home

NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby

Just breaking in tomorrow's New York Times: Scooter Libby took notes during a June 12 conversation with Vice President Dick Cheney. In them, he writes that Cheney learned about Valerie Wilson working for the CIA from George Tenet.

Shorter version: Libby lied to protect Cheney, who may or may not have needed him to lie, and now Libby is hoisted on his own petard.

Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. Libby�s testimony to a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said. The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn about Ms. Wilson�s husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV...

Lawyers said the notes show that Mr. Cheney knew that Ms. Wilson worked at the C.I.A. more than a month before her identity was made public and her undercover status was disclosed in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak on July 14, 2003.Mr. Libby�s notes indicate that Mr. Cheney had gotten his information about Ms. Wilson from George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, in response to questions from the vice president about Mr. Wilson.

Libby first told investigators that he learned that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA from journalists.

That apparent discrepancy in his testimony suggests why prosecutors are weighing false statement charges against him in what they interpret as an effort by Mr. Libby to protect Mr. Cheney from scrutiny, the lawyers said.

I'll note here that a false statement charge is what prosecutors use when people lie to federal officials and are not under oath before the grand jury. In that case it would be perjury.

Lawyers say Libby and Cheney had no idea Valerie Wilson, as they call her, was covert or that the information was classified.

Disclosing a covert agent�s identity can be a crime, but only if the person who discloses it knows the agent�s undercover status. It would not be illegal for either Mr. Cheney or Mr. Libby, both of whom are presumably cleared to know the government�s deepest secrets, to discuss a C.I.A. officer or her link to a critic of the administration.

But, here's the rub: If Fitzgerald and the grand jury believe Libby tried to direct the investigation away from this conversation with Cheney, Libby is also facing an obstruction of justice count.

But any effort by Mr. Libby to steer investigators away from his conversation with Mr. Cheney could be considered by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel in the case, to be an illegal effort to impede the inquiry.

What did Cheney know about Valerie (non-Plame) Wilson?

The notes do not show that Mr. Cheney knew the name of Mr. Wilson�s wife. But they do show that Mr. Cheney did know and told Mr. Libby that Ms. Wilson was employed by the C.I.A. and that she may have helped arrange her husband�s trip.

It gets complicated here. Tenet, although interviewed by Fitzgerald, was never called to the grand jury, according to a former intelligence official.

Mr. Tenet was not available for comment on Monday night. But another former senior intelligence official said that Mr. Tenet had been interviewed by the special prosecutor and his staff in early 2004, and never appeared before the grand jury. Mr. Tenet has not talked since then to the prosecutors, the former official said.

The former official said he strongly doubted that the White House learned about Ms. Plame from Mr. Tenet.

June 12 was not only the date of the Libby-Cheney conversation, but the date Walter Pincus published his WaPo article :

On June 12, 2003, the day of the conversation between Mr. Cheney and Mr. Libby, the Washington Post published a front page story reporting that the C.I.A. had sent a retired American diplomat to the Niger in February 2002 to investigate claims that Iraq had been seeking to buy uranium there. The story did not name the diplomat, who turned out to be Mr. Wilson, but it reported that his mission had not corroborated a claim about Iraq�s pursuit of nuclear material that the White House had subsequently used in Mr. Bush�s 2003 State of the Union address.

Judith Miller also implies that Libby was falling on his sword for Cheney in her NY Times article:

In her testimony to the grand jury, Judith Miller, a reporter for the New York Times said that Mr. Libby sought from the start of her three conversations with him to "insulate his boss from Mr. Wilson�s charges."

