Libby: Bush Approved Leak of Intelligence

[stargazer99]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...SEZDA&refer=us

Bush Approved Leak of Iraq Arms Intelligence, Libby Testified


April 6 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush authorized disclosure of classified information on Iraq's weapons program to rebut war critics, a former top administration aide told a grand jury, according to documents filed in federal court.

The documents don't allege the president approved the identification of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, although they were filed in connection with the investigation into who leaked the operative's name to reporters in 2003. The court filing by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald also doesn't suggest Bush violated any rule or law governing the handling of classified material.

The document described federal grand jury testimony by I. Lewis Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was indicted last October of charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to FBI investigators probing the Plame case.

In the filing, Fitzgerald describes Libby's testimony about disclosure to former New York Times reporter Judy Miller of a 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq's pursuit of nuclear materials.

``Defendant testified that the vice president later advised him that the president had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE,'' Fitzgerald wrote.

Cheney previously has said he has authority to release classified information, as does the president.

``There's an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously it focuses first and foremost on the president, but also includes the vice president,'' Cheney said in a Feb. 15 interview on Fox News.

The administration had no immediate comment on the court document, which was filed last night.



To contact the reporter on this story:
Richard Keil in Washington at [email protected].

Last Updated: April 6, 2006 11:26 EDT

[stargazer99]

Here's a link to an article on the Smoking Gun, which includes a copy of Fitzgerald's court filing.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0406061libby1.html

Libby: Bush Authorized Plamegate Leak
Indicted ex-Cheney aide told grand jury of White House approval

APRIL 6--A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that President George W. Bush authorized him to leak information from a classified intelligence report to a New York Times reporter. Details of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's testimony were included in a court filing made yesterday by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is prosecuting Libby for perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements in connection with the probe into the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. According to Fitzgerald's filing, an excerpt of which you'll find below, Libby, 55, testified in 2003 that he provided reporter Judith Miller with information from a classified National Intelligence Estimate after being told by Cheney that Bush "specifically had authorized" him to "disclose certain information in the NIE." Libby also testified that Cheney specifically directed him to speak to other reporters about information in the classified NIE (which addressed Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction programs) as well as a cable authored by Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. The leaking of the classified material was apparently done in an effort to counter claims made by Wilson regarding the White House's justification for invading Iraq. The Fitzgerald filing also notes that Libby told grand jurors that he conferred with David Addington, Cheney's counsel, about the leak directive and that Addington told him "that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document." While both Bush and Cheney have been interviewed by Fitzgerald, it is unknown whether they confirmed or disputed Libby's assertion that he was authorized to disclose findings in classified reports. Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, resigned his White House post last October following his indictment on five felony counts. (7 pages)

Plamegate aficionados: Click here for PDF of entire 39-page Fitzgerald filing

[DavidMn]

I need a legal expert to help me with this one. EVen if he commited a crime, isnt he immune from prosecution as long as he's the president. ANd could he be charged with something after he leaves office?

[gldstwmn]

Hahahahahahahahaha........

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Hahahahahahahahaha........

It's nice to see you so gleeful. Are you happy because Dubya's hands are dirty with this one and there is finally evidence of that?

[BombaySapphire3]

Apparently what smirky did is still legal but IMO it's just the tip of the iceberg of the scandal of this horrible illegal and immoral war.Lets's get enough repugs out this November so the investigations can begin in earnest.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

It's nice to see you so gleeful. Are you happy because Dubya's hands are dirty with this one and there is finally evidence of that?

Yes. I think this is going to get even better. And I am really enjoying it.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I need a legal expert to help me with this one. EVen if he commited a crime, isnt he immune from prosecution as long as he's the president. ANd could he be charged with something after he leaves office?

I believe the answers to your questions are no and yes respectively, although the legal types around here would know for certain.

[DavidMn]

I see where Alberto Gonzales has already some out stating that the president can reveal information at his discretion. I just thought it was funny how fast that happened.

[SuzeQuze]

Steph just played Bush saying that if someone leaked classified info then they would find out who they were and deal with them accordingly. I had forgotten he said that. He's so stupid he forgot that he authorized it! Or, he was (gasp) lying.

I knew he would be a horrible president but I never imagined he would be this bad. I thought there were checks on the president's power and that he was, at times, more of a figurehead. Boy was I wrong. It still makes me so mad that people voted for him for personality reasons and not based on qualifications or policy.

[stargazer99]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Steph just played Bush saying that if someone leaked classified info then they would find out who they were and deal with them accordingly. I had forgotten he said that. He's so stupid he forgot that he authorized it! Or, he was (gasp) lying.

I was remembering this yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm afraid, many Americans have probably forgotten this by now. If only the mainstream media would pull out this tape and remind people. Because there will, unfortunately, be many people who will believe Gonzalez's claim that the President can do whatever the hell he wants, including giving up a CIA operative. (Of course, everyone's being careful right now in saying this leak doesn't mean he authorized the Plame leak. We know better, though, right?)

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Steph just played Bush saying that if someone leaked classified info then they would find out who they were and deal with them accordingly. I had forgotten he said that. He's so stupid he forgot that he authorized it! Or, he was (gasp) lying.

I knew he would be a horrible president but I never imagined he would be this bad. I thought there were checks on the president's power and that he was, at times, more of a figurehead. Boy was I wrong. It still makes me so mad that people voted for him for personality reasons and not based on qualifications or policy.

Remember rule #1, the rules dont apply to him.

[Nixxxed]

You're all just engaging in "crass politics". For shame!

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Steph just played Bush saying that if someone leaked classified info then they would find out who they were and deal with them accordingly. I had forgotten he said that. He's so stupid he forgot that he authorized it! Or, he was (gasp) lying.

I knew he would be a horrible president but I never imagined he would be this bad. I thought there were checks on the president's power and that he was, at times, more of a figurehead. Boy was I wrong. It still makes me so mad that people voted for him for personality reasons and not based on qualifications or policy.

The man avoids consequences better than Teflon Ron did.....apparently no deed is too dastardly for the gruesome twosome to commit....

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

The man avoids consequences better than Teflon Ron did.....apparently no deed is too dastardly for the gruesome twosome to commit....

Well, its recently come to be known that teflon erodes off of surfaces. So... I predict something's gonna stick.