The New York Times reports that Rove was one of the two sources Novak cited in his story revealing that Valerie Plame was CIA! According to the Times' own anonymous source (referred to as 'the person who has been briefed'), Rove did not volunteer that Ambassador Wilson's wife was CIA, but he confirmed it.
Today's New York Times reports:
"After hearing Mr. Novak's account, the person who has been briefed on the matter said, Mr. Rove told the columnist: "I heard that, too." "
Novak wrote a subsequent story in which he stated that he had two Administrative sources for the Plame story. Would Novak have written the original story if Rove had not confirmed it? Would he have written it with only one source?
At any rate, we can add Novak to the long list of liars:
"Novak refused to reveal the names of the two administration sources who confirmed Plame's role, but he did say it wasn't Rove."
AmericaBlog weighs in:
Why does this matter?
"1. A senior Bush administration official with access to the most classified information confirms to a journalist who a CIA agent is. Is he nuts? Again, anyone who's worked with the CIA and their agents (and I have) knows how careful they are - you do NOT confirm who works there, and EVERYONE in town KNOWS that. Why in God's name would Rove do this? It's inexcusable. And he confirmed it to a journalist, no less.
2. It confirms that Scottie McClellan REALLY misled the media when he said that it was "ridiculous" to suggest that Rove had anything to do with the Plame leak. In fact, Rove not only told TIME about Plame, he also confirmed the story for Novak. So, again, why did the White House mislead the media and the American public for two years by denying Rove's involvement?" There's more . . .
Talkleft has more and some thoughts on the anonymous source cited in the Times' story:
The unidentified Rove supporter [the Times's source] has moved on to the AP which identifies him as working in the legal profession. The source again claims Rove heard about Plame's identity from a reporter. Is this source a government lawyer or employee of one, and is he or she committing a crime by disclosing matters that occurred before the grand jury?
One more point: The source tells the AP that Rove testified that Novak told Rove about Valerie Plame on July 8 and Rove had already heard it from another journalist. But Rove can't remember which one. How convenient.
Tags: Valerie Plame
