Cliff Kincaid
Re: [LEAK-GATE] FBI interviews CIA operative
Tue Oct 7 18:17:31 2003
64.140.158.241

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [LEAK-GATE] FBI interviews CIA operative
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:26:12 -0400
From: "Cliff Kincaid" kincaid@comcast.net
To: "APFN" APFN@apfn.org

http://www.aim.org/publications/weekly_column/2003/10/07.html
 
October 7, 2003

INVESTIGATE THE CIA

By Cliff Kincaid

The liberals in the media were not alarmed when pro-communist activists were naming CIA agents for the purpose of destroying secret operations against the Soviet empire. In fact, journalists relied on people such as CIA defector Philip Agee, who specialized in naming the names of CIA operatives, for stories. The federal law that prohibits the naming of agents under cover was passed in response to Agee’s activities.

Today, however, it has become a major "scandal" that one or two Bush administration officials named Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s wife as a CIA employee to Robert Novak, a conservative columnist. Novak may have made a mistake in publishing the name, but the information those officials provided was far different than anything that Agee and his collaborators ever did. The officials were trying to explain why Wilson was picked by the CIA to conduct a mission to investigate the Iraq/uranium matter. Internet writer Darren Kaplan points out that Wilson’s selection might violate the federal anti-nepotism statute, which prohibits federal employees from even recommending the appointment of family members for jobs.

It is significant that Agee, who is now living in Havana under the protection of the Castro regime, has come to the CIA’s defense, calling the naming of Wilson’s wife "dirty politics." As Novak says, the affair smells of Bush-bashing.

Another bizarre development is that Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, a group of mostly former CIA employees, has taken sides against the administration. Its spokesman, Ray McGovern, had a 27-year career in the CIA and his articles critical of the administration on various foreign policy issues have appeared in Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), a publication associated with Lyndon LaRouche. McGovern told me that he gave EIR permission to reprint his articles because researchers for LaRouche "do some fairly good work" and he sees "no downside" to them using his material. He claims to know nothing about LaRouche.

LaRouche, now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, began his political career as a Marxist and served time in prison on financial fraud charges. Back in 1976, he called for bringing into being "a new Marxist International throughout the capitalist sector" and issued a statement of support for Iraq before the first Persian Gulf War. LaRouche recently asked the U.N. to declare President Bush and Vice President Cheney insane.

If a former high-level official like McGovern is in the dark about LaRouche, the CIA may be in far worse shape than anyone suspected.

The CIA had also kept Joseph Wilson’s name a secret. But he went public with a column in the New York Times because he wanted to bash the administration without the public knowing that his wife may have played a covert role in getting him that mission. As a Wall Street journal editorial put it, the real story is whether a faction in the CIA is "hoping to defeat" Bush by undermining his foreign policy and whether the Wilson mission was part of that effort.

Director George Tenet said that "CIA’s counter-proliferation experts, on their own initiative, asked" Wilson to make that trip. But these "experts" are also in the dark if they thought that Wilson’s quick trip to Niger would settle the matter. It looks like another CIA failure in pre-war intelligence. Disclosing her identity, which was not a highly protected secret anyway, probably caused no demonstrable damage. A simple Internet search could have revealed that her CIA-front company was bogus.

In fairness, Tenet had reported that Wilson confirmed Bush’s charge that Iraq sought uranium from Africa. Discussing Wilson’s report, Tenet said, "The same former official [of Niger] also said that in June 1999 a businessman approached him and insisted that the former official meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss ‘expanding commercial relations’ between Iraq and Niger. The former official interpreted the overture as an attempt to discuss uranium sales."

Similarly, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that, "…Ambassador Wilson’s report also noted that in 1999 an Iraqi delegation sought the expansion of trade links with Niger—and that former Niger government officials believed that this was in connection with the procurement of yellowcake. Uranium is Niger’s main export. In other words, this element of Ambassador Wilson’s report supports the statement in the government’s dossier."But in his Times column about investigating the Iraq/uranium story, Wilson did not discuss this. Instead, he focused on information that a deal was never completed so he could bash the administration. The media took the bait.

