2003 Plame affair timeline

1 2003

1.1 january 2003
1.2 february 2003
1.3 march 2003
1.4 may 2003
1.5 june 2003
1.6 july 2003
1.7 august 2003
1.8 september 2003
1.9 october 2003
1.10 december 2003

2003
january 2003

january: national intelligence council, responding pentagon s request, drafts memo addressing niger uranium story in conclude story baseless. memo arrives @ white house prior state of union address given later month.
6 january: international atomic energy agency (iaea) asks united states information related claim iraq had purchased yellowcake uranium niger.
13 january: inr s nuclear analyst sends email colleagues providing rationale on why yellowcake document hoax. cia s nuclear analyst not have documents in question , requests copy.
16 january: cia received copies of original foreign language documents on niger-iraq contract.
27 january: during national security council meeting @ white house, hands cia head george tenet hardcopy of president bush s state of union address. tenet is, later testifies, busy read , hands aide passes top official in cia intelligence directorate busy read it.
28 january: president george w. bush gives state of union speech. toward end bush states, british government has learned saddam hussein sought significant quantities of uranium africa. sentence becomes known 16 words. in state of union speech, bush declares, international atomic energy agency confirmed in 1990s saddam hussein had advanced nuclear weapons development program, had design nuclear weapon , working on 5 different methods of enriching uranium bomb.

february 2003

4 february: united states provides electronic copy of niger documents jacques bute, head of iaea s iraq nuclear verification office, in new york, , sends copy iaea offices in vienna well.

march 2003

3 march: iaea tells u.s. mission in vienna niger documents obvious fakes. among errors reportedly identified in documents reference nigerien constitution in 1965.
20 march: iraq invasion begins.

may 2003

6 may: after off-the-record meeting wilson, nicholas kristof reports in new york times column former u.s. ambassador africa had been sent niger year before , had reported iraq uranium allegations false.

june 2003

10 june: state department staff prepare internal memo naming plame wilson s wife. paragraph identifying mrs. wilson marked (s-nf) , signfying information classified secret, noforn.
12 june: during telephone call, cheney told libby wilson s wife worked in counter proliferation
12 june: marc grossman, undersecretary of state political affairs, meets scooter libby , tells him plame works cia , may have helped organize husband s niger trip.

july 2003

the plame affair becomes such during month. month opens wilson s op-ed describing trip niger , suggesting iraqi nuclear threat had been exaggerated, followed within days multiple bush administration leaks or confirmations reporters , publishing of wilson s wife s name, revealing valerie plame worked c.i.a. despite fact undercover. mid-month first stories emerge suggesting bush administration had leaked information retribution against wilson.

