Cheney at the center of the Plame case

By Lee Russ

Thursday, February 09, 2006 at 02:20 PM

Rumors and speculation continue that Karl Rove may yet have a problem stemming from Patrick Fitzgerald's Valerie Plame investigation.  That, however,  may eventually take a back seat to speculation over the likelihood that the Fitzgerald investigation may cause serious problems for Dick Cheney.

By way of Raw Story, two different media sources now document that Cheney: (1) authorized Libby to leak information that was still classified at the time of the leak, and (2) led the overall effort to discredit Joe Wilson.

The first story is in National Journal, and reports that Libby has told the Grand Jury that Cheney authorized the leaking of national intelligence information in an effort to create public support for invading Iraq.

The second is from Truthout, and cites "current and former administration officials" as having said that Vice President Dick Cheney and then-Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley had led a campaign beginning in March 2003 to discredit former Ambassador Joseph Wilson for publicly criticizing the Bush administration's intelligence on Iraq.

It's only a dream, but you can't help imagining Cheney, Rove, and Libby all in a row in some country club federal prison, looking for a fourth to form a barbershop quartet to pass the time.