This is from the Center of American Progress:

NATIONAL SECURITY -- BUSH GAVE SPECIFIC PERMISSION TO LEAK PLAME'S IDENTITY: For nearly two and a half years, President Bush has maintained that he wanted to "get to the bottom" of the issue of who in his administration leaked the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame. He said, "If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is." But, according to a new court filing in the case of Scooter Libby -- the former vice presidential aide who has been indicted for misleading prosecutors and covering up his knowledge of the leak -- Libby leaked Plame's identity with the specific permission of President Bush. Libby claims he first "rebuffed" Vice President Cheney's suggestion to release the information because it was confidential. But, according to the New York Sun, "Cheney specifically got permission for the release directly from Mr. Bush." The prosecution filing said, "Defendant testified that the vice president later advised him that the president had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE [National Intelligence Estimate containing Plame's identity]."

....This.....is not a rumor.

http://edschultz.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=12281

**in best Ahnold voice**

"It's not a roomah"

And where there's smoke, there's fire!

This latest revelation will sink Bush to his lowest approval numbers. The sad part is that they may not change at all, proving that his base are a bunch of brain-dead, zombie automatons.
Again proof positive that:

[SIZE=7]When it comes to King George, when he reigns, it pours.

A Democrat couldn't just commit these crimes. The Republicans would be all over them. Evidently the Republiccans don't have enough character to be ashamed of this stuff.

"Republican shame"

is an oxymoron.
With the emphasis on "moron".



Mac

That is why Dems need to start playing some better Hardball during elections!!

Pull out the tape of Good Ol Stupid sitting there for 7 minutes after he was told that we are under attack on 911!!

There are plenty of things the Dems could do, just to point out the amazing Stupidity that makes up this Whitehouse!!

They need to stop being so DAMM nice about everything. I mean they really are the nice guys of politics.........I believe!!!

Matt M.

Damn straight! I just keep picturing an 18th century Dem taking a sniff at their hanky, slapping a Repubbie across the face with a glove and challenging them to a duel. Meanwhile the Repubbie snickers and prepares to fire off another nuke.

Americans voting for Bush show one thing: They are starving for straight talk, even when it's being uttered by a madman, habitual prognosticator, whose head is bloodied by beating it constantly against the wall. Somehow some Americans are still impressed with this "resolve"(?). A starving man eventually tries to eat dirt. Americans crave leadership. Just think what they'd do an orator and thoughtful man of the people, especially after eating dirt for 6+ years?

Not getting behind the Feingold censure is the most egregious example of the guttless, poll-sniffing, Dem's in Congress. Strong hearts and strong minds must bring issues fearlessly to the fore. Profiles in courage wanted. Inquire within.

Amen.

Sorry folks, the president is authorized to "leak" aka declassify information as he deems necessary. I'm sorry that you will once again get your panties into a bunch over a whole lot of nothing.

Against the law or not aside.........You don't think that our beloved leader deceived the public on this one just a little bit??

He has been saying for the last 3 years how much he dispised the person who leaked this information!!

Don't you find that a little IRONIC that it was him the entire time??

Matt M.

Whether or not he can "declassify" information, he and his cabal have obstructed justice and withheld pertinent information from this federal investigation -- and THAT is against the law. They said nothing and played stupid (without much effort I'm sure) and allowed our special prosecutor to expend extra energy and lots of extra tax dollars looking for leaks and leakers when they knew damn well that THEY were the leakers and the leaks were "authorized" and the information declassified.

But I believe the issue of the leaking of classified info is not over. It will depend on WHEN Bush declassified what info. If he declassified ANY of the leaked material AFTER it was leaked, then it was still illegal to leak that info. Would he be that stupid and think we are that stupid?? It's not out of the question. Anybody know the timeline?

I'm glad you're here, Ohio_Republican,

I hope everyone can have an intelligant debate. If GW had aorthized the declassification of this information, why didn't he just come out and say so BEFORE the special prosecuter's office was created? His reasoning will not have changed and would be public knowledge in either case. So I guess we can say GW has wasted everyone's time and the tax payers money by not doing so. He's wasted Everyone's time in the entire W.H., several congress committees, the special prosecutor & staff and the courts for not telling America the truth from the beginning. I think there's a lot more to this story that has yet to be told. I've got a feeling the declassification came after the fact to cover their butts.

Dave

When do you suppose we'll find out? Three years from now?

I think Fitz is hot on the trail of this now. He is a bulldog and will not let go of this until he reaches the end of the trail. I have said all along that this is just the tip of the iceberg and will lead to much more damning evidence in the end, and please remember that I am by no means a conspirialist. I just have a gut feeling that, based on Bush's history of playing his cards very close to the vest, there is much more to come. I think the name of this thread gets right to it; this just could be the beginning of the end.

It's not quite that simple.
As most people know, GW Bush issued an Executive Order that detailed and updated the executive policies and procedures for classified material.
The President does have the power to declassify sensitive information. However, even the president is required to follow the procedures documented in his own Executive Order. At the very least, the president would be required to document why he was not following his own rules. It's actually against the law for the president to deviate from an Executive Order (see the link below for a discussion of this point).
I think it's important that we still lack serious details about what happened here. One specific question that remains unclear is the actual timing of Bush's "closet declassification." It's actually possible that Bush is claiming he declassified the NIE retroactively... after it became a liability...
In any event, John W. Dean has an excellent review of this issue HERE.