The Swiftboating of Patrick Fitzgerald

The Right makes it's next move on Wilson and Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald with a page right out of the Swiftboating Manual...

MediaMatters.com has been reporting for some time that Fox Contributor Andrew Napolitano has claimed that "at least one" of his Fox colleagues has claimed that they were present at a party where former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV introduced Valerie Plame as "my CIA operative wife." This past Saturday on a WABC radio broadcast and tonight on Hannity & colmes "at least one" of these colleagues has come forward with the specifics of his claim.

His name is Maj Gen Paul Vallely (ret), a Fox Military Analyst, who proclaimed that he had met Wilson in the Fox Green Room in Washington and that during casual conversation Wilson mentioned that his Wife "worked at the CIA". During the segment colmes as for specific dates where the two men might have been in the same Green Room, but he Vallely couldn't provide specifics - although he did mention that this allegedly occured during the "Summer and early Fall of 2002" - over a year before the Novak column which publically announced Valerie's employement to the world.

colmes played a portion of the Fitzgerald Press Conference:

Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer. In July 2003, the fact that Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer was classified. Not only was it classified, but it was not widely known outside the intelligence community.

Valerie Wilson's friends, neighbors, college classmates had no idea she had another life.

The fact that she was a CIA officer was not well- known, for her protection or for the benefit of all us. It's important that a CIA officer's identity be protected, that it be protected not just for the officer, but for the nation's security.

Valerie Wilson's cover was blown in July 2003. The first sign of that cover being blown was when Mr. Novak published a column on July 14th, 2003.

Apparently Gen Vallely has never been called, or voluanteered any information directly to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald - and while talking with Hannity went on to question the "depth" of Fitzgerald's investigation, claiming it was "incomplete" and "should be considered null and void".

According to Gen Vallely:

• Fitzgerald and the FBI never talked to anyone at CIA to confirm Valerie's status.
• Valeria Flame (he never called her Plame or Wilson) "we now know was an analyst, not a covert agent"
• Fitzgerald and the FBi didn't even talk to Joe Wilson under oath.
• It was common knowledge at State and CIA that Valerie Flame was an analyst, but not a covert agent.
• Wilson's didn't sign a confidentiality agreement with the CIA, and wasn't one of their employees.

Hannity went on to proclaim that Wilson's Op-Ed in the New York Times is what outed his wife...
"if keeping her identify secret was so important - why right the article and risk that"? Naturally, Gen. Vallely agreed with this completely ridiculous assertion.

Of all Vallely's and Hannity's claims the only correct one is that Joe Wilson is not an employee of the CIA.

Joe Wilson's full report to the CIA on his trip was classified and is still classified - common sense says you can't write a classified report without having a Security Clearance and signing a Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement which is required for such a clearance, even for non-CIA employee. Even "Scooter" Libby signed one.

According to the Common Dreams website - Patrick Fitzgerald's FBI and Grand Jury witness list included:

Ex-CIA comm. dir. Bill Harlow
Ex-CIA dep. dir. John McLaughlin
CIA comm. dir. Jennifer Millerwise (did not go before grand jury)
Ex-CIA dir. George Tenet
Ex-Amb. Joseph Wilson

Joe Wilson has stated publically, once her cover was blown, that his wife Valerie Wilson was in fact - "a covert agent" as he did on "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer on Oct 31, 2005.

Wilson: But nonetheless, there's now clear evidence that Mr. Rove was leaking classified information. Mr. Fitzgerald made it very clear. My wife was a covert officer at the time that these people were leaking her name.

This H&c Report begins the true Swiftboating of Patrick Fitzgeralds investigation which has been lurking in the wings for the past week or more now that claims that "Perjury isn't a real crime" have begun to sink under the weight of their own flatulence. Not that facts were ever in great supply on Faux News, I suspect it won't be long before a new set of Right-Wing talking point echoing Vallely and Hannity "They didn't even talk to the neighbor until two weeks before the indictment..." are going to be making the rounds.

But never fear - Crooks and Liars.com is already on the case.

UPDATE: Media Matters is now all over this one, as I knew they would be.

Vyan