Blackwater (now known as
Xe) has had a rough few years. The company, and its
former CEO Erik Prince, have been the subject of allegations including
murder,
arms smuggling,
child prostitution and
wholesale massacre.
Erik Prince has told
Vanity Fair that he was a CIA operative and that someone has turned against him and
"thrown him under a bus" by leaking his CIA associations to the public. He even compared his public outing to that of
Valerie Plame.
Mr. Prince has also been an outspoken and generous contributor to
mostly-Republican political candidates.
Previously on MeFi: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and many more.
posted by workerant
on Dec 3, 2009 -
56 comments
President Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, told the FBI in an interview last October that he circulated and discussed damaging information regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame with others in the White House, outside political consultants, and journalists, according to a government official and an attorney familiar with the ongoing special counsel's investigation of the matter. Also:
A transcript subpoenaed in the CIA leak probe reveals the White House press operation began efforts to personally discredit former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV days before a columnist blew the cover of his CIA-officer wife. From
TPM
posted by y2karl
on Mar 8, 2004 -
23 comments
Why Did Attorney General Ashcroft Remove Himself From The Valerie Plame Wilson Leak Investigation? If there is a witness willing to testify against one -- or both -- of the leakers in exchange for immunity, what then? It seems likely that Fitzgerald will move very quickly to find out if there is indeed a case to be made against the leakers. To bolster his case, he may call Novak and others to the grand jury or, as noted above, subpoena Novak's (and others') phone records over the relevant period. Even Ashcroft himself could in theory be called to the grand jury. If this case does not make headlines in 90 to 120 days, it will be quite surprising. There has been too much high level action and Comey, a presidential appointee, knows that politically it would be better for Bush & Company to have the matter flushed out within the next few months, than to have it arise just before the November election. Needless to say, this could be an interesting year for the White House, with more than reelection to worry about.
posted by y2karl
on Jan 7, 2004 -
8 comments
The 5pm Deadline is approaching, but the White House doesn't care. The White House--expected to turn in all documents relevant to the Justice Department investigation of the Plame affair--has instead decided that a team of lawyers ought to spend two weeks determining which evidence can be used against their clients. Meanwhile, President Bush continues his
two-month initiative to get to the bottom of the matter himself.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly
on Oct 7, 2003 -
21 comments
Journalists say off the record "it was Karl Rove that I spoke to..." (RealPlayer)
Julian Borger of the Guardian reveals that several journalists have revealed "off the record" that Karl Rove revealed the identity of the CIA operative, but that the reporters aren't publicly admitting it, in order to protect their source. But aren't they also material witnesses to a federal crime? Does not revealing their source make them accessories to that crime?
posted by insomnia_lj
on Sep 30, 2003 -
51 comments
CIA Seeks Probe of White House
At the risk of a Newsfilter callout, this is pretty big news. The CIA has asked the Justice Department to find out if White House officials were responsible for blowing Valerie Plame's cover. Previous Plame discussion
here.
posted by emelenjr
on Sep 26, 2003 -
132 comments
Payback? How did Bush officials get back at Ambassador Joseph Wilson for
talking publicly two weeks ago about his trip to Niger to investigate claims of an Iraqi uranium deal? By
outing his wife as an undercover CIA operative. As David Corn of The Nation says,
"...the Bush administration has screwed one of its own top-secret operatives in order to punish Wilson or to send a message to others who might challenge it..... a pair of top Bush officials told a reporter the name of a CIA operative who apparently has worked under what's known as 'nonofficial cover' and who has had the dicey and difficult mission of tracking parties trying to buy or sell weapons of mass destruction or WMD material. If Wilson's wife is such a person--and the CIA is unlikely to have many employees like her--her career has been destroyed by the Bush administration." The exposure of an undercover CIA agent is in fact a federal crime.
posted by Artifice_Eternity
on Jul 17, 2003 -
159 comments