Some questions:

  • Why is there no mention of a perjury charge? Did Libby come clean during his second grand jury appearance, or unbeknownst to us, was there a third...after Judith Miller testified?
  • Is a false statement or obstruction charge being readied against Dick Cheney for his statements to investigators in 2004? Did he tell them, as he said on Meet the Press in September, 2003, that he first learned of Wilson and his trip to Africa after Wilson's op-ed in the paper? Or did he come clean with investigators, thereby unwittingly setting Libby up to take a fall?
  • Why wasn't George Tenet called before the grand jury after Fitzgerald discovered Libby's notes? Surely he could confirm or deny telling Cheney about Valerie (non-Plame) Wilson? Was George Tenet Robert Novak's source? Did Tenet cooperate after Novak did? Did he testify voluntarily and not tell anyone? Or, is he also looking at a false statement charge? Or, was it not Tenet, but David Wurmser who told Libby and Cheney? Former CIA officer Larry Johnson asks questions here.
  • The June 9 memo containing a CIA analyst's notes from a February, 2002 meeting identifying Valerie Wilson as a CIA employee and wife of Joseph Wilson, and as someone who played a role in Wilson being asked to go to Niger, was ordered by state department official Marc Grossman, reportedly in preparation for a meeting with an Administration Official. If that official was not Libby, who would it have been? Cheney?
  • Is this being leaked tonight as a result of: Libby being told by Fitz today he is going to be indicted -- or Libby having finalized his plea negotiations with Fitzgerald and putting out advance notice that he will be pleading to one count of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of justice?

And where was Dick Cheney tonight? In Denver at a fundraiser for Republican candidate Rick O'Donnell, who is vying for Bob Beauprez's congressional seat. Beauprez is running for Governor.

Update: Walter Pincus and Dana Milbank trash Wilson in tomorrow's Washington Post. Why? Because the New York Times got the scoop?

< R.I.P. Rosa Parks | White House Tries to Gut Anti-Torture Bill >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Holy Shiiit!!!! Singing... oh I wish there were tapes - oval office tapes...

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#2)
    by Kitt on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Hasn't Mr. Tenet moved to Portugal, yet? ;) The convolutions are just too much to bear. God! I hope I last out the week!

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    "Oh, THAT Valerie Wilson! Why didn't you say so?!"

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    The Times says that Cheney was under oath during his interview with Fitzgerald (with the implication presumably being that he could be subject to perjury charges, rather than just false statements). Do you think there's anything to this, or just inaccurate reporting by the Times? Is it standard procedure for prosecutors to conduct interviews under oath? The perjury statute applies to proceedings that are "ancillary" to grand jury proceedings. Could such an interview be considered "ancillary"?

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#5)
    by The Heretik on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    More on this at And Now It Goes Big Time. Scowcroft had some interesting things to say about Cheney. And Condi too.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    It seems to me that Cheney would have a tough time claiming that he didn't know Plame was covert if he had, at the very least, talked with Tenet about her.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#7)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    One thing is for sure: The media is being used as a stadium where all sides are at play. Interesting that at the center is The intrepid reporter. As she says
    Why would I – the supposedly pushiest, most competitive reporter on the planet -- not have pushed to pursue a tantalizing tip like this? Soon after my breakfast meeting with Libby in July [8], I did so.
    As the WHIG propaganda editor, Judith Miller was in on the whole Niger Forgeries from the start, and she is now in the tournament playoffs. I bet Cheney was at the WHIG meeting that came up with the idea of the june Memo. Perhaps he said "Wilson's wife' aka "Mrs. Wilson", and when Rove and Bolton refined the memo in July for the Africa trip it was 'Valerie Plame". In the last paragraph there isn't there a missing verb?
    Mr. Pincus and Mr. Kessler have said that Mr. Libby did not ? Mr. Wilson’s wife with them in their conversations during the period.
    Seems like a key typo/ommision to me.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Good eye, Squeaky. The Times left out the word "discuss" from that sentence. I spotted another typo earlier, they must have been rushing to get this to press. Just as I did with my analysis.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Jeralyn: 1) What's your take on the Times' reporting that Cheney was under oath? 2) Who do you think leaked this and why? thanks, obsessed

