Richard Armitage Admits Plame Leak "Extraordinarily Foolish"

[Tsnore]

As Fitzgerald said Cheney was probably the real driver behind it all and Libby took the fall and not Rove or others. These guys destroyed an intelligence asset for the US working on WMD anti-proliferation issues vis-a-vis Iran and others, actual WMDs not the fictitious kind the Musheviks sold the Iraq invasion on. True Evil in the White House, and like in 1972-74, we lived through it yet again.

[awolff01]

This guys is basically the scapegoat...he's obviously been brainwash to accept fault. Him, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby, and Cheney should be hanged for treason.

George Bush is too retarded to have realized what he was agreeing to.

[ohwnou]

Stick his head under water and I bet we get the truth.Why is he walking free and Bradley Manning is in solitary

[jxsilicon9]

Why doesn't Plame just kill Armitrage herself?Or use one of her contacts?

[cptskellern]

the cia are a bunch of wankers anyway.

[tubegeg]

Why is this traitor not in federal prison for life?

[gabecollett]

armitage committed arbitrage

oh well hes still a good guy

better than his republican superiors

they are the truth douchbags

[gabecollett]

colin is the one at fault

how could he get used

by bush and cheney

he should have stood up to them and negroponte

shame on all of you, shame, shame, shame

now wheres my tax refund

[gabecollett]

dic is still the man

but it is bad that he did this

but hes still a tough guy

teley savalas

[NoGuff]

Of course it was foolish!

But it wasn't illegal. And that is a fact.

[MartySchrader]

Not often that you see a Bush Leaguer admit to making any kind of error, even one not of his own doing. [cough]

[LayneRoxxx]

Also I don't believe him ONE BIT. Bush and Cheney ordered all this.

Although Bush and Cheney have this guy by the balls.

"open your mouth and we will kill you and your family."

"don't open your mouth and we will protect you from treason charges."

[NoGuff]

"Bush and Cheney ordered all this."

Nice "evidence" you've got there, Lie'n'Rox.

[LayneRoxxx]

Yes. Just because you don't know you are committing treason, doesn't mean you haven't committed treason!

DEATH PENALTY!

If I do something foolishly doesn't mean it gets me off the hook.

[HiGuy505]

are you serious? he deserves death for that? you think we should end that man's life?

[tanith33]

It's still treason, Armitage.

[NoGuff]

"It's still treason, Armitage."

If you believe it is, please bring charges against him. Or, if you don't know what you're talking about, stop spewing bullshit.

[impietease]

It was not treason, as it was not an overt act, whiles Libby's acts assuredly were.

US Constitution; art. 3; Sect 3 clause 1:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

[NoGuff]

"whiles Libby's acts assuredly were"

--Yes, they were, but they weren't treasonous.

[lrn2wlk4life]

Please tell me how a blond white woman can be under cover agent in the middle east or Africa. She outer herself by chairing the conference. This has always been a non-issue and Plame has always been an attention hound.

[heckofanutjob]

Her cover was an energy consultant, yes, a blonde female one. Maybe you just have a Hollywood understanding of what "under cover" actually means. Novak made sure to reveal her front company too, so that anyone who ever used it as cover would also be compromised.

[NoGuff]

"Novak made sure to reveal her front company too, so that anyone who ever used it as cover would also be compromised."

Why wasn't Novak prosecuted for that?

[heckofanutjob]

Because he didn't lie under oath about it, cooperated with Fitzgerald, and claimed he didn't know she was covert. It's possible he didn't know she was covert - but the CIA's denial of her should have been his first clue.

[NoGuff]

"Because he didn't lie under oath about it, cooperated with Fitzgerald, and claimed he didn't know she was covert"

--If the whole affair was about lying under oath, why the investigation in the first place? Also, ignorance of the law isn't a defense.

"It's possible he didn't know she was covert"

--She wasn't at the time. That's why no one was prosecuted for "outing a covert CIA agent."

[heckofanutjob]

The law in question (IIPA) says that the person has to "knowingly" out the covert agent. So in this instance, ignorance is a defense.

The CIA confirms that she was indeed covert until the day Novak printed her name.

[impietease]

The CIA told Justice that an under cover agent had had been outed, possibly using classified info. The FBI felt that the evidence warranted investigation. to be a crime the government representative had to release the info knowing it would blow an agent's cover. Libby probably did not know, and would have been scot-free, except he lied to Federal Investigators, and under oath to a Grand jury; both felony acts.

[NoGuff]

"and would have been scot-free, except he lied to Federal Investigators, and under oath to a Grand jury; both felony acts."

--No shit. We all understand this. Why do you Lefties keep bringing it up?

[impietease]

The CIA says she was still covert. Her tax forms listed her cover as employer. Her neighbors told investigators they did not know she was CIA before the Novak story was published. The FBI felt the CIA complaint was cause for further investigation. Plame says she was still cover. She was covert, the outing was damaging, placing contacts in danger. Quit drinking neocon kool-aid, and help to clean-up conservatism, or risk the rest of us destroying it as irrevocably tainted.

[NoGuff]

"The CIA says she was still covert. Her tax forms listed her cover as employer."

--If she was covert at the time, then why couldn't Fitzgerald get a conviction? Answer: Because there was no crime committed, and he was on a witch hunt to "get" Karl Rove.

