Who's blood is on Robert Novak's hands?

[Patriot_Spear]

I wonder who Bob Novak has killed with his betrayal?

-snip-

"In 1975, Richard Welch, the CIA's station chief in Athens, stepped out of his car outside his residence and answered yes when a voice asked, "Mr. Welch?"

He was promptly shot dead while his wife watched in horror.

It's not widely known who blew Welch's cover. Former CIA director Richard Colby first blamed the murder on Counterspy magazine, which at one point had named Welch as a CIA employee. Then he backed off. In her memoir, former first lady Barbara Bush blamed Phillip Agee, a former CIA agent. She, too, backed off, when Agee threatened a lawsuit.

Wherever the responsibility lies, Welch's death was in large part responsible for the 1982 passage of a law making it a federal crime to reveal, without authorization, the name of an undercover agent. Violation could bring a $50,000 fine and/or 10 years in prison."

--------------------------------------------
Blown cover

Did the Bush administration identify a CIA operative because it was mad at her husband?

By DAVID BALLINGRUD, Times Staff Writer
St. Petersburg Times
published August 10, 2003


http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/10/Perspective/Blown_cover.shtml

[nuxvomica]

1. I wouldn't blame Novak

He's a journalist and was given the information by an unnamed official. As Novak said, if he hadn't published it someone else would have. It's now up to the Justice Department to find the leaker(s) and put him/them in prison. But let's not hold our breaths.

[Patriot_Spear]

3. I don't buy that...

That's like saying 'Somebody would have stolen the money anyway'. That's crap- Novak is just as guilty as the White House.

[Virginian]

8. Whoever told Novak could not have known unless

he held a security clearance. For him to have told is a breech of security. That leaker can be very dangerous. That leaker must be found and stripped of his ability to leak other info.

In theory, Novak is doing what the press is supposed to do - Tell what he knows. He has no way of knowing if this is classified or declassified information. But aren't journalists supposed to verify their info? Shouldn't someone know there is a leak and start working to fix it if Novak starts attempting verification? Shouldn't the verification tell Novak he can't release classified info? Are there two leaks?

Check those faucets for the hidden info on 9/11.

[nuxvomica]

16. This is not money, it's information

And someone else would have published it. The two senior administration officials who handed him the info would have leaked it elsewhere. It would've gotten out, not matter what. The guilty parties need to be caught and punished. Blaming Novak is a diversion.

[Fridays Child]

28. As the person who made it public, Novak must bear some responsibility.

As should the person who gave the information to him.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. I'd blame him.

He's a shill for the White House, and he knows damn well what he's doing when he takes a leak.

The story was a plant, and he's an all too willing part of it.

[Terwilliger]

17. BULLSHIT

Novak was doing administration dirty work trashing anybody who might say anything negative about the administration

Novak is a right-wing twerp who should be arrested and charged with treason.

[DemLikr]

20. "journalists" pick and choose what info they use every single day

Novak AND whomever gave him this info should be thrown in the slammer pronto.

Being an alleged journalist doesn't release one from responsibility and consequences.

[SharonAnn]

25. That's no excuse. Just because a bank is being robbed

doesn't mean that a person should participate in the robbery. As a matter of fact, it should be reported to the authorities.

No different here. Novak should have reported it to the authorities.

[Rex]

2. Did Novakula actually commit the crime

or was it someone in the Bush Regime? I ask this because nothing would please me more (well, almost nothing) then seeing Ol Bob get sent to The Pen to spend the remainder of his days as a prison *****. :evilgrin:

[Patriot_Spear]

4. They're both guilty ...

...you can't separate the snake from the fangs.

[Terwilliger]

18. Why would Novak say that the ambassador's wife was a CIA asset

if he didn't think it was (somehow) damaging to him? Maybe he was trying to say that the ambassador was in league with the CIA. Either way, Novak KNEW EXACTLY what he was doing by repeating this information.

Arrest his ass and throw him in the pokey.

