August 31, 2006
So it appears that the idiocy that is 'Plamegate' is about to draw to a close, not with a bang, but with silence - from the media.
Michael Isikoff and David Corn, in their new book Hubris, put the finger on Richard Armitage as the original leaker to Novak. Of course, this revelation, however they attempt to spin it, completely destroys the Democratic meme that has hounded the Bush Administration for years, that Karl Rove and the neo-con cabal leaked Plame's name in retribution for Wilson's criticisms of the war.
Of course, all of this drama belies the real outrage, and that is that the Colin Powell, the FBI, and Fitzgerald all knew of Armitage's role within months of the initial leak.
So in October 2003 the investigation began. FBI agents quickly talked to Armitage, Rove, and others. And guess what? Armitage told the FBI that he was Novak’s source. And Rove told the FBI that he was Novak’s secondary source (that is, he had confirmed what Novak had already learned from Armitage). Within days of beginning the investigation, the Justice Department had answered the question that started it.
Things should have stopped right there. FBI investigators knew who the leakers were; they knew that no one had violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or any other national-security law; and they knew there had been no White House conspiracy to attack a critic. Yet then–attorney general John Ashcroft, apparently afraid of the political repercussions of doing the right thing, allowed the investigation to go forward. He recused himself and handed the case over to top Justice Department official James Comey, who then also bowed to political pressure and appointed his friend Patrick Fitzgerald — already busy with his job as the U.S. attorney in Chicago — to head the probe.
But for fear of criticism for telling the truth, that no crime was committed, the sham investigation continued. And that's the real crime.
Talk about a real distraction from the war, the entire Administration running around with the threat of prosecutions over their head, for nothing but political advantage. And right alongside Joe Wilson, Colin Powell and Richard Armitage deserve a huge amount of blame.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. First up is Armitage. There was absolutely nothing illegal about the original leak he committed, but he chose to remain silent while others — principally Rove and Libby — endured years of accusations in the press. (Armitage’s close friend Colin Powell also deserves a dishonorable mention for keeping quiet after learning of Armitage’s role.) The administration’s leftist adversaries in and out of government who have spent years shrieking “traitor” should be ashamed of themselves.
As Kate O'Beirne pointed out today:
For almost three years, at every minor twist or turn of Plamegate, there were media stakeouts at the offices and homes of of the suspected leakers that invariably made the evening news and played in constant loops on cable. So who's on Armitage driveway duty? Richard Armitage isn't being hounded to answer questions about his role in Plamegate because the media wishes he had no role. Such a bummer for all the reporters who are now bored with the whole subject.
She's exactly right. In fact does anyone remember this? The AP staking out Karl Rove's driveway and writing an article about the contents of his garage.
There was no car in the garage. And the stuff left behind turned out not to be much different from what gathers dust inside most American garages.
The inventory, seen from outside:
-Some cardboard file boxes stacked one on top of the other, labeled "Box 6," "Box 4" and what appears to be "Box 7." No sign of boxes 1, 2, 3 and 5.
-What appear to be paint cans stacked alongside a folded, folding chair.
-A rather large wood crate marked "FRAGILE" and painted with arrows indicating which way is up. On top of the crate, two coolers.
-A tall aluminum ladder.
-A snow shovel leaned in front of another cardboard box.
-Wicker baskets inside of wicker baskets on top of a shelf running the length of the rear wall. Transparent plastic storage bins crammed with indiscernible stuff. Another cardboard box.
-In one corner, the rear wheel of a bicycle sticks out, along with what appears to be a helmet.
-Another ladder, this one green, leaning sideways.
Ridiculous doesn't even come close. And it's a sad state that this is what passes for real news today, a made up scandal for a party with no message (except hate), against a war that our very survival as a nation depends upon.
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