Russert was one of the players in Plamegate, I recall

[Divine Discontent]

how deep was his connection in it? not much? I wonder if he had talked with Scotty lately, also? Just wonderin...


(On edit: answered below by several people - the White House came to him, and he didn't bite on reporting what they wanted, but Novakula did, I just wonder why he & more people didn't hit them on it when it came out what was done - RIGHT THEN - to point out the bush adm. was treasonous)

[Pisces]

1. No he was not. That was a lie. He testified and there was nothing against Tim.

[Lex]

6. they floated the story to him because he was fairly loyal to them

fortunately for him, he didn't bite

[babylonsister]

7. That's not a lie; he was a player. He was the conduit between the wh

and m$nbc.

[Lex]

8. Exactly so. They knew they could use him because they had

in the past. He was just smart enough not to bite on Plame thing. Novak did instead.

[Divine Discontent]

10. ah... thanks for the further description. glad he didn't bite. eom

[John Kerry VonErich]

13. Hope you aren't saying he was a patsy and was "Wellstoned"

nt
better heading

[Lex]

16. LOL.

that's a stretch to pull out of that post

[John Kerry VonErich]

18. There are people here who will be crazy to make those kind of claims. lol

nt

[Lex]

19. true enough

nt

[John Kerry VonErich]

21. I'll tell ya

I remember reading DU on Ken Lay when he died of a heart attack. Lot of DUers here made a stand on the fact that his death was suspicious.

[H2O Man]

22. Not in this case.

He played no role in the exposing of Valerie Plame. His role was limited to Libby lying about where he learned about Plame's identity. Russert's conversation with FBI Agent Jack Eckenrode; his testimony to Fitzgerald's grand jury; and his testimony to the trial jury resulted in Libby being convicted of five felonies.

In the Plame scandal, Tim Russert played a 100% honorable role.

[babylonsister]

23. I never suggested he played a role in exposing Plame.

It seems to me he was the wh's 'go to' guy when they had a problem with Matthews opening his mouth about Plame instead of anyone else at the station. That's what I meant by 'player' in that he was involved-a conduit.

[H2O Man]

24. His role as far

as contact with the OVP was pre-Plame's being exposed. Scooter and Wolfowitz called to complain about Matthews' saying the White House lied about WMD, and used Wilson's op-ed as evidence.

I know that you didn't say he was a player in exposing Plame; I thought that you were implying that he was someone the White House used to spread misinformation. If I am wrong about that, I'm sorry. My point was that in this case, he was the opposite: he stood up to the OVP.

[babylonsister]

25. No, I'd never say that. As I recall, most pundits were very closed

mouthed about what was going on...except Matthews when he could sneak something on. This dragged on for so long, it's hard to even remember now (for me. I remember you faithfully covered it).

[H2O Man]

26. The attorneys for

NBC/MSNBC had advised that Matthews and Russert not reveal their roles. Even today, Matthews does not speak openly about it. He was decent enough to warn Joe Wilson when Rove called him.

It's important to remember that Libby, then Wolfowitz, and then Libby again, called NBC/MSNBC to complain about Matthews' reporting on the WMD lies, and then the Wilson op-ed. When their three calls failed to stop him, they had Rove call him -- at home -- to say that Plame was "fair game."

The implications were clear: the White House would attack Wilson in his home, by targetting his wife. Calling Matthews at home, after three calls to his work had failed to stop him, was intended as a threat. Rove was saying that they would come after Matthews in his home, too.

In light of this, Russerts' standing up to the OVP was a brave thing. Other journalists failed to meet the standards that Matthews and Russert set in that case.

[dave123williams]

2. He was the key witness. It was his testimony to investigators that made the special counsel happen.

I just heard both Brian Williams and Howard Kurtz, on different networks, say that.

I've had the same thought you're probably having. He could have been murdered.

Enough people have motive to keep him from ever testifying in anybody else's trial. Just sayin'.

[mmonk]

3. He testified I believe. That's not implication.

[dave123williams]

5. I don't think there was an implication, but nevertheless, he was a player.

[Divine Discontent]

9. thanks for the info everyone! eom

[mmonk]

17. Yes, he was a player.

I was just posting a clarification of sorts.

[rocktivity]

4. I've always wondered why he didn't recuse himself from covering Plamegate

...not.

My condolences to his father, who I'm sure never dreamed that he'd be burying his son.

:(
rocknation

[malaise]

11. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

He was a saint.

[PeaceNikki]

12. Scooter is the pig who pulled him into it

Ongoing CIA leak scandal

Scooter Libby, chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that Russert was the first to tell him of the identity of Central Intelligence Agency officer Valerie Plame (Mrs. Joseph C. Wilson). Russert testified previously and again in United States v. I. Lewis Libby that he did not tell Libby of Mrs. Wilson's CIA identity.

Russert testified again in the trial on Wednesday, February 7, 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert#Ongoing_CIA_leak_scandal

[Divine Discontent]

14. wow...

so Libby tried to blame Russert... that's pretty big. I'd forgotten that. I just knew his name was in this story, and he testified. Thanks for the info, very busy here, so bless ya!

[Lex]

15. The story was floated to him because he floated stories FOR THEM

in the past.

Thankfully for him, he passed on the Plame story.

But there is a reason why they called him and unfortunately it was because he had agreed to float stories for them in the past.

[H2O Man]

20. The White House

did not come to him with the Plame story. The Office of the Vice President had two individuals -- Scooter Libby and Paul Wolfowitz -- call NBC/MSNBC to complain about Chris Matthews' reporting on the WMD lies and Joseph Wilson's op-ed. All of these calls took place before Bob Novak revealed Plame's identity.

Russert spoke to FBI investigator Jack Eckenrode; testified before the Fitzgerald grand jury; and testified before the jury that convicted Libby of five felonies.