Sunday Times: Security adviser named as source in CIA scandal (Hadley)

[sabra]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1880016,00.html

Security adviser named as source in CIA scandal
Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter


THE mysterious source who gave America’s foremost journalist, Bob Woodward, a tip-off about the CIA agent at the centre of one of Washington’s biggest political storms was Stephen Hadley, the White House national security adviser, according to lawyers close to the investigation.

Woodward, the Washington Post reporter who broke the Watergate scandal that forced President Richard Nixon out of office, has refused publicly to divulge the name of his informant without permission, which has thus far been withheld.

...

“I’ve also seen press reports from White House officials saying that I am not one of his sources,” Hadley said with a smile. Asked if this was a yes or no he replied: “It is what it is.”

A White House official said the national security adviser’s ambiguity was unintentional and repeated that Hadley was not Woodward’s source. But others close to the investigation insisted that he was.

Another confirmation of RawStory's mid-week scoop...

[tulsakatz]

1. it is what it is?

what kind of a bullshit answer is that?

[Skink]

2. Boom Shakalaka.

Bush should fire him.

[sabra]

4. a "I know I'm guilty" answer...

peace.

[54anickel]

10. Why point to WH press releases that he knew were not true? Was he

just being cocky or is there some scheme being played out? :shrug:

This whole thing doesn't pass the smell test.

[VegasWolf]

13. Exactly. This does not pass the smell test. What kind of answer was

that. He acts as if he does not give a damn about what the courts think.

[PurityOfEssence]

29. He doesn't.

None of these guys have any regard for the law; it's all about getting what they want. Hadley's the guy who took the fall for not passing on Tenet's demand to take the nuclear references out of the SOUA in '03. (Gosh, sorry, guys; that piddly old nuclear stuff just musta slipped my mind...)

Some fall, huh? He's still there and still as powerful as ever.

[daleo]

5. It depends on what "is" is.

Right wingers had a laugh over that line before, now they seem to have found some wisdom in it.

[thecrow]

It all depends on what is is....

[tulsakatz]

12. haha..........n/t

[holboz]

26. He must have read in Vanity Fair that it's the trendy phrase to use.

It's in this month issue.

[skids]

30. That's the same answer my former CIO gave.

When he was defending a completely indefensible policy.

[aquart]

3. My, what disingenuous spin.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

6. I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam

He's POOPeye the failure man! (toot toot)

[splat]

7. Hadley told his staff it wasn't him. oops n/t

[Up2Late]

8. Anyone want to bet that * will STILL decide NOT to fire him even if...

...this turns out to be true?

He'll come up with some sort of BS excuse not to fire him.:mad:

[sabra]

9. All of Bushco needs to be fired, including *...

where's the Donald when you need him?

[AlCzervik]

15. see thats when he'll get his medal of Freedom.

[grasswire]

11. the White House or the Animal House?

"You fu*ked up. You trusted us."

[natrat]

14. jeeze they really are all just sleazey crooks

"it is what it is" :)

[savemefromdumbya]

16. Wasn't Hadley tied to the niger forgeries?

[Halliburton]

17. yeah he was the pointman in the WH

[Delphinus]

21. Isn't Hadley also

the Dark Lord's new Chief of Staff, since Scooter Poot had to resign?

[ngGale]

18. LMAO..."Animal House"...

the White House is above reproach.:sarcasm:

:popcorn:

[sofa king]

19. Hadley is gonna bring down this President.

Say the name often, and get to know it well. It's becoming obvious that Bob Woodward's little juke-move this week was very fortuitously timed.

What influence did Hadley's disclosure have on the outing of Valerie Wilson? Probably none. Like Woodward said, it doesn't really matter that much.

But Mr. Hadley is VERY important in the huge, disgusting crime which lies beneath the mere outing of Valerie Wilson. Hadley was the guy in charge of the rogue intelligence meetings with Italian agents, and was warned by the CIA to stop them. Hadley appears to be the guy who arranged for those document forgeries to be delivered. Hadley is the guy who overrode George Tenet's objections and placed the uranium sentence in the State of the Union Address.

And guess who promoted Mr. Hadley for doing all of that highly unprofessional, unethical, and illegal stuff? That's right, the President himself gave Hadley Condoleeza Rice's old job when she moved to the State Department. Criminal conspiracies try to keep it all in the family, and that's just what happened here.

Hadley is the last guy in between the President and the abyss. Now the press is on to him, and they are in the enviable position of being able to advance a criminal case against the White House while the White House is trying to kill the investigation before it starts.

They're not going to get away with it now. Now that Hadley is part of Plamegate, it's going to be easy for the press to lead the public straight into the false justification of the war, and the fact that the President rewarded him for producing forged documents.

Thank you, Mr. Woodward.

[mdelaguna2000]

20. Nice low down. Thanks. nt

[Tin Man]

23. excellent analysis

I agree - Hadley is the central lieutenant in the Plamegate/Iraq Deception conspiracy. I expect the revelation of Hadley's involvement will likely be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back and ultimately topple this administration.

Not too shabby, Mr. Woodward...

[Hissyspit]

24. sofa king, I am posting your post as its own thread

your post is post of the day, IMHO

[Kber]

25. and Hadley is on BUSH's staff

not Cheney's right? That seems significant.

[suegeo]

22. If true, at least Hadley is a shade better than the last NSA

Think about that: Bush's National Security Adviser (Hadley) has compromised our national security by leaking the name of a CIA agent working on WMDs. As bad as that is, it's still not as bad as our last National Security Adviser (Rice), who presided over our national security when one of the biggest failures in national security (September 11) took place. Well, I mean, the attacks were a failure from the perspective of your average peasant. But from the perspective of the perpetrators...

[leesa]

27. Why do they keep repeating this bit about her covert status?

"It is an offence in America to reveal the identity of a covert agent, although doubts remain about Plame’s precise status."

There is no doubt she was covert, so why do they play this game?

[many a good man]

28. Fitz said her status was "classified"

And that's good enough for him (and the CIA).