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#10)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Obs-That was a big surprise to me too. I thought Cheney and Bush talked to Fitzgerald but not under oath.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    I hope the rats do some real time but that will never happen, long live the bill of rights and down with the pig bush the real enemy of all of us on this good earth. cheney the the mexican money guy for drug dealer and mass murder. his head would good in the senate house along with "Bush the main rat against this nation", and the best friend\amigo Bin Laden has.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    You don't have to be under oath for a false statements charge. The general perjury statute (as opposed to the perjury statute applicable to grand jury testimony) is here.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    1. If Libby took notes on a Tenet + Cheney conversation and used the information without any further discussion with Cheney, what's the problem? 2. If Cheney forgot the conversation with Tenet and said he hadn't had one (heart problems affect memories, you know), what's the problem with "I don't recall" or "I forgot?" 3. If Libby took notes and Cheney didn't, is Cheney supposed to have the same recollections as Libby and Tenet? 4. Would it be ethical to pull a Martha Stewart indictment on top White House officials, jsut to make examples of them? (I've considered this a Martha Stewart case from day 1. Still could be wrong.) 5. Do white lies by politicians make them crooks and criminals, even if told to the Feds? 6. How will this case affect the willingness of smart people--honest people--- to work in the White House or any government agency? 7. How long will the Left's glee last? What will end it?

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    oldedit:
    Do white lies by politicians make them crooks and criminals, even if told to the Feds?
    Do stupid questions asked by people who are missing the point make them idiots, even if they are deliberately not following?

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#15)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Funny that WaPo is doing exactly what it reports the RNC is doing. Perhaps the RNC bought a half page and hired Pincus and Milbank to decorate it.
    Now, amid speculation that prosecutors could bring charges against White House officials this week, Republicans preparing a defense of the administration are reviving the debate about Wilson's credibility and integrity.
    But before the Flame Lady aka Lady MacBeth turned him into a traitor, by "sending" him to Iraq so that he could upstage and take down the President, Wilson was different. He even voted Republican.
    He was not known as a partisan figure -- he donated money to both Al Gore and George W. Bush in 1999 -- and says he was neither antiwar nor anti-Bush when he went to Niger in late February 2002.
    Now the word is he and his wife have no credibility. Great spin job, Shakespearean treachery and all. WaPo, the RNC, and Pincus, who has delivered the goods all along up to now, are all busy preparing the public for the imminent Presidential Pardons due before the Thanksgiving holiday. On Thanksgiving he will present all the indictees with medals of honor. America will thank the brave heroes who, as true patriots would do, knowingly risked their own reputations with federal indictments all to protect America and prosecute the war on terror.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#16)
    by cpinva on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    gee, pincus & milbank can't even get really, really, really basic facts correct: wilson proved nothing about iraqi attempts to purchase yellow cake from niger, that wasn't his mission. he never claimed it was, or that he had. he did assert, based on his on-site investigation, that it was highly unlikely that iraq had purchased yellow cake from niger. thus, he didn't contradict the "16 words" from bush's 2003 SOTUA. that was done by the cia itself, apparently even before the president made the statement. hence, tenet's departure from cia as director. this had nothing, zero, nada, zip to do with wilson. for those who continue to claim that wilson proved those words false, i invite you to actually read his july 2003 nyt's op/ed, the whole thing, not the cliff's notes version. of course, this has absolutely no bearing whatever on the alleged subsequent transmittal of classified information to parties not qualified to receive it.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#17)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    cpinva- so if Wilson did not do anything to harm the Bush position on WMD's in Iraq, why did they go to so much trouble and out Plame? Do you think that they used Wilson as a red-herring and what they really were after was to shut down Brewster Jennings? Outing Palme would accomplish that nicely. Rove, Bolton and Cheney must have figured it out along with Miller at a WHIG meeting.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#18)
    by joejoejoe on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    I can't tell at a glance but are Milbank and Pincus quoting from the annex of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report? Because if those details are from the annex it may as well be RNC talking points because they represent only the GOP members of the committee, Jay Rockefeller and all the Dems refused to sign off on that hit job on Wilson. And Milbank has balls saying Joe Wilson loves cameras or is that some other Dana Milbank I see preening on Hardball and Countdown every other night?

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    "Holy Shiiit!!!! Singing... oh I wish there were tapes - oval office tapes..." TalkLeft -- again, I was censored for using language less offensive than this. Must have been due to some of my conservative beliefs. Being "open-minded" is not the strong suit of this site. Party on Liberals.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    oldedit said:
    How long will the Left's glee last? What will end it?
    It ain't even started yet, Holmes. But it's getting closer.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Posted by hannityiscrazy at October 25, 2005 12:52 AM I was censored for using language less offensive than this. Must have been due to some of my conservative beliefs. Being "open-minded" is not the strong suit of this site. Party on Liberals.
    How do you keep from running into doors with your bottom lip sticking out so far?

