Bush approved leak

[ramtower]

The court filing, which was first reported this morning on the New York Sun Web site, said that Mr. Libby testified that the "Vice President advised defendant that the President had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the N.I.E." The prosecutors said that Mr. Libby testified that he recalled the circumstances "getting approval from the President through the Vice President to discuss material that would be classified but for that approval — were unique in his recollection."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/washington/06cnd-leak.html?hp&ex=1144382400&en=cc5a0128b83c317e&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Why is this NOT CNN's first article? I'm sure it will be soon, but right now? It's about an immigration agreement.

The White House's defense of this is that if the president approves releasing confidential information, that information is no longer confidential, which amounts to doublespeak to my ears:

"Mr. Addington opined that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to declassification of the document."

[mewelke]

Yeah. I get the feeling the mainstream media is waiting for the reaction before they bother reporting on it...since no one in the mainstream media can ever be bothered to actually investigate anything.

[mewelke]

“There's been nothing, absolutely nothing, brought to our attention to suggest any White House involvement, and that includes the vice president’s office as well."

Scott McClellan in 2003.

Of course that's not unlike Bush saying they weren't doing the wiretaps up until about two months before the press finally got around to reporting it. Or the countless other lies they've been caught making in countless other corruptions.

[ramtower]

Don't forget that Bush said something about holding anyone within his office accountable. I don't have the quote-fu necessary to rifle around for the exact quote, though...

I wish this would matter, but I suspect that it won't. It will be another one of those things history looks back on in shame, wondering how America had become so afraid of controversy.

[mewelke]

Given the tendency for the truth to come out after the fact, I suspect that shame will be epic in scope.

[Taxman]

So, what . . . you guys don't like Bush?

[ramtower]

Personally, I just don't like politicians, and I don't like the way they and the media look the other way at unethical behavior among their own, from either side of the aisle. But that's personally.

I also don't like politicians who claim they'll do something very specific under very specific circumstances and then don't -- but that's just business as usual for campaign promises.

Although I do reserve the right to be even more disgusted at secret wiretaps (when a perfectly functional means of getting wiretaps is in place) and the leaking of classified information for personal political gain, now that you mention it, so...yeah, I guess I don't think especially highly of the level of dignity Bush has brought to the White House. I feel like Nixon at least did something to restore US/China relations.

[mewelke]

I don't like authority figures in general.

What I don't like about the media looking the other way these days is that things seem so over the top. It's no longer everyday villainy...it's cartoonish super villainy. Bush has had more scandals in his administration than any other five presidencies put together.