Novak: Armitage Lied

Wow. Pretty hard stuff.

Not only is Novak burning a source, but he's possibly exposing him to legal jeopardy. Because what Armitage tells the press he did (and assumedly, what he told Fitzgerald's investigators he did) doesn't match with Novak's recollection of what he did.

"When Richard Armitage finally acknowledged last week he was my source three years ago in revealing Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA employee, the former deputy secretary of state's interviews obscured what he really did," Bob Novak claims in a column set for Thursday release.

Novak, attempting to set the record straight, writes: "First, Armitage did not, as he now indicates, merely pass on something he had heard and that he 'thought' might be so. Rather, he identified to me the CIA division where Mrs. Wilson worked, and said flatly that she recommended the mission to Niger by her husband, former Amb. Joseph Wilson. Second, Armitage did not slip me this information as idle chitchat, as he now suggests. He made clear he considered it especially suited for my column."

...

"When Armitage now says he was mute because of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's request, that does not explain his silent three months between his claimed first realization that he was the source and Fitzgerald's appointment on Dec. 30. Armitage's tardy self-disclosure is tainted because it is deceptive.

He also slams him for remaining silent while reporters were grilled before a grand jury.

Lefty Spin: This proves there was a concerted WH effort to "smear" Joe Wilson, even if Armitage was against the Iraq invasion and despised the WH.

I think it just proves that Washington bureaucrats feed reporters and columnists tips to keep them on their side.

posted by Ace at 02:52 PM

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