Documents: Cheney told Libby that Bush okayed leak
According to documents filed yesterday by federal prosecutors, 'Scooter' Libby allegedly told prosecutors that Cheney told him "that . . . President [Bush] specifically had authorized [Libby] to disclose certain [intelligence] information" about the war in Iraq. [Findlaw]
Note that the President has the authority to declassify any piece of classified information; this allegation is relevant mostly to the debate over pre-war intelligence. [CNN] In general, the legal status of leaks is a complicated area of the law which is far from settled. For more information on the legal controversy, see the recent post "White House willl attempt to prosecute leaks."
US vs. I. Lewis Libby case documents [Findlaw]
Wilson-Plame-Novak-Rove Blame Game Timeline [Factcheck.org]
Legal analysis: "Ensor: Lowdown on documents in CIA leak case" [CNN]
UPDATED 4/7/06:
I had titled this post "Documents: Cheney told Libby that Bush okayed Plame leak," but reader JM corrects me. There is no evidence that the identity of Valerie Plame was part of the classified information President Bush authorized for leaking. Page 20 of the prosecutors' response in the Libby case, which discusses the President's authorization, says that the President "had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the NIE." [Findlaw]
While the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) did caution that claims about Iraq purchasing African uranium were "highly dubious," it did not - as far as I can tell - mention Plame, or even her husband Joseph Wilson's trip to Niger (which helped fuel the doubts about the uranium deal) specifically. [White House Briefing on NIE from FAS.org; National Security Archive's NIE coverage] In other words, if Bush's authorization to leak classified information extended only to "certain information in the NIE," then he could not have authorized the leak of Plame's identity. Of course, he could have also authorized the leak of Plame's identity separately, but at this point, there is no evidence of that. The National Security Archive actually released an article today titled "What the President Leaked: Authorized Leak or Declassification?" [National Security Archive]
Note that the President has the authority to declassify any piece of classified information; this allegation is relevant mostly to the debate over pre-war intelligence. [CNN] In general, the legal status of leaks is a complicated area of the law which is far from settled. For more information on the legal controversy, see the recent post "White House willl attempt to prosecute leaks."
US vs. I. Lewis Libby case documents [Findlaw]
Wilson-Plame-Novak-Rove Blame Game Timeline [Factcheck.org]
Legal analysis: "Ensor: Lowdown on documents in CIA leak case" [CNN]
UPDATED 4/7/06:
I had titled this post "Documents: Cheney told Libby that Bush okayed Plame leak," but reader JM corrects me. There is no evidence that the identity of Valerie Plame was part of the classified information President Bush authorized for leaking. Page 20 of the prosecutors' response in the Libby case, which discusses the President's authorization, says that the President "had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the NIE." [Findlaw]
While the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) did caution that claims about Iraq purchasing African uranium were "highly dubious," it did not - as far as I can tell - mention Plame, or even her husband Joseph Wilson's trip to Niger (which helped fuel the doubts about the uranium deal) specifically. [White House Briefing on NIE from FAS.org; National Security Archive's NIE coverage] In other words, if Bush's authorization to leak classified information extended only to "certain information in the NIE," then he could not have authorized the leak of Plame's identity. Of course, he could have also authorized the leak of Plame's identity separately, but at this point, there is no evidence of that. The National Security Archive actually released an article today titled "What the President Leaked: Authorized Leak or Declassification?" [National Security Archive]
posted at 4:37:00 PM | permalink
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