My last attempt to write about this mornings Rove articles in the NY Times and Washington Post was disjointed and confusing. I’m going to give it another shot.
Here is the story, as spun in the articles. After Wilson published his editorial in the New York Times, Rove was contacted by a reporter. Rove cannot remember the name of this reporter. The reporter informed Rove that Wilson’s wife was in the CIA, and that she had something to do sending Wilson to Niger. He/she did not divulge the name of Wilson’s wife, and Rove didn’t ask.
Okay. Full Stop.
If this is true:
1. A normal reporter, even if they were confident in the accuracy of this information, would ask Rove to confirm it. They would not assume that Rove didn’t know.
2. If Rove didn’t know whether or not it was true, he would tell the reporter that he didn’t know. He would then find out whether it was true. He might, or might not get back in touch with the reporter to confirm the story.
3. If he confirmed that she was working at the CIA, and that she was in a position to have some influence over her husband’s trip, he also would have confirmed that she was working undercover. He also would have learned her name.
4. If Rove confirmed this to the reporter, he broke the law.
Next: Rove receives a phone call from Novak. Novak asks whether he can confirm that Wilson’s wife, now named as Valerie Plame, works at the CIA. Rove does not confirm it, but he affirms that he has heard the same rumor.
If this is true:
1. It’s clear that Novak cannot independently confirm that Wilson’s wife works at the CIA.
2. This, by definition, means that she is working undercover.
3. Rove will break the law if he confirms it. However, merely stating that he has heard that rumor may not be a violation.
4. Novak misrepresented Rove when he wrote, “Two senior administration officials told me Wilson’s wife suggested sending him to Niger…” According to this new-spun story, Rove was in no position to confirm that.
Following the story, Rove is now armed with the information that Wilson’s wife is named Valerie Plame and he has heard from two separate reporters that she not only works at the CIA, but that she is undercover, and that she had something to do with her husband’s trip.
It is only now that he decides to spin the story the same way it was already spun to Novak by someone else. Namely, that Wilson is unreliable because his trip was a boondoggle arranged by his wife.
So, when Matt Cooper asks him about Wilson, he decides to go on double super secret background and leak classified information.
If this is true:
1. He is breaking the law because Plame’s identity is still a secret to the general public.
2. It is no excuse that he didn’t repeat her name; he clearly identified her as Wilson’s wife.
3. Cooper is not authorized to receive classified information.
4. It doesn’t matter whether he encouraged Cooper to reveal her identity.
At each step along the way, Rove potentially broke the law. And that is assuming that his self-serving version of events is true.
Meanwhile, the question arises: Who told the first reporter, and then Novak, about Wilson’s wife? And is it possible that they did so without consulting Rove at any point during the process?
Finally, Rove did not volunteer all of this self-serving information to the prosecutor. He clearly has been hoping that Cooper’s emails would not come to light. He probably never expected Cooper to testify about their conversation. And he did not offer information about his call to Cooper with the investigators. How is this not an obstruction of justice?
