High Crimes and Misinformation

Bigger than Rove, is the news that Washington Leaks don't only blow covers of CIA agents, but as AMERICAblog nicely summarizes for us, they blow Al-Quaeda mole covers as well. Turns out there was a mole (remember that guy Kahn that was arrested by Pakistan, and that terror alert which somehow involved brick city?) that was outed by a Washington Official. That mole had already helped capture the first cell that was plotting to bomb london. The plot seemingly was kept alive in order to catch other Al-Quaeda folks. It was working until the Washington Official leaked his name to the press.

So London's bombing was avoidable, had it not been for that leak in Washington.

While we're on the topic of leaks, today the Republican talking point was pushed into the pages of the NY Times. A paper that cannot possibly stop publishing bullshit even when one if its own reporters is behind bars. Liberal Oasis and Talk Left help us cut through the crap.

However, the tip off that Fox news has alredy asked the question "but who gave Rove the info?" is a major hint. This is nothing but spin served up by someone collaborating with Rove his lawyer or at the very least someone sympathetic to Rove.

However, the big question is still out there. First and foremost the question has always been, who told Novak. And if the report is true (unlikely) that Novak told Rove, then Who told Novak is still the age old question. The question never really went away. And this still does not take the heat off of Rove. We know that Rove perpetuated the leak to another reporter Matt Cooper. The chronology is important here.

The previously undisclosed telephone conversation, which took place on July 8, 2003, was initiated by Mr. Novak, the person who has been briefed on the matter said.

Six days later, Mr. Novak's syndicated column reported that two senior administration officials had told him that Mr. Wilson's "wife had suggested sending him" to Africa. That column was the first instance in which Ms. Wilson was publicly identified as a C.I.A. operative.

The conversation with Mr. Novak took place three days before Mr. Rove spoke with Matthew Cooper, a Time magazine reporter, whose e-mail message about their brief talk reignited the issue. In the message, whose contents were reported by Newsweek this week, Mr. Cooper told his bureau chief that Mr. Rove had talked about Ms. Wilson, although not by name.

So I am sure the wingers are going nuts over Novak is the bad guy (so willing they are to out one of their finest foot soldiers in the war on truth). But rember, when Rove told Cooper, it was not yet public that Valerie Plame was CIA.

So Rove if I can cut through the crap in this article so can most anybody else.

Chronology is important.

And the New York Times, should know better than to publish this Republican talking point. What about Judy? I mean she's a rotting in jail over this case, the least you would do as an organization is get some serious reporting down to the bottom of this story to get the public's attention to the facts. Not this disinformation. Obviously comming from a friend of Karl's at best, or a criminal (as Talk Left suggests) at worse.

So this NYT is a classic case of "don't believe everything you read." Now when is British Intel gonna start their investigation on who leaked the mole that could have helped them save over 50 of their citizens lives, millions (if not billions) in damage, and the undelible stain on their national security?

MI5 it is obvious we aren't capable of dealing with anything but the political truth in this country, perhaps you guys could come over and beat some sense into this countries cowardly leakers leaders.