Howard Dean on the Scooter Libby Verdict

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

DNC Press

Washington, DC – With the multiple guilty verdicts in the case of Scooter Libby and the outing of a covert CIA agent, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"Today the American legal system did something the Bush Administration hasn't, by holding Scooter Libby accountable for his illegal actions. Many unanswered questions remain about the other key Bush advisors who participated in the Administration's efforts to mislead the American people and smear its critics who have yet to be held accountable. Ultimately, the buck stops with President Bush. While he failed to keep his promise to fire the leaker, he should pledge not to pardon Scooter Libby.

"It's appalling to think that while President Bush had a high level team in place to sell the Iraq War and viciously smear its critics, it has not given that same attention to plan for postwar Iraq, providing the proper equipment for our troops or ensuring that our troops and veterans receive the care they deserve."

September 30, 2003: Bush Said That If There Was A Leak In His Administration They Would Be "Taken Care Of." President Bush reiterated stern treatment for the culprit, saying, "if there was a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of...And so I welcome the investigation...I have told our administration people in my administration to be fully cooperative. I want to know the truth." [White House, Bush Travel Pool, 9/30/03]

September 29, 2003: McClellan Said Leaker Would Be Fired. Scott McClellan said: "If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration." [White House Press Briefing, 9/29/03]

White House Put Politics And PR Above All Else

White House Iraq Group Formed To Formulate Strategy To Sell Iraq War to American People - Included Libby And Rove. "Systematic coordination began in August, when Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. formed the White House Iraq Group, or WHIG, to set strategy for each stage of the confrontation with Baghdad. A senior official who participated in its work called it "an internal working group, like many formed for priority issues, to make sure each part of the White House was fulfilling its responsibilities." The group met weekly in the Situation Room. Among the regular participants were Karl Rove, the president's senior political adviser; communications strategists Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin and James R. Wilkinson; legislative liaison Nicholas E. Calio; and policy advisers led by Rice and her deputy, Stephen J. Hadley, along with I. Lewis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff." [Washington Post, 8/10/03]

Group Of Bush Aides Described As Having A Disdain for CIA Views On Intelligence Matters. "When the disclosure of Wilson's CIA mission to Niger put the White House on the defensive, one administration official said it reminded a tight knit group of Bush neoconservatives of their longtime battles with the agency and underlined their determination to fight. Many of those officials also were members of the White House Iraq Group, established to coordinate and promote administration policy. It included the most influential players who would represent two elements of the current scandal: a hardball approach to political critics and long-standing disdain for CIA views on intelligence matters. The group consisted of Rove, Libby, White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr., then-national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and her deputy, Stephen Hadley, and Mary Matalin, Cheney's media advisor... Before the war, this Iraq group promoted the view that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was seeking more." [Los Angeles Times, 8/25/05]

July 2003: Libby Began "Vigorous Efforts" to Rebut Wilson's Direct Attack on Administration's Credibility. According to court papers filed, "The evidence will show that the July 6, 2003, Op Ed by Mr. Wilson was viewed in the Office of Vice President as a direct attack on the credibility of the Vice President (and the President) on a matter of signal importance: the rationale for the war in Iraq." Libby undertook "vigorous efforts" to rebut this attack during the week following July 7, 2003. [Government's Response to Defendant's Third Motion to Compel Discovery, 4/5/06]

Libby: Ordered to Disclose Classified Intelligence with Reporter Miller by Cheney, Bush. Scooter Libby testified that he was specifically authorized in advance of his July 8 meeting with New York Times reporter Judith Miller to disclose the key judgments of the classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) because the Vice President thought that it was "very important" for them to come out. Libby testified that while at first he advised the Vice President that he could not have this conversation with Miller because of the classified nature of the NIE, Vice President Cheney advised him that President Bush authorized Libby to disclose "the relevant portions of the NIE." Libby testified that the circumstances of his conversation with Judith Miller-getting approval from the President through the Vice President to discuss material-were "unique in his recollection." [Government's Response to Defendant's Third Motion to Compel Discovery, 4/5/06]

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