PBS NewsHour covering Plame CIA leak, hearing today- in some time zones

[TacticalPeek]

I mean it's still coming in some time zones, probably CST and west.

Leak Investigation
First Amendment attorneys went to court in Washington today to ask a judge to quash the subpoenas served to the journalists who allegedly received a leak from White House officials about the identity of a clandestine CIA agent married to outspoken Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson. Ray Suarez discusses Thursday's developments in the case with New York Times national legal correspondent Adam Liptak.


Thanks to NewDUer, catlawyer, who posted this in the Giant Plame Thread, fourth movement.

:)



Cheney is so toast!

:evilgrin:

[librechik]

1. basically NBC and Time asked to quash subpoenas

judge's decision on that due later (several weeks?)

also, president being interviewed for such a long time very unusual.


Nothing much new, but very interesting interview with a guy who knows his subject (Liptak)

[TacticalPeek]

2. What! No secret taping system?!?!

:silly:

Oh wait . . . NSA . . . Carnivore . . . nevermind.

[lancdem]

3. Does that mean there will be no developments

until after the judge decides? Wouldn't that be getting too close to the election?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

4. I got the feeling Litpak might know more than hes sayin, or suspecting.

He was choosing his words carefully.

[lancdem]

5. Could you elaborate?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

8. No.

Just his mannerisms and they way he was talking. My guess, based on his own sources and journo scuttlebut hes tapped into some rumors...but he cant really speculate on a show like the Newshour, tho if you heard, he did qualify his remarks.

[AlCzervik]

6. NBC is protecting Russet

[hansolsen]

10. Anybody have a good speculation list on who the "six" journalists are??

Besides Robert Novak, Tim Russert, and Chris Mathews, who else has been mentioned??

[AlCzervik]

11. Matthew Cooper of Time magazine also

[hansolsen]

13. Thanks, N/T

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

7. The impression I got is the stone wall is very high.

Litpak says, or implied, that the fact they are trying to get the journos talk might mean that Ftizgerald might not have got anyone to talk, but that the journos dont have much legal ground, in Fed court, to stay quite.

But he did question why the WaPo let their journo talk...speculatioon then went to Scooter Liddy as giving the journo permission to talk. ...& that might mean Liddy is clean on this.

[librechik]

9. yes, those were intriguing points.

others should watch in their own time zones--maybe we can squeeze some more knowledge out of that segment if we all try!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

12. Scooter LIBBY (not Liddy) took lots of notes....

...which fell into the hands of the investigators. IMHO, the "stone wall" disappeared the second those notes were turned over. And that implies that Libby is cooperating to avoid some major prison time. I'm guessing that Libby would give up his favorite grandmother at this point in time.

Ashcroft's Interest
<http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=8073>

Excerpt:

"Rove's interview with the FBI was highly significant, sources said, in that although Rove adamantly denied having leaked the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame, he admitted to having disseminated the information -- after it appeared in the news media -- to journalists, political activists, and other administration officials in an attempt to discredit Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV. At the time, Wilson was raising questions about the veracity of intelligence information used by President Bush in making the case to go to war with Iraq. Rove, through an assistant, declined to comment for this story.

In addition, sources said, Ashcroft received a briefing regarding copious notes maintained by I. Lewis Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. The notes, later turned over to investigators, detailed the inner workings of the White House Iraq Group. The ad hoc group was set up by senior administration officials to devise strategies to win over U.S. and international public opinion to support going to war with Iraq. Besides Libby, other regular key participants included Rove; Nicholas E. Calio, who was at the time the White House legislative liaison; and Deputy National Security Council Advisor Stephen J. Hadley.

Some of those notes described efforts to discredit Wilson by the White House Iraq Group, including Rove, in July of last year as the group was struggling to counter Wilson's allegations that the White House had exaggerated the potential nuclear threat posed by Saddam Hussein to the United States. It was during that time that two senior administration officials leaked information to columnist Robert Novak that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, was a covert CIA operative."

[lancdem]

14. John Dean speculated that there was a key witness

Fitzgerald "turned" months ago. Maybe it was Libby.

[TacticalPeek]

15. Thanks for that link.

In describing the pressure that Ashcroft recuse himself and name a special counsel to take over the probe, one senior official said: "He (Ashcroft) wasn't shoved. And it is probably too strong to say he was pushed. But he was strongly prodded to do what he did. There were respectful discussions. He was provided with some strong recommendations. We should leave it at that."


Makes me wonder how one twists the arm of the AG? Or how one gets someone who could twist it to do so.