The Plame Games Continue
The big news this week was that Karl Rove was not indicted and George W. Bush tried to change the subject. All I will say is that I know too much to give Karl Rove a free pass.
In the investigation of who outed CIA operative Valerie Plame, the name of former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has surfaced. There was some speculation this week that Armitage might be a target of Special Prosecutor's Fitzgerald investigation. That didn't sound right to me though one never knows. In most administrations, Richard Armitage would be the conservative of the administration but in the Bush Administration, he and, even more so, Colin Powell pretty much played the roles of moderates, at least by comparison. Armitage is a tough player but helping Scooter Libby and Karl Rove play their games somehow doesn't seem to be Armitage's style.
It may turn out that if any of this stuff ever gets to trial, the prosecution may use Richard Armitage as one of the witnesses and that makes more sense to me; for the moment, I'm inclined to stand by Truthout, even if Jason Leopold needs to find out what happened to his earlier story about Rove's indictment; Truthout turns to a story in The New York Daily News:
I urge treating these stories with a certain amount of skepticism until there is an official announcement of some sort on the investigation. I sense high stakes games being played and people like Karl Rove are highly motivated to mislead and bamboozle the public; he has been known to plant multiple stories. And he would have no trouble getting help to play his games. But that is exactly what the Valerie Plame affair is all about: an arrogant and reckless game of deceit that got out of control.
All I want to know is who outed Valerie Plame and why Bush refuses to deal with the issues involved. America is still waiting for the answers.
In the investigation of who outed CIA operative Valerie Plame, the name of former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has surfaced. There was some speculation this week that Armitage might be a target of Special Prosecutor's Fitzgerald investigation. That didn't sound right to me though one never knows. In most administrations, Richard Armitage would be the conservative of the administration but in the Bush Administration, he and, even more so, Colin Powell pretty much played the roles of moderates, at least by comparison. Armitage is a tough player but helping Scooter Libby and Karl Rove play their games somehow doesn't seem to be Armitage's style.
It may turn out that if any of this stuff ever gets to trial, the prosecution may use Richard Armitage as one of the witnesses and that makes more sense to me; for the moment, I'm inclined to stand by Truthout, even if Jason Leopold needs to find out what happened to his earlier story about Rove's indictment; Truthout turns to a story in The New York Daily News:
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has emerged as a key witness in the CIA leak probe, the Daily News has learned.
Armitage has been questioned several times, but is not expected to be indicted by the federal grand jury investigating who outed CIA spy Valerie Plame to journalists in 2003, sources said.
Armitage's testimony could hurt Vice President Cheney's indicted former chief aide Lewis (Scooter) Libby, or President Bush's political guru, Karl Rove.
Two sources familiar with the case said Armitage, Rove and Libby all had contacts with the press about Plame. Unlike Rove and Libby, Armitage appears to have tried to dissuade reporters from writing about her.
I urge treating these stories with a certain amount of skepticism until there is an official announcement of some sort on the investigation. I sense high stakes games being played and people like Karl Rove are highly motivated to mislead and bamboozle the public; he has been known to plant multiple stories. And he would have no trouble getting help to play his games. But that is exactly what the Valerie Plame affair is all about: an arrogant and reckless game of deceit that got out of control.
All I want to know is who outed Valerie Plame and why Bush refuses to deal with the issues involved. America is still waiting for the answers.
posted by Craig at 2:43 PM
1 Comments:
Nice post, Craig. I think you're reading of the tea leaves is good -- high stakes manuveurs with occasional shots over the bow, lots of smoke which may eventually lead to a fire in the Bush boiler room.
Post a Comment
<< Home