Yesterday Wilson and Charles Schumer held a press conference calling for Rove's security clearance to be revoked. Also Harry Reid tried to pass a bill in the senate that would have revoked his clearance as well(the bill was voted down).
But today the democratic/media position have started to come unraveled at a shocking pace. First there was Wilson on CNN admitting that his wife was not a covert agent when named by Novak:
BLITZER: But the other argument that's been made against you is that you've sought to capitalize on this extravaganza, having that photo shoot with your wife, who was a clandestine officer of the CIA, and that you've tried to enrich yourself writing this book and all of that.And no, in case you are wondering Blitzer did not go on to ask how someone's identity could be blown if they were not covert.
What do you make of those accusations, which are serious accusations, as you know, that have been leveled against you.
WILSON: My wife was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity.
Next we have an AP story that quotes a grand jury leaker who says that Rove did not leak Plame's name to Novak, indeed it was almost the other way around:
Chief presidential adviser Karl Rove testified to a grand jury that he talked with two journalists before they divulged the identity of an undercover CIA officer but that he originally learned about the operative from the news media and not government sources, according to a person briefed on the testimony.So yes Rove is getting smeared for answering his phone. The story continues:
The person, who works in the legal profession and spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, told The Associated Press that Rove testified last year that he remembers specifically being told by columnist Robert Novak that Valerie Plame, the wife of a harsh Iraq war critic, worked for the CIA.
Rove testified that Novak originally called him the Tuesday before Plame's identity was revealed in July 2003 to discuss another story.
When Novak inquired about Wilson's wife working for the CIA, Rove indicated he had heard something like that, according to the source's recounting of the grand jury testimony.So there you have it. Rove is being targeted for talking on the phone to reporters(who called him about different stories), and repeating what other reporters had told him. These people in the press already complain so much about the Administration not talking to them enough, I'm sure this will encourage more open communication. Don't you think?
Rove told the grand jury that three days later, he had a phone conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper and - in an effort to discredit some of Wilson's allegations - informally told Cooper that he believed Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, though he never used her name, the source said.
The blatant disregard of the facts by the democrats and by the leftstream media is just astonishing. There literally is no story here that hasn't been told before. But the libs smelled blood. They thought they had him, just like Rathergate, they thought that finally FINALLY they could bring down Bush. Turn him in to a lame duck and return to power riding the waves of scandal. The press all wanted to be Bob Woodward but there was no Whitewater break-in to report.
MIchelle Malkin says to compare and contrast the headlines of the NYT and the AP story:
Compare and contrast...She also has a good round-up of blogger reactions to the new developments.
NY Times headline: Rove Reportedly Held Phone Talk on C.I.A. Officer
AP headline: Source: Rove Got CIA Agent ID From Media
The NY Times clings to the Evil Genius narrative, despite what its own reporting and follow-ups from other press outlets shows...
Tom Maguire also has a good summary as well as consideration of who the real leak might be.
Mickey Kaus also has thoughts on what actually happend.
