by TChris

The latest book to shed light on the dark innards of the Bush administration is (take a deep breath) The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity by Joseph Wilson. The wife in question is Valerie Plame, famously outed to Bob Novak as a CIA agent by persons as yet unknown in the Bush administration.

So who gave Novak the goods? Wilson points to Dick Cheney's office as a sensible place to start the investigation.

In the book, he named four administration aides, including Libby, who might have leaked the information. But he did not accuse any of them of doing so. Wilson said he has based his allegations on information supplied to him from multiple sources inside and outside the Bush administration.

Wilson connects Cheney to the events involving his wife through a meeting he said occurred in March 2003. He charged that Cheney's staff — with at least the "implicit" involvement of the vice president — met and decided to investigate his background. The investigation, he said, uncovered his wife's role at the CIA.

Plame's cover was blown after Wilson publicly accused the administration of lying about intelligence findings in order to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq. Wilson says his wife's identity was revealed to intimidate other potential critics.

Update (TL): Buzzflash interviews Joe Wilson here.