Remember the Joe Wilson Yellowcake story that wasn’t a story, so mainstream media had to turn its focus on an alleged “outing” of his wife who worked for the CIA? Of course, presenting a memo she wrote, probably on agency letterhead, which was at the heart of Wilson’s claims, is hardly “outing” her when all it took was a 4th grade reading level to figure out her name on a letter with agency letterhead meant the agency was her employer. Newsweek is eager to implicate Karl Rove as a criminal in the matter.
Karl Rove’s attorney has admitted that Rove was one of many sources, but has indicated that Rove “never knowingly disclosed classified information” and that “he did not tell any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA.” Heck, his lawyer even said Rove had testified before the grand jury “two or three times” and signed a waiver authorizing reporters to testify about their conversations with him.
But Isikoff says, facts be damned, Rove is a criminal. But ask yourself, if Rove is the source who leaked the identity, and did so with the intent of disclosing the ID of an undercover operative, and he has signed a waiver authorizing reporters to speak freely about conversations with him, why would Matt Cooper risk going to jail to protect him? (For that matter, how could Cooper go to jail if the waiver exists?)
The facts don’t support the idea that Rove intentionally leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent. But that doesn’t stop Newsweak from alleging he is guilty anyway. Not suprising.
Update: An interesting little twist to this story. “Sources close to the investigation say there is evidence in some instances that some reporters may have told government officials — not the other way around — that Wilson was married to Plame, a CIA employee.”
