[pnews-news] Bush authorised the leak of secret intelligence

     -----
    / o o \
====OO=====OO===
 http://pnews.org/
Progressive News & Views (since 1982)
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||


--

Lewis Libby arrives at a hearing in Washington

Lewis Libby is to go on trial for allegedly lying to investigators

President Bush authorised the leak of secret intelligence to the New York 
Times to help defend the war in Iraq, a former top White House aide has 
said.

The claim comes from Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief-of-staff to 
Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Mr Libby is facing trial for allegedly obstructing an investigation into a 
different leak.

He is accused of lying to prosecutors investigating who revealed the name 
of CIA agent Valerie Plame to the press.

Ms Plame's husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, wrote a high-profile 
article in the New York Times in July 2003 casting doubt on a key White 
House claim about Saddam Hussein's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Mr Libby reportedly says in court papers filed on Wednesday that soon 
afterwards, Mr Cheney told him to pass information from the classified 
National Intelligence Estimate to Judith Miller, a New York Times 
reporter.

Disclosing classified information in that way was "unique in his 
recollection", his testimony reportedly says.

First Bush link

Mr Bush approved Mr Cheney's instruction, the vice-president told Mr 
Libby, according to the court papers.

Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid called the claim "shocking", and said Mr 
Bush "must fully disclose his participation in the selective leaking of 
classified information".

The White House has not commented on the report. The lawyer prosecuting Mr 
Libby does not claim Mr Bush broke the law.

Experts disagree on whether the president has the authority on his own to 
declassify secret information.

Mr Libby's testimony marks the first time he has put Mr Bush into the 
frame of events surrounding leaks from the White House to the press over 
the Iraq war.

Reports suggest he disclosed Mrs Plame's name to the New York Times in the 
same conversation where he passed on National Intelligence Estimate 
information.

No-one has been charged with a crime over the leaking of Mrs Plame's name 
to reporters.

Mr Libby is charged with lying to investigators and obstructing the 
investigation.

He resigned as chief-of-staff to Mr Cheney after he was charged and is due 
to go on trial in January 2007.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4885100.stm


|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
          M A I L I N G   L I S T S
(1) pnews-news - NEWS mailing list - (text only)
    Send "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" as subject
     ----> pnews-news-request(at)inyourface.info
=======================================================
(2) pnews-views - VIEWS mailing list- (text only)
OPEN discussion - "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" as subj
 Send to  ------> pnews-views-request(at)inyourface.info
=======================================================
(3) fightback - articles and pointers distribution list
(html/text) - expert informed opin., credentialed authors
          ----> http://pnews.org/dada/
========================================================
(4) ATTN: WEBMASTERS - Link Exchange/improve site rank
----> links_only-subscribe(at)googlegroups.com - or, go to:
-----> http://groups.google.com/group/Links_Only
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||