Rockefeller: Roberts Cover-Up Committe Took Order from Cheney

Posted this morning on Thinkprogress.

In an interview with McClatchy Newspapers, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) said that Vice President Dick Cheney exerted “constant” pressure on the former chairman, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), to stall an investigation into the Bush administration’s use of false intelligence on Iraq. The so-called Phase II report on the administration’s use of pre-war intelligence was delayed for over two years. Two of its five portions were finally released in Sept. 2006.

This means that just as he had directly interfered with the analysis and gathering of intelligence, particular regarding Joe Wilson and the Niger claims - Darth Cheney's been manipulating the Intelligence Committee for the past 3 years.

As I diaried last month, what we already know about the Bush Adminstrations blatant Intelligence Fraud is highly damning.

We already know - despite Robert's stonewalling - that they paid more attention to Curveball, and Ibn Sheik al-Libi (both of whom were known liars) than they did to Iraqi Foreign Minister Sabri, The State Dept, The French (who owned the Uranium Mines in Niger), the Germans (Who had custody of "Curveball" and didn't trust him), Saddam's own written declaration and the UN Inspectors who all said that Bush's WMD and Nuclear claims were bogus.

The CIA was kept out of the loop and in the dark.

They lied to Congress.

They revealed the identity of a Covert Agent in order to smear her Husband who had begun to expose thier BS, in the process putting her and her entire operation at grave risk.

A CIA employee who gave regular intelligence briefings to Vice President Cheney and his chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., testified yesterday that shortly after the leak of a CIA operative's identity, the pair was given a stark warning that the leak could lead to the deaths of people who aided American intelligence gathering abroad.

"I thought there was a very grave danger to leaking the name of a CIA officer," the briefer from Langley, Craig Schmall, said he told Messrs. Cheney and Libby during a morning session at the vice president's residence. "Foreign intelligence services where she served now have the opportunity to investigate everyone whom she had come in contact with. They could be arrested, tortured, or killed."

Hello everyone - That's Treason. And it appears that it was directed out of the Vice President's Office.

Now, the last thing Bush and Cheney need is for the Senate to confirm all the above, or worse yet - dig up something even far more damaging.

Here's a little more from Rockefeller on Roberts.

Rockefeller said that he knew Cheney attended regular policy meetings in which he conveyed White House directions to conservative Capitol Hill staffers. They “just had to go along with the administration,” he said. Here are examples of Roberts’ vacillations on the Phase II investigation per White House orders:

“We’ll proceed with Phase II. It is a priority. I made my commitment and it will get done.” [Press conference, 7/9/04]

“I don’t know if we can get it done before the election.” [Meet the Press, 7/11/04]

“That [the Phase II report] is basically on the back burner.” [UPI, 3/10/05]

“I don’t think there should be any doubt that we have now heard it all regarding prewar intelligence. I think that it would be a monumental waste of time to replow this ground any further.” [U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 3/31/05]

“To go though that exercise, it seems to me, in a post-election environment - we didn’t see how we could do that and achieve any possible progress. I think everybody pretty well gets it.” [U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 3/31/05]

“I’m perfectly willing to do it, and that’s what we agreed to do, and that door is still open.” [Meet the Press, 4/10/05]

“It isn’t like it’s been delayed. As a matter of fact, it’s been ongoing. As a matter of fact, we have been doing our work on Phase II.” [Senate Floor Speech, 11/1/05]

“I don’t know the relevancy of that.” [CNN, 11/1/05]

“We’ve been working on that. We will finish it. We had it scheduled for this week.” [Face the Nation, 11/6/05]

All of it - Bullshit. Roberts was swinging from Cheney's Dick the entire time.

But that time is over, and soon it'll be Cheney's turn to pucker up.

Vyan