After his nomination, says the Associated Press
Wasting no time, the White House arranged for Alito to go to the Capitol after the announcement.The schedule called for Senate Majority Leader Bill First to greet him and accompany the nominee to the Capitol Rotunda to go to the coffin of the late civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.
NY Times. Can you see actionable damage for a civil lawsuit, boys and girls?
Financial Times has the Inspector Generals’ Report, released to Congress on a SUNDAY, which proves it. It’s official governmental fact now.
The Gellman article, which I highly recommended below, is now existing on the net in two different versions which don’t match. This passage is in the Nexis version, but not the washingtonpost.com version:
On July 12, the day Cheney and Libby flew together from Norfolk, the vice president instructed his aide to alert reporters of an attack launched that morning on Wilson’s credibility by Fleischer, according to a well-placed source.
Libby talked to Miller and Cooper. That same day, another administration official who has not been identified publicly returned a call from Walter Pincus of The Post. He “veered off the precise matter we were discussing” and told him that Wilson’s trip was a “boondoggle” set up by Plame, Pincus has written in Nieman Reports.
Josh Marshall from talkingpointsmemo.com is the one who found this.
Rove-Cheney’s defenders, including some in the media, will go fishing among the just-expired grand jury members for something to criticize Fitzgerald with. And they will try to interfere with the next one, if not stop Fitzgerald (officially) from speaking to another one.
Barton Gellman for the Washington Post spells out the obvious, this scandal is a Cheney affair. It’s impossible for him not to have been heavily involved.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Also, look for accounts of Nicholas Kristof’s column in the New York Times. Kristof’s original column on Cheney, based on interviews with Wilson, was what started the Cheney plot to out Plame. He now calls for Cheney to explain himself or resign, and if that doesn’t happen, for Bush to fire him.
For saying that CIA Agents should not be outed, this is amazing even for him.
Here is the PDF of the press release, read this first it is straightfoward. And indictment itself, another pdf.
From the press release:
• on or about July 10 or July 11, 2003, Libby spoke to a senior White House
official (“Official A”) who advised Libby of a conversation Official A had earlier
that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson’s wife was discussed
as a CIA employee involved in Wilson’s trip. Libby was advised by Official A
that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson’s wife;• on or about July 12, 2003, Libby flew with the Vice President and others to and
from Norfolk, Va., on Air Force Two. On his return trip, Libby discussed with
other officials aboard the plane what Libby should say in response to certain
pending media inquiries, including questions from Time’s Cooper;on or about July 12, 2003, in the afternoon, Libby spoke by telephone to Cooper,
who asked whether Libby had heard that Wilson’s wife was involved in sending
Wilson on the trip to Niger. Libby confirmed to Cooper, without elaboration or
qualification, that he had heard this information too; and• on or about July 12, 2003, in the late afternoon, Libby spoke by telephone with
Miller and discussed Wilson’s wife, and that she worked at the CIA.
WHO IS OFFICIAL A - AND MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT DID CHENEY SAY ON AIR FORCE TWO IN THIS MEETING?
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - PERJURY- MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS
INDICTMENT CONFIRMS CHENEY IN FACT WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE CIA AGENT’S ID TO LIBBY, CHENEY GETTING THE ID FROM THE CIA
