The Strategy
1. Shift the Blame
Newsmax reported the story as:
NY Times: CIA Leaked Plame's Name
The New York Times itself had the story as:The ultimate source of information identifying Leakgate accuser Valerie Plame as a CIA employee my turn out to be the CIA itself, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Cheney drawn into CIA spy leak investigation
Even Fox News phrased the story as:
Plame Leak Said to Come From Cheney
And if George Tenet gave the information about Plame to Cheney, so what? Cheney is cleared for classified information--just not to give it to the press.
2. Smear Joseph Wilson
On Hannity and Colmes last night Sean Hannity said Joseph Wilson has "frankly, lied repeatedly" and that "he's a left-wing radical with a political agenda."
3. Smear Patrick Fitzgerald
W pals bushwhack CIA leak prosecutor
He's a vile, detestable, moralistic person with no heart and no conscience who believes he's been tapped by God to do very important things," one White House ally said, referring to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.Are you sure he wasn't talking about George W. Bush? Or is this what they call projection?
4. No Crime Here
It is all just the "criminalization of politics" or some little "technical" crime (like perjury or obstruction of justice). Columnist John Tierney had this to say:
No one deserves to go to jail for leaking information to reporters without criminal intent. The special prosecutor was assigned to look for serious crimes, not to uncover evidence that bureaucrats blame other bureaucrats when things go wrong.
Tell it to the jury.
