The RoanokeSlant

Roanoke Times, 7/12/05, Pg A 8: Bush's adviser gets heat for leak.
Roanoke Times, 7/1/305, Pg 1: Bush confidant in Rove
Roanoke Times, 7/13/,05, Pg A 11: Opinions are mixed on Rove
Roanoke Times, 7/13/05, Pg Va 8: Kove should go
Roanoke Times, 7/13/05, Pg Va 9: Leakers should 'fess up
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Is there any reader of the RT that doesn't get The Editors views on Karl Rove?
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Let's review some of the key data (the formal facts have not been revealed because the grand jury investigation is ongoing) -- but let's not let "us" be limited by details like that!
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Bush said during his state of the union speech that "British intelligence" had reported that Sadam had tried to get nuclear material from someplace in Africa.
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Wilson, a member of the Clinton team, wrote an op-ed in NY Times claiming that he had gone to Africa, sent there by the White House, investigated the claim, and did not find any evidence of that claim, and that Bush had lied to the American people.
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Novak of CNN reported that Wilson's wife (a CIA operative) was involved in Wislon's trip to Africa and not the White House.
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Democrats went postal and demanded an investigation based on the premise that "outing" a "covert" CIA officer is a crime, and that it was done by the White House as retribution toward Wilson.
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Bush required all White House staff members to sign, for the special prosecutor, a waiver of their rights (and his rights) to executive privilege in this case. This would also relieve any reporters of the burden of any confidentiality that they might have discussed with a White House source. This was done almost two years ago!
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Current events: two reporters facing jail because they would not cooperate with the grand jury in the investigation. Again the "waiver of rights by all White House personnel" was highlighted. One reporter and his publication decided to cooperate and therefore he didn't go to jail.
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The other reported refused to cooperate and is in jail.
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The data that was publicly released, so far, by the reporter included emails and statements that the reporter had:
* Called Karl Rove for an interview
* Talked to Rove about the story he was writing that VP Chaney had sent Wilson to Africa and then rejected Wilson's findings and then had "outed" Wilsons wife as retribution.
* Rove told the reporter: No!, Chaney did not send Wilson to Africa, that he understood that Wilson's wife, who worked at the CIA, had sent Wilson to Africa.
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Very interesting! And this data and sequence of events are well muddled and concealed and slanted in The Editors articles.
Given this data and sequence of events it's clear that the White House was not involved in Wilson's trip, and it was the media that contacted the White House to develop this story, and that someone other than Rove determined Plame-Wilsons name and position.
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Now the real questions are:
1. Why was Wilson chosen by his wife to be the investigator to be sent to Africa?
2. What kind of nepotism is involved in this assignment?
3. What are Wilson's motives in all of this and why is he telling these stories?
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This is going to go on for a looooooooong time! Would be nice if the editor starts focusing on the available facts.
Also would be interesting for him to compare the Bush response to this problem to the way Clinton used executive privilege at every opportunity, dozens of times for each of the problems he had. He even invoked executive privilege to keep his secret service agents from testifying and he had Janet Reno stonewall appointing special prosecutors at every opportunity (REMEMBER!).
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