm, 1am ET

I just checked my CNBC channel where this show is going to play again at 10pm tonight and again at 1am.

[cynatnite]

68. On now! n/t

[medeak]

70. GAWD I HATE ANDREA MITCHELL!

like have never before...

[KaryninMiami]

77. It is on Again NOW-- 1am EST= CNBC

[Tennessee Gal]

78. Interesting - Andrea Mitchell

said there is no question now that Valerie Plame's cover was blown and a CIA agent was outted.

Haven't heard any talking head come out with that before.

[Sugarcoated]

76. I hope this will be on again tomorrow

because I missed most of it