New Evidence Cheney Swayed Reaction to Leak
Discussions of CIA Agent Listed in Filing
Washington Post
By R. Jeffrey Smith July 3, 2009A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration’s public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson’s employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many related administration deliberations. The administration’s discussion of Wilson’s link to the CIA was meant to undermine criticism by her husband of administration allegations that Iraq attempted to acquire uranium, a matter that her husband had probed for the CIA, according to testimony presented in a 2007 trial.
A list of at least seven related conversations involving Cheney appears in a new court filing approved by Obama appointees at the Justice Department. In the filing, the officials argue that the substance of what Cheney told special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald in 2004 must remain secret. No such agreement was reached between Fitzgerald and Cheney at the time of their chat, according to a 2008 Fitzgerald letter to lawmakers. But the Bush administration rejected requests by Congress and a nonprofit group for access to two FBI accounts of the conversation, saying the material was exempt from disclosure under subpoena or the Freedom of Information Act.
The Obama administration has since agreed that the material should not be disclosed. A Justice Department lawyer at one point last month argued that vice presidents and other White House officials will decline to be interviewed in the future if they know their remarks might "get on ‘The Daily Show’ " or be used as fodder for political enemies…
The nonprofit group pushing for disclosure, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, responded yesterday with a statement that the Justice Department has subpoenaed such officials without difficulty in the past. "It is astonishing that a top Department of Justice political appointee is suggesting other high-level appointees are unlikely to cooperate with legitimate law enforcement investigations. What is wrong with this picture?" said Melanie Sloan, head of the group.
A list of what Cheney and Fitzgerald discussed appears in a declaration to the court by Acting Assistant Attorney General David J. Barron, who oversees the department’s Office of Legal Counsel. Barron said he thinks substantial portions of the chat are covered by "the deliberative process privilege," protecting advice, recommendations and other "deliberative communications" between government officials…
OBAMA: The OLC memos that were released reflected in my view us losing our moral bearings. … For those who carried out some of these operations within the four corners of legal opinions or guidance that had been provided from the White House, I do not think it’s appropriate for them to be prosecuted. With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more of a decision for the Attorney General within the parameters of various laws, and I don’t want to prejudge that.
The nonprofit group pushing for disclosure, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, responded yesterday with a statement that the Justice Department has subpoenaed such officials without difficulty in the past. "It is astonishing that a top Department of Justice political appointee is suggesting other high-level appointees are unlikely to cooperate with legitimate law enforcement investigations. What is wrong with this picture?" said Melanie Sloan, head of the group.
I have a sinking feeling rhat the Bush/Cheney people are still running the justice dept. in a less apparent capacity. So what if anything can be done about it?Do we write or call the White house switchboard in protest? I’m at a loss about what to do as a citizen. I wrote a while ago that I think Cheney is playing the Obama administration like a fiddle. I hope I’m wrong. Those of us who have tried to do something all these years need more than hope to right wrongs, we need tools to repair the trust and honor of our country.
My question about what we can do about the above problem about open gov”t etc. was staring me in the face. Mickey you write “I’m with CREW all the way” People like me could support CREW. The name of this organization speakes for itself, Citizens for Reponsiblity and Ethics in Washington. At least half the battle is knowing that there is a group of citizens fighting for honest and good gov’t.
Joy,
I agree with the strategy. When I write these things, or when you make another call, it doesn’t feel like much, but I see it like in the streets of Tehran, each one of those protesters counted. Think where we’d be if in these last eight years, we all sat on the sidelines. Just keep it up. It’s all we’ve got…