Still No Denial From Cheney
Even before Scooter Libby was indicted, I was puzzled by the lack of any stories providing pro-Cheney spin in the leak investigation. To date, there hasn't been a single story published anywhere--even in administration-friendly magazines like the National Review--which so much as attempts to distance Cheney from events at the heart of the leak probe. Over three weeks ago I asked:
It's been almost a week since Cheney's chief of staff and closest advisor, Lewis Libby, was indicted on five felony counts. We know from the indictment itself that Cheney told Libby about Valerie Plame. We also know that on July 12, 2003, on a flight aboard Air Force Two, Libby and Cheney discussed how to respond to pending press inquiries regarding Joe Wilson, including one from TIME magazine's Matthew Cooper. We know that immediately after that flight, Libby discussed Wilson's wife with both Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller. And now Libby stands accused of lying to a federal grand jury regarding, among other things, those very conversations.
The suspicion on everyone's mind, whether they admit it or not, is that Cheney instructed Libby to discuss Plame with reporters, and that Libby is now lying in order to protect his boss. So I ask again:
You would think that if Cheney gave no such instruction to Libby, somebody in Cheney's camp would say so, at least on background. But, amazingly, that hasn't happened. There have been no denials of any kind, anonymous or otherwise. The longer this goes on, the more this silence will become deafening.
Why haven't we seen any public attempts to
distance the Vice President from this
investigation? Why haven't there been any
anonymously-sourced stories laying out
Cheney's defense? Why is it that no one is
engaging in damage control on Cheney's behalf?
It's been almost a week since Cheney's chief of staff and closest advisor, Lewis Libby, was indicted on five felony counts. We know from the indictment itself that Cheney told Libby about Valerie Plame. We also know that on July 12, 2003, on a flight aboard Air Force Two, Libby and Cheney discussed how to respond to pending press inquiries regarding Joe Wilson, including one from TIME magazine's Matthew Cooper. We know that immediately after that flight, Libby discussed Wilson's wife with both Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller. And now Libby stands accused of lying to a federal grand jury regarding, among other things, those very conversations.
The suspicion on everyone's mind, whether they admit it or not, is that Cheney instructed Libby to discuss Plame with reporters, and that Libby is now lying in order to protect his boss. So I ask again:
Where are the anonymous quotes from
"sources familiar with the investigation"
indicating that Cheney never ordered
Plame's identity leaked?
You would think that if Cheney gave no such instruction to Libby, somebody in Cheney's camp would say so, at least on background. But, amazingly, that hasn't happened. There have been no denials of any kind, anonymous or otherwise. The longer this goes on, the more this silence will become deafening.
posted by A.L. at 11:42 PM
1 Comments:
Has anyone raised the possibility that Cheney himself may have leaked to Novak -- and to Andrea Mitchell, wife of Cheney's pal Alan Greenspan, who knew a lot by July 8, 2003, apparently saying on Capitol Report that Wilson was sent by lowdown operatives at the CIA, not by Cheney? Is there some reason why we can rule Cheney himself out as Novak's source, aside from its sheer incendiarity?
Jeff
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