Rove’s Leak: Just the Facts

I’ve been on vacation for a week, and things have been interesting to say the least. There’ve been twenty-two car bombs in Iraq, and three suicide bombings on Sunday in Egypt, London, and Baghdad. Bush has found a Supreme Court nominee that might overturn Roe v. Wade and get approved by the the Dems. (And I agree with Gary that we shouldn’t waste our breath on Roberts.) The White House is still saying that they’ll wait until investigations prove Rove committed a crime, though many Americans think he should be fired anyway.

I’ll stick with my favorite subject, the Rove scandal. Here are the facts so far:

• The White House lied about Rove’s outing the identity of a covert CIA agent. On September 29, 2003 McClellan said of the then suspicions of Rove that “…it is simply not true.” Here’s a transcript of the press conference.
  
• The White House also said that, “Leaking classified information, particularly of this nature, is a very serious matter.” See the same press conference above.
  
• It was illegal to identify Plame, whether it was as confirmation of what a reporter may have said, whether it was by name, or whether it was by nodding toward her in a line-up. Here’s what the law says.
  
• Rove has admitted to telling at least two reporters that Wilson’s wife was a CIA agent. And yes, she was under cover. Not anymore.
  
• Our national security has been compromised. James Marcinkowski testified to that fact last week before Congress.

This, by the way, is only what we know from reading the newspapers. Meanwhile what the hell is the President doing about it? Apparently nothing but waiting. How can any GOP leader with a conscience not stand up and criticize Bush? Bottom line: Rove should be fired if Bush is serious about national security. -T

My favorite quote of the week:

When this unprecedented act [leaking Plame’s identity] first occurred, the President could have immediately demanded the resignation of all persons even tangentially involved. Or, at a minimum, he could have suspended the security clearances of these persons and placed them on administrative leave. Such methods are routine with police forces throughout the country. That would have at least sent the right message around the globe, that we take the security of those risking their lives on behalf of the United States seriously. Instead, we have flooded the foreign airwaves with two years of inaction, political rhetoric, ignorance, and partisan bickering. That’s the wrong message. In doing so we have not lessened, but increased the threat to the security and safety of the people of the United States.

— From last week’s testimony by James Marcinkowski, a former CIA case officer and a former prosecutor