I know all you tantric BDS infants are salivating over former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's recent appearance before the congress critters on the House Judiciary Committee, wasting even more time (still or again?), over this non-issue of 'plame-gate', but here's a little reminder: Joe Wilson outed Valerie Plame.
A month before Bob Novak published Valerie Plame’s name and disclosed that she worked at the CIA in a department that monitored weapons of mass destruction, the gossipy Richard Armitage at the State Department already knew all about her. When asked how he knew about Plame, Armitage said he knew because Joe Wilson was "calling everybody" and telling them. And by "everybody" Mr. Armitage certainly meant reporters (although none, save Novak, published this common knowledge).
With that in mind it is an easy step to suppose that it was Mr. Joseph C. Wilson IV himself who first "outed" his wife as a CIA officer.
And, as Mr. Armitage also suggested, Wilson did so because he didn’t want to be dismissed as some "low-level guy." He wanted to buttress his wildly outrageous (and we now know fallacious) claims against a then popular President at the height of a then popular war.
But, but, but.... what about 'Scooter' Libby and his conviction in this matter?
The CIA Leak case took hold of Washington in the summer of 2003 after columnist Robert Novak published an article identifying Plame as a covert CIA operative — undoing the covertness of her job.
The catch was, Plame was the wife to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who days before the (Novak) column had published his own article in The New York Times, blasting the administration for what he said were unproven allegations being used to support going to war in Iraq.
A grand jury investigation into possible administration retribution led to the indictment and last year's conviction of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on obstruction of justice.
Scooter was the scape goat for unfair tactics by the White House against Wilson for being a foul mouth - not because Scooter 'leaked' anything.
So, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's new book (and appearance on the Hill before the congress critters) merely stirs the settled mud and fattens his wallet. Nothing more.
Sorry, libs. No 'frog marching' this election cycle.
Update: everyone and their dog contorts about it here.
