David Corn has a piece on the website of The Nation magazine. The following is a small portion, discussing former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage:
“Though Armitage’s role as Novak’s primary source has been a subject of speculation, the case is now closed. Our sources for this are three government officials who spoke to us confidentially and who had direct knowledge of Armitage’s conversation with Novak. Carl Ford Jr., who was head of the State Department’s intelligence branch at the time, told us–on the record–that after Armitage testified before the grand jury investigating the leak case, he told Ford, “I’m afraid I may be the guy that caused the whole thing.”
…
Shortly after [Robert] Novak spoke with Armitage, he told [Karl] Rove that he had heard that Valerie Wilson had been behind her husband’s trip to Niger, and Rove said that he knew that, too. So a leak from Armitage (a war skeptic not bent on revenge against Wilson) was confirmed by Rove (a Bush defender trying to take down Wilson). And days later–before the Novak column came out–Rove told Time magazine’s Matt Cooper that Wilson‘s wife was a CIA employee and involved in his trip.
As Hubris also reveals–and is reported in the Newsweek story–Armitage was also the source who told Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in mid-June 2003 that Joe Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA.”
(Michael Isikoff has his article about Armitage on the Newsweek website.)
[photo of Richard Armitage: AP]