Bush Consults Lawyer About CIA Name Leak

[seemslikeadream]

Bush Consults Lawyer About CIA Name Leak

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 3, 2004; 11:33 AM

Bush did not answer a reporter's question on whether he had received any indication from prosecutors that they want to question him about the leak or on what he might be able to tell them that would shed light on the case.

"This is a criminal matter," Bush said. "It's a serious matter. I met with an attorney to determine whether or not I need his advice, and if I deem I need his advice I'll probably hire him."

Earlier, White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed that Bush had contacted Jim Sharp, a Washington lawyer and former assistant U.S. attorney who heads his own firm. Bush took the step in case prosecutors or FBI agents want to interview him about the Valerie Plame case, or in the event he is called by a federal grand jury investigating the matter.

Democrats accused Bush of chilling the investigation when he said in October: "I don't know if we're going to find out the senior administration official. Now, this is a large administration, and there's a lot of senior officials." But he went on to say, "I want to know the truth."

Bush was asked again about the case on New Year's Day in Texas, when he said: "I'm not involved with the investigation in any way, shape or form. I've told the members of the White House to totally cooperate. I think you'll find that there has been total cooperation."

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12499-2004Jun3.html

(June 03, 2004 -- 01:18 PM EDT // link // print)
Mike Allen has some good follow-up on the president and his decision to bring on a personal lawyer in the Plame matter. Allen quotes the president as saying, "This is a criminal matter. It's a serious matter. I met with an attorney to determine whether or not I need his advice, and if I deem I need his advice I'll probably hire him."

This follows the White House line from last night. The president 'consulted' Jim Sharp to advise him on whether or not he needs Sharp's advice. And based on that advice, if the president decides he does need Sharp's advice, he'll probably retain him so he can get the advice.

-- Josh Marshall
(June 03, 2004 -- 12:43 PM EDT // link // print)
What about Tenet? All the chatter -- not to mention simple logic -- says he was fired. The Times gets it right when they say that the way this was announced was "almost bizarre."

Actually, here concision should be the handmaiden of precision. Drop the "almost". It was bizarre.

Thus the Times ...

Mr. Bush announced the resignation in a way that was almost bizarre. He had just addressed reporters and photographers in a fairly innocuous Rose Garden session with Australia's prime minister, John Howard. Then the session was adjourned, as Mr. Bush apparently prepared to depart for nearby Andrews Air Force Base and his flight to Europe, where he is to take part in ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Normady invasion and meet European leaders — some of whom have been sharply critical of the campaign in Iraq.
But minutes later, Mr. Bush reappeared on the sun-drenched White House lawn, stunning listeners with the news of Mr. Tenet's resignation, which the president said would be effective in mid-July. Until then, Mr. Bush said, the C.I.A.'s deputy director, John McLaughlin, will be acting director.

The president praised Mr. Tenet's qualities as a public servant, saying: "He's strong. He's resolute. He's served his nation as the director for seven years. He has been a strong and able leader at the agency. He's been a, he's been a strong leader in the war on terror, and I will miss him."

Then Mr. Bush walked away, declining to take questions or offer any insight into what Mr. Tenet's personal reasons might be.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[Moderator]

1. Original thread on this topic here, locked due to size

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=598076&mesg_id=598076&page=

[Warpy]

2. Well, if this is true, it's the reason Bush lawyered up so fast:

"Witnesses told a federal grand jury President George W. Bush knew about, and took no action to stop, the release of a covert CIA operative's name to a journalist in an attempt to discredit her husband, a critic of administration policy in Iraq."

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4629.shtml

Even if it isn't true, the coverup is always seen as being at least as bad as the original crime. Too bad Nixon isn't around to tell this lunatic gang that little bit of information.

[maddezmom]

3. John Dean's take on Bush hiring outside council

The Serious Implications Of President Bush's Hiring A Personal Outside Counsel For The Valerie Plame Investigation
By JOHN W. DEAN
----
Friday, Jun. 04, 2004

Recently, the White House acknowledged that President Bush is talking with, and considering hiring, a non-government attorney, James E. Sharp. Sharp is being consulted, and may be retained, regarding the current grand jury investigation of the leak revealing the identity of Valerie Plame as a CIA covert operative.