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    It is unfathomable to me that Cheney would go into a q/a question with Fitzgerald and be under oath. If memory serves me correctly both the Scowl and Shrub both agreed to one hour, with counsel present, but not under oath. But I could be wrong. I'll check around on some of our data bases and see what I come up with. and as a little aside, let's all BooHoo for Hannityiscrazy. The evil liberals here have censored his right to say stupid things. Or is that tried to save him some embarassment. Either way, Boo-freakin-hoo!

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    wouldn't Libby be "foisted" by his own petard rather than hoisted? let me know. knowsknowsknows@yahoo.com regards and peace

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#24)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    Sherm, Cheney did testify under oath

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    I was censored for using language less offensive than this. Must have been due to some of my conservative beliefs. Crybaby. Being "open-minded" is not the strong suit of this site. Being "open-minded" to ridiculous nonsense is not a virtue.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#26)
    by cpinva on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:20 PM EST
    cpinva- so if Wilson did not do anything to harm the Bush position on WMD's in Iraq, why did they go to so much trouble and out Plame? Do you think that they used Wilson as a red-herring and what they really were after was to shut down Brewster Jennings? Outing Palme would accomplish that nicely. Rove, Bolton and Cheney must have figured it out along with Miller at a WHIG meeting.
    could be, but i've not a clue. what i do know is that by making that false claim, repeatedly, and then showing he did nothing of the sort, the republicans managed to confuse 99% of the MSM "journalists", and at least 50% of normal people. the purpose, in my opinion, was a shallow attempt to discredit wilson, knowing most of the media cohort would be too lazy to "compare & contrast" the two statements. i must say, they succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. add to that the inference that this was some kind of "plum" assignment, engineered by his wife, a cia employee, and he's further "discredited", because nepotism is involved. again, 99% of the MSM "journalists" fell for it. btw, i understand niger is quite lovely this time of year, anyone want to go hit those famous niger beaches and party hotspots? i thought not.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#27)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:21 PM EST
    KC-hoisted is the correct usage originating from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Word History: The French used pétard, “a loud discharge of intestinal gas,” for a kind of infernal engine for blasting through the gates of a city. “To be hoist by one's own petard,” a now proverbial phrase apparently originating with Shakespeare's Hamlet (around 1604) not long after the word entered English (around 1598), means “to blow oneself up with one's own bomb, be undone by one's own devices.” The French noun pet, “fart,” developed regularly from the Latin noun pditum, from the Indo-European root *pezd-, “fart.” link

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#28)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:21 PM EST
    I asked:
    5. Do white lies by politicians make them crooks and criminals, even if told to the Feds?
    If a politician or government official lies to a grand jury or federal investigator, a law has been broken. Thus, like Martha Stewart, any alleged law breakers deserve to be prosecuted. What's amazing, if such laws have been broken by WH officials, is that the Martha Stewart lesson didn't sink in. Will be interesting to see if indictments are handed down. Once charges are made public, it will be easier to assess what this is all about. At this point, it's all rumor and speculation, which is ok.

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#29)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:23 PM EST
    5. Do white lies by politicians make them crooks and criminals, even if told to the Feds? Why don't you ask Bill Clinton?

    Re: NYT: Tenet Told Cheney Who Told Libby (none / 0) (#30)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:23 PM EST
    Did Cheney testify under oath? There is no NYT correction as of yet. Jane at fdl seeems to think it was a mistake. Sure was a surprise to me as I thought his talk with Fitzgerald was not under oath. From jane at fdl:
    According to the NYT, they made a mistake, Cheney was not under oath when he answered questions for Fitzgerald in June of 2004. However, as Jeralyn noted in the comments:
    As Jeralyn points out he can still be charged with making false statements and both carry tha same penalty-5 years, but the NYT is/was the paper of record. Did he or did he not testify under oath?