[Divernan]

5. Novak has damaged intelligence gathering efforts of every agency.

The message to all the government intelligence agency employees and particularly to the operatives and all of their carefully cultivated contacts around the world was that if anyone in the network of which they are a member angers the Bush administration, they are at risk to be revealed. This makes it much more difficult and costly to obtain information in the "war on terror".

My understanding from talking to a recent grad of Columbia's School of Journalism, is that it is quite clear that journalists are not allowed to "protect their sources" if a crime is involved, and that journalists can be subpoenaed by a grand jury to testify as to details of that crime. So here we have a crime, and we have Novak referring to two high level people in the White House as his sources. If this government was interested in protecting its intelligence community, Ashcroft would have already investigated, By the way, it is also, IMHOP, a crime on Novak's part. Publication of the operative's name, if it was true that she was a CIA operative was a crime.

[ewagner]

6. So this is a federal crime

That means the Attorney General should be pursuing it........

ooopppps....I forgot, he's only interested in pursuing alleged Democratic crimes!

on edit:spelling

[Clete]

7. No, he's after pornographers, druggies and calico cats.

n/t

[ewagner]

9. calico cats?

n/t

[Patriot_Spear]

10. AshKKKroft is a religious fanatic...

He thinks that breed of cat is linked to Satan... no kidding. The guy is nuts.

[grasswire]

11. he actually has....

....staff make sure there are no calico cats in his vicinity.

[Patriot_Spear]

13. Paid Justice Department Agents Chasing Cats...

Geez... Why can't 60 Minutes do a piece on THAT!?

[TreasonousBastard]

12. He's a fanatic, but...

http://www.snopes.com/critters/gnus/calico.htm

[Patriot_Spear]

14. To paraphrase Bill Bradley...

A non-denial denial = Yes.

[ewagner]

22. JJJJJeeeeeezzzzzzz!

Thanks for the link. I had never heard that.

This scares the s**t out of me............

[Stephanie]

26. no joke

our country's been stolen by lunatics

http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,661458,00.html

According to the Tobias article, advance teams for an Ashcroft visit to the US embassy in the Hague asked anxiously if there were tabby cats (or calico cats as they are known in the US) on the premises.

"Their boss, they explained, believes calico cats are signs of the devil," Mr Tobias reported.

[Terwilliger]

19. not druggies

just the bongs

heh

"Just the bongs, ma'am"

[NoKingGeorge]

21. How to bring prosecution

Obviously there are criminal acts here. Can a states attorney general bring charges? Can the Newspaper be held libel? How about the representatives? Committee Open an investigation ?

Who should Patriots notify about this Treason??

[ewagner]

23. Aren't htere

Federal district prosecuters...regional at least? If it's a federal crime then it has to be done on the Federal level.

What about in the district of NY?

[GabysPoppy]

24. Why haven't any of the Democratic candidates brought this up?

I would love to hear one of the candidates bring this up publicly and at least demand an investigation. I also would expect some of the Democrats in the Senate and the House bring this up on the floor and demand an investigation. Let's see the repugs squirm and wriggle while these charges are made.

Who cares if Novak gets mad, it's not like he is going to write anything positive about our nominee anyway. The repugs yell law and order from the time they wake up in the morning, let them deal with one of their own.

I would like also to see one of the candidates challenge Tom Ridge on this point also. This is a Homeland security issue also. I would put Novak in the middle rather than a nameless administration person because their is no leverage in a "no name" person.

The media whores might find it very hard to avoid this story if one of their own is charged. It's time to put them on notice that they have a public to answer too.

[nuxvomica]

27. Here's more info

This is from David Corn's column in The Nation:

This is not only a possible breach of national security; it is a potential violation of law. Under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, it is a crime for anyone who has access to classified information to disclose intentionally information identifying a covert agent. The punishment for such an offense is a fine of up to $50,000 and/or up to ten years in prison. Journalists are protected from prosecution, unless they engage in a "pattern of activities" to name agents in order to impair US intelligence activities. So Novak need not worry.

http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=823