(Plame is the wife of Bush critic and former ambassador Joe Wilson; I discussed the leak itself in a prior column, and then discussed further developments in the investigation in a follow-up column.)

This action by Bush is a rather stunning and extraordinary development. The President of the United States is potentially hiring a private criminal defense lawyer. Unsurprisingly, the White House is doing all it can to bury the story, providing precious little detail or context for the President's action.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bush explained his action by saying, "This is a criminal matter. It's a serious matter," but he gave no further specifics. White House officials, too, would not say exactly what prompted Bush to seek the outside advice, or whether he had been asked to appear before the grand jury.

Nonetheless, Bush's action, in itself, says a great deal. In this column, I will analyze what its implications may be.

much more:

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20040604.html

[radfringe]

4. rumor has it that

Crashcart-Cheney has also consulted a lawyer

just a :tinfoilhat: -- most of us seem to think Tenent's resignation has to do with the screw-ups surrounding 9-11, WMDs and Chalabi

maybe it's more connected to the CIA-outing? tenent's resignation announced on the day the news of bush* lawyering up also hits the papers? some of us think this is a diversion from Chalabi story or an attempt short-circuit the lawyering-up news....

what does Tenent know about the outing? was he the one that suggested this tactic? How involved was he prior to and/or after the traitor Novak published? or did Tenent resign because he refused to participate further... so is it a cover-up or covering their asses?

there may be more than just falling on his sword for bush* inc.

[maddezmom]

5. Dean must be in on the rumor mill..he mentions Dicky

I raised the issue of whether the President might be able to invoke executive privilege as to this information. But the attorney I consulted - who is well versed in this area of law -- opined that "Neither 'outing' Plame, nor covering for the perpetrators would seem to fall within the scope of any executive privilege that I am aware of."

That may not stop Bush from trying to invoke executive privilege, however - or at least from talking to his attorney about the option. As I have discussed in one of my prior columns, Vice President Dick Cheney has tried to avoid invoking it in implausible circumstances - in the case that is now before the U.S .Supreme Court. Rather he claims he is beyond the need for the privilege, and simply cannot be sued.

Suffice it to say that whatever the meaning of Bush's decision to talk with private counsel about the Valerie Plame leak, the matter has taken a more ominous turn with Bush's action. It has only become more portentous because now Dick Cheney has also hired a lawyer for himself, suggesting both men may have known more than they let on. Clearly, the investigation is heading toward a culmination of some sort. And it should be interesting.

[seemslikeadream]

6. Thanks for that!

It has only become more portentous because now Dick Cheney has also hired a lawyer for himself, suggesting both men may have known more than they let on. Clearly, the investigation is heading toward a culmination of some sort. And it should be interesting.

[struggle4progress]

7. Eyebrows up as Bush sees lawyer in CIA leak case

President Bush's decision to line up a defense lawyer indicates he's worried about becoming entangled in a grand jury investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's name to a newspaper columnist, legal experts said Thursday.
<snip>

It was the first indication that the grand jury inquiry into the CIA officer's exposure could reach the highest levels at the White House. The panel, working under the direction of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago, is trying to find out whether the Bush administration leaked the name of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame last July to columnist Robert Novak to retaliate for her husband's high-profile opposition to the war in Iraq. Novak won't say where he got the information.
<snip>

Georgetown University law professor Paul Rothstein cautioned against "overstating" the possibility of Bush's personal involvement in the leak. But he said the president's decision suggested, at the very least, that Bush might be anticipating a grand jury appearance.

"My eyebrows went up when I heard about it," said Rothstein, an expert in criminal law. "I think we have to read this move as some kind of feeling that there's some chance, no matter how remote, that there may be some personal liability on the president's part, or that someone might try to suggest there is."
<snip>

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2608525

[central scrutinizer]

8. Bush and Grand Jury in the same sentence

the first of many such occurences, I hope.