The investigation of the "leak" to Novak should be expanded to include those in the CIA behind Wilson’s trip to Africa. That’s the story the liberal media want to avoid.

Cliff Kincaid is Editor of the AIM Report.



----- Original Message -----
From: APFN
To: APFN Yahoogroups ; APFN SMARTGROUP
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 1:54 PM
Subject: [LEAK-GATE] FBI interviews CIA operative

Without Justice, there is JUST_US!

[LEAK-GATE] FBI interviews CIA operative
Tue Oct 7 14:44:44 2003
64.140.158.241
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=45111;title=APFN

White House staffers face deadline in CIA leak probe
FBI interviews CIA operative

Joseph Wilson says he believes the leak came from White House officials
Tuesday, October 7, 2003 Posted: 12:10 PM EDT (1610 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/leak.main/

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House staffers have until 5 p.m. today to relinquish all documents that may be pertinent in an investigation into who leaked the name of a CIA operative to the news media.

Under orders from the White House counsel's office, employees must search their records and turn in all potentially relevant documents -- including e-mails and phone call logs -- to that office by the deadline, or sign a form saying they have none.

About 500 of the roughly 2,000 staffers turned over what they had on Monday, a senior administration official said. The overwhelming majority of the 500 found they had no relevant documents, the official said.

The Justice Department sent a letter to the White House last week demanding that copies of the documents be given to investigators. The letter set this Friday as a deadline for the investigators to get the material, according to an administration official familiar with the letter.

Meanwhile, FBI agents have interviewed the operative, Valerie Plame, government sources confirmed to CNN Tuesday.

The sources would not say when she was interviewed.

Christopher Wolf, a lawyer representing Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, said the couple is "actively considering" a civil lawsuit because of what he described as damage done to them by the leak.

"We are evaluating the situation carefully and have made no decisions," Wolf said. Discussions are in the "early stages" and action is not likely soon, he said. Wolf would not cite any potential plaintiffs.

President Bush Monday called the investigation "a criminal matter" and said he expected all aides to cooperate fully and in a timely manner. He also voiced confidence the Justice Department "will do a good, thorough job."(Full story)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/06/cia.leak/index.html

Democrats have called for a special prosecutor, saying it would ensure more independence in the investigation. (Full story)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/30/cia.leak.politics/index.html

The investigation seeks to determine who leaked Plame's identity to journalist Robert Novak in July. Novak, a syndicated columnist and co-host of CNN's Crossfire, said two senior administration officials gave him the information about her.

Wilson said he believes the leak came from the White House as retaliation for a report he had released.

In 2002, at the CIA's request, Wilson investigated a report that Iraq had attempted to obtain uranium from Niger. He concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation. (Full story)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/07/06/sprj.irq.uranium/index.html

His disclosure of that mission, in a New York Times article in early July, helped fuel questions about whether the administration exaggerated the threat from Iraq to build support for the March U.S.-led invasion of the country. The White House later said that President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address should not have included the assertion that British intelligence showed Iraq had attempted to obtain uranium from Africa.

Wilson said Sunday that he and his wife are concerned about their personal security now that she has been revealed as a CIA employee.

The White House notice sent to employees Friday said the documents at issue include any created between February 1, 2002, and September 30, 2003, that "relate in any way" to Wilson's trip to Niger in February 2002 "or his wife's purported relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency;" those that relate to contact with a member of the news media about Wilson or his wife; and those that relate to contact with three reporters, including Novak.

-- CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King contributed to this report.
MORE ON LEAK-GATE
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/leak.main/

The Law:
Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 U.S.C. 421 et seq.)
(governing disclosures that could expose confidential Government agents)
http://foi.missouri.edu/bushinfopolicies/protection.html

LEAK - GATE:
This White House Scandal Finally Tips the Scale!
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/leakgate.htm

Did someone in the Bush Administration unmask a CIA spy to punish her
husband for challenging the case for war? A classic tale of whispers,
retribution and rivalries By Michael Duffy
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/leakgate2.htm

Without Justice, there is JUST_US!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LEAK-GATE/

LEAK-GATE: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LEAK-GATE/join

This White House Scandal Finally Tips the Scale!
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/leakgate.htm

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