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Treason is Not Old News
"I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious, of traitors." George Herbert Walker Bush, CIA dedication ceremony, April 26, 1999.
When Bush administration officials I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Karl Rove, Richard Armitage and Ari Fleischer betrayed Valerie Plame Wilson's identity as a covert CIA operations officer, they fell into the category of "the most insidious of traitors." Now we learn from the president's former press secretary, Scott McClellan, that the president himself "was involved" in sending him out to lie to the American public about the betrayal. If his direction to McClellan was deliberate and knowing, then the president was party to a conspiracy by senior administration officials to defraud the public. If that isn't a high crime and misdemeanor then we don't know what is. And if the president was merely an unwitting accomplice, then who lied to him? What is he doing to punish the person who misled the president to abuse his office? And why is that person still working in the executive branch? Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald made clear his suspicions about the culprit when he said "a cloud remains over the office of the vice president." But we may never know exactly what happened because President Bush thwarted justice and guaranteed the success of the cover-up when he commuted Scooter Libby's felony sentence on four counts of lying, perjury and obstruction of justice.
With the exception of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, and the intrepid David Shuster, the mainstream media would have you believe that McClellan's revelation is old news. "Now back to Aruba and the two-year old disappearance of a blond teenager." But treason is not old news. The Washington press corps, whose pretension is to report and interpret events objectively, has been compromised in this matter as evidence presented in the courtroom demonstrated. Prominent journalists acted as witting agents of Rove, Libby and Armitage and covered up this serious breach of U.S. national security rather than doing their duty as journalists to report it to the public.
So far there is no apparent desire for redemption driving the press to report on the treachery of senior officials. Instead, the mainstream press has compounded its complicity by giving the Bush administration yet another free pass and shifting blame. The New York Times failed to publish an article on McClellan's revelation and The Washington Post buried it at the end of a column deep on page A-15 in the newspaper. Earlier in the week, Newsweek magazine, owned by the Washington Post Company, proudly announced the identity of its new star columnist -- Karl Rove, one of the key actors in this collective treason. Robert Novak, who willfully disclosed Valerie's identity, having been twice warned not to do so by the CIA, and who transmitted his column to Rove before it was published, remains a regularly featured columnist in The Washington Post.
With nearly 70 percent of the public now believing that our country is on the wrong track, it is no wonder that many feel let down by major institutions, including the Washington press establishment that increasingly resembles the corrupt Soviet propaganda mill. One reporter from a major news organization even asked whether McClellan's statement wasn't just "another Wilson publicity stunt." Try following this tortuous logic: Dick Cheney runs an operation involving senior White House officials designed to betray the identity of a covert CIA officer and the press responds by trying to prove that the Wilsons are publicity seekers. What ever happened to reporting the news? Welcome to Through the Looking Glass.
Fearful of its access to the powerful, and defensive about its status in the high school social culture that permeates the capital of the Free World, much of the press has forgotten its responsibility to the public and the Constitution.
Presidents and those who aspired to be president in the past once took strong positions in defense of U.S. national security. Today, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has tried to build his support through fronting for the Scooter Libby Defense fundraising efforts. Meanwhile, other Republican candidates accuse Patrick Fitzgerald of being "a runaway prosecutor" and remain silent about the stain on Bush's presidency.
Where is the outrage? Where is the "contempt and anger?"
Click here to read more from Valerie Plame Wilson on The Huffington Post.
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Where is the outrage ? It is rampant among we poor and/or powerless. I am thankful for my advanced age (71) which will prevent my seeing the destruction of our natiion by these traitors.
Several great comments.
What can Speaker Nancy Pelosi be thinking about? I certainly agree that she and the rest of the U S House Of Representatives have a mandated duty to oversee the operation od the Executive Branch. Part of their oversight function is the power to vote out Articles of Impeachment in cases of "high crimes and misdemeanors". The intentional outing of an intelligence agent is clearly that.
Why then hasn't the "Peoples 'House' responded?Do we have oversight or not Mrs Pelosi? To allow this Administration to get away with this kind of clear criminality is criminal in the extreme.
The era of Watergate when The Press was an advocate of the people for the people (as originally intended) was, in fact, a short lived aberration.
In case anyone hadn't noticed, there was a two year exhaustive investigation conducted by an aggressive non-partisan prosecutor who determined that there was no underlying crime in connection with the "leak" of Ms. Plame's identity. And it was, after all, Mr. Armitage who disclosed her identity -- not Rove or Libby -- in what was clearly an unintentional slip to Bob Novak. (Mr. Armitage was opposed to the war and had no political agenda.)
This is precisely why no really cares about the latest tease from McClellan's book. This and the fact that Plame and Wilson's perpetual self-pity, self-promotion tour wore thin with the public a long time ago. Does anyone really believe that Plame and Wilson are genuinely upset about all of this? Please.... This was the greatest thing that ever happened to them.
Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, facts are stubborn things, indeed.
I feel the outrage, contempt and anger. Outing a covert agent is a crime and no one has answered for it. I served overseas, undercover. There was a price on our heads if the locals could identify us and turn us over to enemy forces. We were spies and not protected by the Geneva Convention or any other governing group. What happened to Ms. Plame was far worse in that a whole operation was comprimised and lord knows how many other agents were/are endangered. It is a gross travesty of justice to let the people involved go free. Bush is over all of them and the buck must stop with him.
