THAT PLANE AGAIN

A TPM reader picks up on some very interesting tidbits in a NYT 10/1/05 story, a story that casts new light on the point raised by Greg Djerejian below. Money NYT quote:

A lawyer who knows Mr. Libby’s account said the administration efforts to limit the damage from Mr. Wilson’s criticism extended as high as Mr. Cheney. This lawyer and others who spoke about the case asked that they not be identified because of grand jury secrecy rules.

On July 12, 2003, four days after his initial conversation with Ms. Miller, Mr. Libby consulted with Mr. Cheney about how to handle inquiries from journalists about the vice president’s role in sending Mr. Wilson to Africa in early 2002 to investigate reports that Iraq was trying acquire nuclear material there for its weapons program, the person said.

In that account, Mr. Cheney told Mr. Libby to direct reporters to a statement released the previous day by George J. Tenet, director of central intelligence. His statement said Mr. Wilson had been sent on the mission by C.I.A. counter-proliferation officers “on their own initiative.”

Was this on the plane? Yes, it was:

Mr. Libby has said he spoke with Mr. Cheney on July 12, six days after Mr. Wilson’s article.

Mr. Libby said he told Mr. Cheney that reporters had been pressing the vice president’s office for more details about who sent Mr. Wilson to Africa. The two men spoke when Mr. Cheney was on a trip to Norfolk, Va., for the commissioning of the carrier Ronald Reagan.

Libby doesn’t testify that Cheney told him to leak the name. But Libby’s testimony has been charged with perjury already. What we know from this is that Cheney and Libby conferred about how to respond to reporters’ questions on the matter. Libby subsequently leaked the name.

FITZ AND BUSH: This also strikes me as interesting:

Mr. Fitzgerald was spotted Friday morning outside the office of James Sharp, Mr. Bush’s personal lawyer. Mr. Bush was interviewed about the case by Mr. Fitzgerald last year. It is not known what discussions, if any, were taking place between the prosecutor and Mr. Sharp. Mr. Sharp did not return a phone call, and Mr. Fitzgerald’s spokesman, Randall Samborn, declined to comment.

Hmmm.