by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 11, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

aught in the cookie jar, Bush's senior political advisor and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove painted himself into a corner outing CIA operative Valerie Plame, the wife of former Iraq ambassador Joseph C. Wilson. Only days after Wilson published a scathing indictment of Bush's prewar intelligence in the New York Times, accusing the White House of juicing up Saddam's weapons of mass destruction to justify going to war, a “high ranking” official leaked Plame's identity to Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and New York Times journalist Judith Miller. For two years, a Chicago-based grand jury, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald and U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan have relentlessly pursued Miller and Cooper to find their source. Only last week, Miller went to jail, Time Magazine released its confidential docs and Cooper agreed to testify before the grand jury.

      For two years the White Houses dismissed Rove's involvement as “ridiculous,” drawing a promise from President Bush that anyone who leaked Plame's identity would be terminated from his staff. One of the Time e-mails concerned a note from Cooper to his boss that Wilson's wife “apparently works” at the CIA. If Rove indeed leaked the information, no one knows for sure who told him Plame's identity. White House spokesman Scott McClellan was tongue-tied facing the same press core he categorically denied any White House involvement. “The president knows that Rove wasn't involved,” said McClellan in Sept. and Oct. 2003. “It was a ridiculous suggestion,” and, “It's not true,” insisted McClellan, either covering up Rove's involvement or showing cosmic naïveté. Feeling the heat, McClellan dodged questions about his prior remarks, resorting to a perfunctory script.

      Adding insult to injury, Rove's attorney Robert Luskin admitted that his client did in fact talk to Matthew Cooper five days after Wilson's op-ed ran in the NY Times. So far, the ordinarily garrulous Rove refused to speak with reporters, preferring to let his attorney do the talking. Rove told the press last year that “he didn't know her name and didn't leak her name,” making him look disingenuous now that Time Magazine reporter Matthew Miller admitted Rove was his source. Rove can't have it both ways: Free access to the press as long it suits his propaganda needs while, at the same time, ducking the press when they're asking tough questions. Insisting that Rove wasn't involved creates problems for the White House now that there's incontrovertible proof. Identifying Wilson's wife can only be understood as payback for his critical words in the New York Times.

      Outing Plame was risky business for Bush's senior political advisor, now White House deputy chief of staff. It's one thing to play hardball on political campaigns but still another to retaliate against his bosses critics, especially covert agents. In a White House prided on running a tight ship, Rove's leak not only caused embarrassment but showed abysmal judgment by one of Bush's most savvy advisors. Remaining scandal-free was a top priority for a president that promised to restore “honor and integrity” to the Oval Office, after years of scandal in the Clinton presidency. Appointing a special council to look into the leak and categorically denying involvement causes problems. Looking at the big picture, Rove was paranoid that Wilson's op-ed would discredit the White House's case for war. Without finding weapons of mass destruction the White House was on shaky ground.

      Lunging at the political opportunity gives the other side gratuitous ammunition. Apart from the political fallout, outing Plame breached national security by exposing an undercover agent involved in weapons of mass destruction. “It was, KR said, [W]ilson's wife, who apparently works at the agency on [weapons of mass destruction] issues who authorized the trip,” said Cooper's e-mail, explaining why Wilson traveled to Niger to ascertain the veracity of Bush's claim in the State of the Union Message that Saddam tried to buy yellocake. While Luskin says any disclosure about Plame's identity was unintentional, it's no accident that Wilson was critical of Bush's claims about weapons of mass destruction. Leaking Plame's name helped Rove discredit Wilson's charge that the administration had no basis for war. Luskin wouldn't confirm that Rove knew Plame was an undercover agent.

      Rove acted recklessly outing Plame, whether deliberately or inadvertently, to Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper. Rove was too mired fighting a propaganda battle selling the Iraq War to understand how his leak would harm national security and embarrass the White House. Rove's attorney Luskin makes matters worse by (a) admitting that Rove spoke with Cooper and (b) denying that Rove disclosed Plame's name. If Luskin wants to help his client he'd be well advised to stop making inconsistent statements and feeble excuses. President Bush has a real dilemma figuring out what to do with the man responsible for his reelection and outing CIA operative Valerie Plame. Giving Rove a pass or holding him accountable has real consequences. If Bush follows his word and bows to political pressure, Rove is out. If he listens to his base and follows his heart, Rove stays.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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