host

Seaver, I want to understand your perception of these "leaker" issues.
The identity of an employee of the CIA was considered by the CIA to be classified information. Columnist Robert Novak published that "Joe Wilson's wife works for the CIA". He also publicly stated that two "senior administration officials" confirmed to him that "Joe Wilson's wife works for the CIA".

The CIA complained to the DOJ that classified information that had the effect of revealing to the public that Valerie Plame, (Joe Wilson's wife.....worked for the CIA) appeared in Robert Novak's July, 2003 column. The CIA requested that the DOJ investigate to find and identify those who leaked that information to Robert Novak.

11 months later, the POTUS said:
Now, please explain how the description of the Novak publishing of classified information, confirmed to him by two "senior administration officials, and the POTUS's June, 2004 pledge, when he was asked what he would do if the identities of people working in his administration who leaked classified information to Novak were uncovered....compares to your <b>"equal and non-partisan"</b> stance. For example, let's run through the documentation of the NY Times publishing the report that discloses "SWIFT" monitoring.

<b>Is the Bush administration as "even handed" in it's treatment of the NY Times, as it has been with Lewis "Scooter" Libby and with Karl Rove? Have you ever heard Mr. Bush, or Mr. Cheney, negatively criticize either of the above men, as to their involvment in "confirming" classified information about the employment of "Joe Wilson's wife", to Robert Novak, or to other news reporters?</b>

Please explain how the following "works"....Bush pledged to "fire anyone in my administration", identified by the attorney general as having leaked classified information to Rober Novak, et al. The U.S. attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, investigated the matter, and heard testimony from a number of news reporters that both Karl Rove and Scooter Libby confirmed to them that "Joe Wilson's wife" worked for the CIA. Both men were investigated by and tesitifed before the U.S. attorney. The reporters, Judith Miller, Matt Cooper, Bob Woodward, and finally now, Robert Novak, have all confirmed that Libby and Rove confirmed to them "that "Joe Wilson's wife" worked for the CIA".

Libby was indicted by Patrick Fitzgerald, in Oct., 2005 on five counts of lying to FBI investigators and to Fitzgerald's grand jury. Fitzgerald described his investigation, and Libby's obstruction, as being like a baseball umpire, trying to observe a play in a game, and having "sand thrown in his face", to make it impossible to determine what happened.

Mr. Bush has responded to all of this by keeping Mr. Rove in his white house office, with his security clearance intact. Mr. Libby, after being indicted, was allowed to resign, and it is unclear whether the white house continues to allow him access to classified information.

Seaver, contrast the above description to this discription of events, understand that all of the quotes from the government come from two sites,
the white house and the U.S. treasury websites:

Since 1998, the Washington Post has displayed the following on it's website:
another story about SWIFT monitoring by the U.S. government has been on
the linked pages for 58 months, now:
<b>Seaver, see if you don't agree that I've established that descriptions of SWIFT monitoring have been dispalyed on web pages of 5 Fox Tv affiliates, and two newspapers that, along with the NY Times, published, on June 22, 2006, reports that described SWIFT monitoring by the US government. The NY Times has no history, that I can locate, of ever posting a description or reference to SWIFT on it's website, before June 22.....</b>

On June 23, we have this documentation that Stuart Levey of the treasury told the public the following:
Seaver, what can we conclude from what Mr. Levey said ?
<b>1.)SWIFT was secret until it was disclosed in newspaper reporting on June 22, and that "The terrorists we are pursuing are deadly serious and take every precaution to keep their plans and methods to themselves.".</b>

A few days later, Tony Snow, the press spokesperson for the POTUS speaks:
In the same press briefing, Mr. Snow also answered the following, SWIFT related questions:
Okay Seaver? Please observe, that, even though Mr. Snow and Mr. Levey made it quite clear, in public statements, that "SWIFT" was not known to the "terrorists", before the reporting of the U.S. government's monitoring of it, that very week, and even though reproters of the LA Times and the NY Timee
investigated and reported on SWIFT independently, on or about June 22, and
even though the Washington Post also reported on SWIFT's existence at that time....and....considering that, in the opinion of Levey and Snow, any reporting about the SWIFT monitoring would diminish it's effectiveness, because, as Mr. Levey stated, <b>"The terrorists we are pursuing are deadly serious and take every precaution to keep their plans and methods to themselves. We cannot expect to continue disrupting their activities if our most valuable programs are exposed on the front page of our newspapers .." </b> and Mr. Snow reiterated, <b>"there's a difference between the theoretical constrict, which is we're going to choke off financing, and talking about sources and methods, or ways in which you do it. There's a real difference, because the terrorists -- ......"</b>, why....Seaver....would you suppose that Mr. Cheney stated the following....not about the Washington Post, which displayed an impressive description of "CIA and Treasury agents, plugging into the computerized systems....of SWIFT"....on it's website for 8 fucking years....and not about the LA Times, which posted a description of NSA using SWIFT to try to track Bin Laden's financial activity, and left that report up on it's website for the last 58 months, or.....even about the 5 Fox TV affiliates who display the same report about SWIFT....or about the Baltimore Sun, where the 2001 SWIFT article originated, or about the Orlando Sentinel, or even about the Chicago Tribune, which all displayed the description of SWIFT, for the last 58 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seaver, I've taken the time to become an expert on what happened in the Valerie Plame leak investigation. I've tried to do the same thing with regard to the administration's attack on the New York Times.

I don't know what to think, Seaver. I am certain that you don't, either.
I suspect, from what you post, that you haven't realized it yet.

I also believe that Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney know exactly what they are saying and doing, and that none of it is worthy of your support, or praise.