News Intelligence Analysis
From the Progress Report
Plamegate
Debunking Rove's Spin
by Judd Legum, Faiz Shakir, Nico Pitney,
Mipe Okunseinde and Christy Harvey
July 13, 2005
In our continuing series of reports examining Karl Rove's involvement in leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent, we'll focus today on the spin coming from right-wing operatives trying to defend Rove's unethical behavior. The White House's strategy in defending him -- a strategy devised by "Rove loyalists outside of the White House," according to the Washington Post -- is to try to undermine opponents calling for Rove's dismissal, play down Rove's role and wait for President Bush to name a Supreme Court nominee to drown out the controversy. What is important to note is that while the White House officially refuses to answer any questions on the growing scandal, Rove himself is clearly pushing out spin from behind the scenes. Terry Moran, ABC's White House correspondent, noted at the press briefing yesterday that Fox News has been able to report that Rove's conversations with Matt Cooper lasted for two minutes and focused on welfare reform. "They're getting that information from here, from Karl Rove," said Moran. All this spin detracts from one central fact: Rove leaked classified information that disclosed a covert CIA agent's identity.
Rove Talking Point-- Never Leaked Agent's Name: Even before a recently uncovered e-mail disclosed Rove's role in the leak, Rove has maintained, "I didn't know her name and didn't leak her name." Ken Mehlman, former political director at the White House under Rove, has reiterated, "He did not, according to what we learned this past weekend, reveal the name of anybody."
Fact--Rove Identified the Agent and Knew that What He Was Doing Was Wrong: A number of factors weigh against Rove's assertion. First, Rove identified Valerie Plame as "Wilson's wife." Under section 421 of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act the disclosure of "any information identifying [a] covert agent" is illegal. Second, Rove's lawyer is undermining the distinction between naming and identifying Plame as too legalistic and a minor detail. Third, Rove insisted on speaking to Cooper only on "double super secret background." As Andrew Sullivan notes, "Why would Rove have insisted on such a super-tight confidentiality standard if he was not aware that he was divulging something he truly shouldn't divulge?" Fourth, as Joe Wilson himself has indicated, his wife goes by Mrs. Wilson, so it would have been clear who Rove was talking about (and Rove attended the same church as the Wilson family, indicating he may know more about Plame than he's letting on)
Rove Talking Point--Rove Was Not Affirmatively Pushing the Plame Story: In a National Review article posted online yesterday, Rove's lawyer Robert Luskin claims Cooper manipulated what Rove said to him "in a pretty ugly fashion to make it seem like people in the White House were affirmatively reaching out to reporters to try to get them to report negative information about Plame." Luskin added that the purpose of the call between Cooper and Rove was to discuss welfare reform.
Fact--White House Orchestrated Campaign Against Wilson: What Cooper may or may not have done is irrelevant to the central point that Rove leaked classified information. The White House did act in an organized way to push Plame's identity as a way to discredit Wilson. First, Robert Novak admitted: "I didn't dig it out [Plame's identity], it was given to me.... They [the White House] thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it." Second, Rove told Chris Matthews that Plame's identity was "fair game." Third, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell noted in 2003 that she "heard in the White House that people were touting the Novak column and that that was the real story." Fourth, Time magazine reported the orchestrated campaign against Wilson in October 2003: "In the days after Wilson's essay appeared, government officials began to steer reporters away from Wilson's conclusions." Fifth, an administration official admitted the leak "was meant purely and simply for revenge." Sixth, it is irrelevant what the purpose of the call may have been. The crucial question is whether Rove intended to disclose Plame's identity.
Rove Talking Point--Attack Joe Wilson: Mehlman has asserted, "[Rove] tried to discourage a reporter from writing a story that was false." Rove attorney Luskin added, "What Karl was trying to do ... was to warn Time away from publishing things that were going to be established as false." A Wall Street Journal editorial said Rove "deserves a prize" for being a "whistleblower."
Fact--Bush Administration Admitted It Should Not Have Cited Yellowcake Evidence: The accuracy of Wilson's claims have no bearing on the central point that Rove leaked classified information. Wilson was reporting that Iraq was not acquiring yellowcake from Niger. As the White House attempts to play up the idea that Rove was simply trying to correct a reporter's story, it should be noted that the White House later agreed with Wilson that Bush should not have said in his 2003 State of the Union: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." First, the CIA asked Bush not to cite that claim before the speech. Second, the White House admitted it should not have cited that intelligence. Former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, "This information should not have risen to the level of a presidential speech." Condoleezza Rice said, "it was information that was mistaken." CIA Director George Tenet said the famous sixteen words "should never have been included in the text written for the President."
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