Bush Launches the Nixon Defence
President Bush has let it be known, through an intermediary, that he was behind the leaking of classified information which led to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, undid years of CIA work, and put at risk the lives of scores of people.A senior administration official, speaking on background because White House policy prohibits comment on an active investigation, said Bush sees a distinction between leaks and what he is alleged to have done. The official said Bush authorized the release of the classified information to assure the public of his rationale for war as it was coming under increasing scrutiny.
I love the irony of "a senior administration official, speaking on background, because the White House prohibits comment on an active investigation." They make this absurd statement whilst commenting on an active investigation. When they want you to know something - they find ways of getting it out. What the don't want, meantime, is poor wee Scotty getting asked horrid questions about Bush's cronies and their crimes.
So it's now official, Bush has launched the Nixon defence; "It's not a crime when the President does it."
However, whilst his candour is to be welcomed, there are still a few outstanding questions.
Not the least of which is, why did Bush launch an expensive investigation into the leak if he knew all the time that he had been behind it?
Did he admit this when he was questioned by Fitzgerald? Did Cheney also admit it when Fitzgerald questioned him?
Why did he say "we might never find out who the leaker was" when, apparently, the leaker was him?
I know the President likes to joke about his lack of intellectual qualities, but I wonder if, even an intellect as stunted as his, can spell the words, C-O-V-E-R-U-P.
Bush, it seems clear, was attempting to cover-up his administrations involvement by launching an investigation that was supposed to find nothing. It was only after Fitzgerald took over that Bush's plans appear to have unravelled.
Had Fitzgerald not been so insistent, Bush would have got away with it.
The reality now is that, having feigned ignorance for months, Bush will now try to turn this into a discussion of who has the power to declassify documents.
That's a red herring.
What we need to concentrate on is why the President pretended for so long that he didn't know who the leaker was.
Lies of omission are still lies. The President deliberately, repeatedly, omitted his involvement and plead ignorance.
That was a lie. The President is a liar.
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