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| Questions Raised about Tim Russert's Story |
| 2005-11-03 |
| NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert told Leakgate probers that he had no idea Joe Wilson's wife Valerie Plame was a CIA employee before her name surfaced in Robert Novak's fateful July 14, 2003 column, and that he was stunned upon learning that Lewis "Scooter" Libby claimed he got that information from him. But an account by senior NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell raises questions about whether Mr. Russert may have known about Plame's employment well before the Novak column. On Oct. 3, 2003, Mitchell was a guest on CNBC's now-defunct "Capital Report," where she was asked by host Alan Murray: "Do we have any idea how widely known it was in Washington that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA?" Mitchell replied: "It was widely known among those of us who cover the intelligence community and who were actively engaged in trying to track down who among the foreign service community was the envoy to Niger. So a number of us began to pick up on that." Mitchell's "widely known" characterization flatly contradicts assertions last Friday by Leakgate Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who repeatedly insisted that Plame's association with the CIA "was not widely known." But perhaps more importantly, if Plame's work was an open secret in media circles [according to Mitchell], how is it that her boss, Mr. Russert, who - as NBC Washington bureau chief was presumably monitoring developments in "the intelligence community" as they related to the Wilson story - would have been oblivious to this same "widely known" information? In fact, according to the text of Fitzgerald's indictment, Libby's version of events more closely matches Mitchell's on the subject of who knew about Plame's employment. Fitzgerald said Libby claimed: "During a conversation with Tim Russert of NBC News on July 10 or 11, 2003, Russert asked LIBBY if LIBBY was aware that Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA. LIBBY responded to Russert that he did not know that, and Russert replied that all the reporters knew it." [Page 11 of Libby's Indictment] None of this means that Mr. Libby actually told the truth and that Fitzgerald's star witness against him, Tim Russert, perhaps didn't. But Mr. Russert might want to clear the air and explain how he managed to stay in the dark about key information in a case that was the talk of the town in early July 2003 - while the same information was "widely known," according a senior reporter who worked under him. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 If he lied to the prosecutor It is going to be a very interesting trial, because it seems to be a he said, she said case. I'm not at all sure Mr. Russert will be looking forward to the cross-examination, or even discovery. |
| Posted by: Ebbineng Jineting9128 2005-11-03 17:38 |
| #6 I'm still waitning to find out what Sandy Berger put in his socks by mistake. I'll be watchin' 60 Minutes this week. What are the chances they'll interview Sandy? |
| Posted by: macofromoc 2005-11-03 17:29 |
| #5 Recall that the MSM, in their amicus brief to the USSC on Judy Miller's petition to stay out of the slammer, stated clearly that they thought no crime had been committed. The moonbats can't seem to recall that. I think Libby will be the only indictment, and that one's justified if he lied to the prosecutor. I'm just happy the Dems finally agree that perjury is a crime -- they sure didn't in 1997. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-11-03 13:41 |
| #4 Come on, guys - we know it's only a crime when committed by Republicans, right? |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-11-03 13:33 |
| #3 IMHO, this whole Plamegate affair damages the MSM press more than Rathergate and all of the gates combined. Who would have thought that the children of the 60's, who cut their teeth on blaming the CIA for dirty tricks abroad would assist, embrace and cover up for the CIA performing domestic dirty tricks at home. These reporters make ol' Tricky Dick look like a naive babe in the woods, they do. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-11-03 13:31 |
| #2 He plugged his ears and sang, "I can't HEEEEAAAARR you!" |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-11-03 12:19 |
| #1 FRY RUSSERTS" ASS!!!!!! |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2005-11-03 12:18 |