President's Veep In Deep When It Comes to CIA Leak Case

As new details continue to emerge from the Lewis "Scooter" Libby trail, it's now known that Vice President Cheney "personally orchestrated his office's 2003 efforts to rebut allegations that the administration used flawed intelligence to justify the war in Iraq and discredit a critic who Cheney believed was making him look foolish," according to the Washington Post. [Washington Post, 1/26/07]

In her testimony, former Cheney spokeswoman Cathie Martin said she had a "clear memory" of telling Cheney and Libby that Ambassador Joe Wilson, a critic of the White House's Iraq policy who questioned the use of intelligence leading up to war, was married to CIA agent Valerie Plame and both were "intensely interested" in the pair. Martin's testimony also revealed that the White House had an intricate press strategy to combat Wilson's criticism of the war, outlining a series of options from putting the Vice President on "Meet the Press" to leaking the story to various high level reporters. [New York Times, 1/26/07]

"Apparently, Vice President Cheney spent more time defending the war in Iraq than actually executing it," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "The Libby trial is revealing just how far the Bush White House Iraq Group was willing to go to smear its critics and cover up the use of cherry-picked intelligence used to justify the war. Questions remain about the role Vice President Cheney played in the day-to-day dealings of the White House Iraq Group. Also, was President Bush aware that his White House not only leaked the name of a CIA operative during a time of war but was actively working to attack its critics and cover-up the use of flawed intelligence?"