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> When Robert Novak outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, he protected his source. At this time, Scooter Libby ... Tim Russert (a longtime member of the DC press

by anamax 16y ago

> When Robert Novak outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, he protected his source. At this time, Scooter Libby ... Tim Russert (a longtime member of the DC press establishment) who had passed along the leaked Scooter Libby information to Novak Libby wasn't the source and Russert wasn't in the chain. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Plame http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Plame "On July 14, 2003, Washington Post journalist Robert Novak, from information obtained from Richard Armitage at the US State Department, effectively ended Valerie Plame's career with the CIA (from which she later resigned in December 2005) by revealing in his column her identity as a CIA operative.[31][32]" That said, "Why Armitage's role in disclosing Plame's identity to Novak was not pursued has never been explained."

jeremymims 16y ago
It's entirely possible that Armitage was also a source. There was clearly a coordinated effort from the Vice President's office to discredit Joe Wilson. However, Libby claimed that Russert was his source too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert "In the Plame affair, Scooter Libby, convicted chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that Russert told him of the identity of Central Intelligence Agency officer Valerie Plame" "Posthumously Russert was revealed as a thirty-year source of columnist Robert Novak, whose original article revealed Plame's affiliation with the CIA." Written by Robert Novak: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/my_friend_and_my_source.html http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/my_friend_... "Russert and I were both uncomfortable about being witnesses, for different reasons, in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case, but we never discussed it. He always supported me, despite demands that he throw me overboard. When my memoir was published last year, Russert was generous in granting me abundant time on "Meet the Press" and his own MSNBC program." I'm not sure how Russert could throw him overboard if he wasn't a source.
- anamax 16y ago
  > It's entirely possible that Armitage was also a source. There was clearly a coordinated effort from the Vice President's office to discredit Joe Wilson. However, Libby claimed that Russert was his source too. Whether or not that's true, it's irrelevant to the (false) claim that Libby was Novak's source. At best, it establishes that Libby wasn't Russert's source either, that the information went the other way.

by anamax 16y ago

jeremymims 16y ago

It's entirely possible that Armitage was also a source. There was clearly a coordinated effort from the Vice President's office to discredit Joe Wilson. However, Libby claimed that Russert was his source too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert "In the Plame affair, Scooter Libby, convicted chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that Russert told him of the identity of Central Intelligence Agency officer Valerie Plame" "Posthumously Russert was revealed as a thirty-year source of columnist Robert Novak, whose original article revealed Plame's affiliation with the CIA." Written by Robert Novak: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/my_friend_and_my_source.html http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/my_friend_... "Russert and I were both uncomfortable about being witnesses, for different reasons, in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case, but we never discussed it. He always supported me, despite demands that he throw me overboard. When my memoir was published last year, Russert was generous in granting me abundant time on "Meet the Press" and his own MSNBC program." I'm not sure how Russert could throw him overboard if he wasn't a source.

anamax 16y ago
> It's entirely possible that Armitage was also a source. There was clearly a coordinated effort from the Vice President's office to discredit Joe Wilson. However, Libby claimed that Russert was his source too. Whether or not that's true, it's irrelevant to the (false) claim that Libby was Novak's source. At best, it establishes that Libby wasn't Russert's source either, that the information went the other way.