This is one of the biggest stories since Watergate. But it won't be covered. It's not in their interest to cover it. A recent story on Bill Moyers pointed out that the FCC is allowing even MORE media consolidation. Which will allow for even HIGHER crimes and misdemeanors. Because if it's not on the news, it didn't happen. I ask you Valerie Plame, what is the function of the CIA after all? Why is The Company not doing something about this? Our only hope is for some kind of 'market correction' if you get my drift. It's the only chance for payback. Not just for you but for all of us. I was sorry to read that your court case on this was thrown out. Now that the courts and the media have failed, there's only one course of action to be taken, don't you think?
Pelosi---Accountable..PLEASE, What an incredible lightweight, and no real muscle backing her up. I awaken each morning thinking maybe, jusy maybe, we have turned the corner, and have set a course back to the wonderful nation I grew up in. Silly boy...
"Where's the outrage? Where's the contempt and anger?" , the Plames ask.
Well...it's just not there.
Here's the deal, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson: You got one big problem. You are real people, and you, Mrs. Wilson, you really worked undercover for our government as a foreign spy. For real. Your cover was really blown by your top bosses, including the real-life honest-to-God President, and your covert operation really was lost, and all your in-country real-people friends and associates really are now suspect and tainted for the rest of their real lives, and some probably even physically harmed, FOR REALLY REAL.
See, what we really need isn't the real world. It's James Bond. Jack Ryan. Rambo. We need to see the Tomb Raider's cover blown, her friends killed and tortured, and Indiana Jones's good name dragged through the mud.
We need Plamegate The Movie.
Hell, if it's a big box office hit, we might even push our real Congressfolk to impeach the villianous bastards who perpetrated this crime. Who knows, we might even be moved enough to real-life vote for somebody willing to really try to restore our real democracy in 08.
Hmm. What do you think? Angelina as you? I like her, plus, the production could probably save money by using New Orleans as a second- or third-world country stand-in filming location. And maybe Brad would do Mr.Wilson. They could make it a family project.
Or, what about that really thin actress who plays the spy on TV? She kicks ass, don't you think? Maybe there could be a scene where you have a little "discussion" with Karl Rove and explain to him exactly what he did in a way he (we) might understand! Whoa!
Now we just need the perfect actor for the President .
Suggestions, anyone?
I want accountability as much from Pelosi as
Bush. Why isn't SHE doing HER job? If millions of Americans see and abhor the criminal and traitorous acts coming from this administration and are demanding accountability, why the hell isn't she? THAT IS HER RESPONSIBILITY AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE! I don't swallow the bull about impeachment being divisive or Republicans not supporting it. Make them take that stand. Impeachment is in place for times like these, the idea being no executive is greater than the good of the nation. People have fought and died for this principle. If all impeachment does is make a statement, so be it -- the Dems are expert at making symbolic statements. Pelosi is complicit with Bush if she fails to bring this administration to account.
Valerie & Joe,
I have watched about every interview both of you have done on TV, your amazing people to stand so firm, and your right where is the press, where is the outrage. Well, I for one, have been outraged for quite some time now, not that it does alot of good, but I am.
If this issue was a reverse situation in political parties, the press would be all over it, Republican vs Democrat instead of Democrat vs Republican. Our press is very biased towards the right, they have been bought off, and some scared off, to do or not to do, unfortunately we have more whom prefer, the not to do.
It is so sad, to see over 6 1/2 years of Bush & Company, the downfall of our Country, more than people can possibly imagine and they have no idea what we are in for, all because people don't have the backbone to do what is right.
Bush and McClellan were not under oath when they lied about Plame leak.
Where is the outrage? Where is the "contempt and anger?"
The outrage, contempt and anger is right here in The Mike Schmitt House in Chicago.
"Unwitting ia the description of this Presidency. One could not expect Bush to take any action against Rove or Cheney. they do all his thinking. This is Bush's political history going back to Texas. He's good at running for office but not at governing. He prefers delegating governing to a few in a close band of sycophants. We've seen the results After all, lying is how you get elected.
So, what was Scotty speaking of? The cover-up had many fronts, but all led back to two or three criminals. This book is only the beginning of the lower rats giving up their masters. Tune in featherheads, there's more fun to come....
"The New York Times failed to publish an article on McClellan's revelation and The Washington Post buried it at the end of a column deep on page A-15 in the newspaper."
To be fair, it was front-page news on the Huffington Post. That being said, The Washington Post, The Times, Time Magazine, and other neo-conservative rags are loosing their traditional audience and gaining very little in return. Supporters of this administration are reviled by the majority of Americans, and I believe that the defensive posture taken by the MSM is nothing more than desperation. There is a limitation on how many times Wolf Blitzer can ask his guests if attacking Iraq was a bad idea, or the classics “Are you saying that Bush lied to the American people?” and “Knowing what you know now, would you have supported the liberation of the Iraqi people”. The more they cower, the more my jaw muscles ache from smiling, which is something I haven’t done much since 9/11.
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