[loonmaniac]

Wow, you're fucking stupid.

[ohwnou]

@NoGuff So you work for the IRS??

[w1104717]

this a-hole armitidge should be in prison, traitor.

[impietease]

The crime being investigated was whether a government employee had knowingly released classified information, which blew an undercover intel officer's cover story. Novak's article wasn't the crime; it was an element of cause for the Fitzgerald investigation. Novak squealed like a stuck pig upon receiving his subpoena. He won't cover for his confidential sources. Being a cowardly partisan weasle is not a crime.

[NoGuff]

"The crime being investigated was whether a government employee had knowingly released classified information, which blew an undercover intel officer's cover story"

--In other words...the "leak." Right? Which was blamed on George Bush and Karl Rove by the Liberal Loonies.

"He won't cover for his confidential sources"

--Nor should he if a crime was committed.

[crazycatfguy]

You watch way too much Fox. Actually any Fox is way too much Fox. She was also operating a shipping company that was trying to get a rep for shipping anything anywhere to entice people to try to ship things like nuclear triggers through the company.

[Bolgernow]

He was the hatchet man for Cheney & Rove to discredit & harm Joe Wilson by outing his wife, nothing more...but Wolfy won't ask that question, odd...

[gabecollett]

ah give him a chance

armitage did sabotage

but he did not mean to harm with his adage

hes still charasmatic

[thereallurker]

Another Repuglican fool. During a time of war, he outs the cover of one our troops.

These Repugs are guilty of not just being fools but treason as well. They sent thousands of Americans to their deaths and wasted trillions of dollars based on trumped up information when the facts were right in front of them.

[Drstrangelove17]

It's because this guy doesn't have the tact to keep his mouth shut... plus his whole aura (that is, the way he's presenting himself), suggests that even though it was foolish, he doesn't really care either way how it affected her.

[asdffd]

"Extraordinarily Foolish"? Interesting choice of words. I think treasonous or criminal would be more appropriate but I'm just a common person- and what we common people think doesn't mean shit to the folks in Washington.

[Banghouse]

Wrong! This is why elected officials get away with murder, not enough common people are doing anything about it.

[NoGuff]

"I think treasonous or criminal would be more appropriate but I'm just a common person- and what we common people think doesn't mean shit to the folks in Washington."

It's not about what you think, it's about the law. And if you knew the law (or conveniently ignored it when you heard it), you'd know that revealing Plame's identity wasn't a crime. If it were, he would have been prosecuted. Instead, we got the side-show "Libby-Gate."

[blair227]

If an honest to god prosecuter with real power had been given full authority as in the Nixon debacle,the whole of this so called administration would be in prison. This administration has been held un-accountable for too long. Armitage is a so called career diplomat and knew exactly what he was doing when he outed her.

[NoGuff]

"If an honest to god prosecuter with real power had been given full authority"

--You're saying he has false credentials? And created his position & office & staff & subpoenas without authority to do so? Very strange theory.

"the whole of this so called administration would be in prison"

--Thank you, Perry Mason.

"This administration has been held un-accountable"

--For....what?

[impietease]

Libby lied to Federal Investigators performing their official duties, and to a Federal grand jury. Both are felonies irrespective of whether subsequent crimes are prosecuted as a result of these investigations. Armitage voluntarily went to the FBI when he realized he was Novak's source, and fully cooperated without court order the rest of the investigation. A lawyered-up Libby lied many times under oath. He was an attorney, and knew the rules: plead the fifth, or tell the damn truth.

[NoGuff]

"Libby lied to Federal Investigators performing their official duties, and to a Federal grand jury. Both are felonies irrespective of whether subsequent crimes are prosecuted as a result of these investigations"

--No shit, Sherlock. The POINT, in case you weren't paying attention, was that no one was prosecuted for "outing" Plame, because it wasn't a crime.

"He was an attorney, and knew the rules: plead the fifth, or tell the damn truth."

--No disagreement here.

[blair227]

Why has this guy not been shot yet?

[NoGuff]

"Why has this guy not been shot yet?"

If you're going to shoot this guy, you should also include Novak, and the reporters/editors at the NYTimes for publishing secret information from the military, and those at CNN who showed al Qaeda sniper video.

[guerone]

I think he was kind of used by the whitehouse. He knew 100%that he was leaking information to Novak, and he knew what the Wilson story was about. But I dont think he understood the grave consequences of his leak, and he failed to see just how much he was being used by the whitehouse. As well as failing to see just how illegal the actions of the vice presidents office were. Afterwards he did not come forward because he knew he messed up and was embarrassed. What a dummy!

[dafttool]

He said there was no "ill intent" in his treasonous actions. Well that's highly questionable, especially so since he hid his identity in the matter until it was revealed in grand jury testimony. If his actions were innocently motivated, why did he behave as if he was guilty?

[moikl]

and that's it? it was "foolish"? "oops, sorry, let's move on"?? Nice one Dick... There's blood on your hands.

[wiskawind]

It was, and it is treason! During wartime, I believe that crime would get the death penalty.

[NoGuff]

"It was, and it is treason! During wartime, I believe that crime would get the death penalty."

Yes, during wartime, treason is punishable by death. But what he did was not treason, nor was it illegal.