Sunday, April 09, 2006

Alberto Gonzales, Attorney at leak

I have a sneeking suspicion that this "knowledgable lawyer" AP refers to is none other than ex-WH counsel and current US AG Alberto Gonzales. He was neck-deep in all the crap that Bush pulled, whether it was the NSA illegal wiretapping, the "16 words" in the State of the Union or the continual hit job on Joe Wilson.

Here's how Gonzales tries to make things better for his boss:
President Bush declassified sensitive intelligence in 2003 and authorized its public disclosure to rebut Iraq war critics, but he did not specifically direct that Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, be the one to disseminate the information, an attorney knowledgeable about the case said Saturday.

Bush merely instructed Cheney to "get it out" and left the details to him, said the lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case for the White House. The vice president chose Libby and communicated the president's wishes to his then-top aide, the lawyer said.

It is not known when the conversation between Bush and Cheney took place. The White House has declined to provide the date when the president used his authority to declassify the portions of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, a classified document that detailed the intelligence community's conclusions about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Calling yourself just a lawyer when you are really much more than that is typical Bush Administration style. Remember when Scooter Libby was just a former House Staffer? While both titles are true, they tend to mislead and distort the nature of the source.

If it isn't Gonzales, than it is Harriet Myers, who was also up to her chin in Bush's lies. She was the one that did the PDB's pre-9/11, including the "bin Laden Determined to Attack US" one. She too was in the WH counsel's office justifying all kinds of illegal and dishonest activities with Alberto Gonzales. Both were supposed to be promoted for all the hard work they did being yes-men and women, instead of instructing their President that what he was doing was illegal or unethical. Al got the AG gig, and Harriet got a SCOTUS nomination. Both have been terrible lawyers, but Al went to Harvard Law, so he gets to keep lying at a higher level.

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