6 july: wilson publishes op-ed in new york times describing trip niger , saying: have little choice conclude of intelligence related iraq s nuclear weapons program twisted exaggerate iraqi threat.
7 july: secretary of state colin powell boards air force 1 trip africa president bush , other members of administration. powell carries him copy of 10 june memo state department prepared, naming plame wilson s wife , signfying information classified secret, noforn.
7 july: on lunch, libby tells white house press secretary ari fleischer wilson s wife works on nonproliferation issues @ cia , behind wilson s trip niger.
pre-8 july: journalist robert novak has conversation deputy assistant secretary of state richard armitage. in conversation told first time wilson s wife works c.i.a., though armitage didn t tell novak name. (in august 2006, armitage publicly discloses believes inadvertent leak of plame secret, while asserting did not know actual name @ time.) novak checks joseph c. wilson s biography in s identify wife, finding maiden name valerie plame. according reporters michael isikoff , david corn, armitage s leak inadvertent, , intelligence identities act hadn t been violated.
8 july: robert novak has phone conversation karl rove, senior advisor president of united states, in c.i.a. agent plame discussed, according unnamed source had been told not talk case. novak reported have told rove name of agent valerie plame , role in wilson s mission africa. rove reported have told novak effect of, heard that, too. or oh, know it. rove reportedly told grand jury @ time had heard wilson s wife working cia journalist, unable remember was.
8 july: lewis libby meets journalist judith miller , tells niger uranium claim had been key judgement of october 2002 national intelligence estimate (nie), , plame worked @ cia. libby later state president bush had instructed him disclose information classified nie. information libby gave miller false; niger claim not 1 of key judgements headlined, bolded, , bulleted in first pages of nie. later, after testifying federal grand jury in october 2005, miller writes in retrospective account published in new york times on date (and 4 days later, on 12 july 2003), libby played down importance of mr. wilson s mission , questioned performance.
c. 10 july – 11 july: novak called cia spokesman bill harlow confirm information regarding plame , wilson. according novak, harlow denied plame suggested wilson selected trip, , harlow stated instead cia counter-proliferation officials selected wilson , asked wife contact him. according harlow, warned novak in strongest terms permitted use without revealing classified information , wilson s wife had not authorized mission , if novak did write it, name should not revealed. harlow said after novak s call, checked plame s status , confirmed undercover operative. said called novak repeat story novak had related him wrong , plame s name should not used. according harlow, however, did not tell novak directly plame undercover because information classified. according novak, not did harlow fail plame undercover, told novak never again given foreign assignment exposure of name might cause difficulties. novak states if had been told disclosure of plame s name endanger or else, not have disclosed name.
11 july: creators syndicate distributes novak s column naming plame on ap newswire.
11 july: time reporter matthew cooper s internal time e-mail message bearing time 11:07 a.m. sent bureau chief, stating: spoke rove on double super secret background 2 mins before went on vacation. . . . cooper writes rove offered him big warning not far out on wilson. according cooper, rove told cooper wilson s trip had not been authorized dci (cia director george tenet) or vice president dick cheney. rather, was, kr said, wilson s wife, apparently works @ agency on wmd issues authorized trip. rove told cooper that, there s still plenty implicate iraqi interest in acquiring uranium fro[m] niger . cooper later tell investigating grand jury rove concluded conversation saying ve said much.
11 july (afternoon or evening): cia director george tenet takes responsibility misleading language concerning uranium in bush s state of union address, citing failure of agency s vetting process. director tenet (1) clarified wilson had reported businessman had made possible overtures acquire uranium niger; (2) alleged wilson s report did not mention forged documents or mention existence of documents; , (3) discussed october 2002 national intelligence estimate conclusions regarding iraq s nuclear program. according 2005 article in new york times, tenet s 11 july 2003 statement written karl rove , scooter libby.
12 july: president bush , team still on africa visit. white house press secretary fleischer discusses uranium controversy, @ press gaggle @ national hospital in abuja, nigeria, president bush visiting, @ 9:20 local time. after brief statement on president s activities @ hospital, fleischer answers question regarding previous day s statement cia director tenet. fleisher states president pleased statement, , expresses president s confidence in tenet. next question 1 of accountability, press secretary deflects, saying, in part, greater truth nobody, nobody, denies saddam hussein seeking nuclear weapons. fleischer cites wilson s report being supportive of yellowcake claim. conversation reporters repeated intelligence supported notion iraq had or trying acquire nuclear weapons. fleischer reiterates administration s position yellowcake claim should not have risen level of inclusion in presidential speech. when asked public perception, fleischer denies there s problem. yes, president has moved on. , think, frankly, of country has moved on, well.
12 july: journalist judith miller again meets scooter libby. after testifying federal grand jury in october 2005, write in new york times on occasion, on occasion of conversation 4 days earlier, libby played down importance of mr. wilson s mission , questioned performance.
12 july: washington post reporter walter pincus says administration official told him, off topic, joseph wilson s wife cia analyst working on weapons of mass destruction , wilson s trip boondoggle.
14 july: mission niger article written robert novak: wilson never worked cia, wife, valerie plame, agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. 2 senior administration officials told me wilson s wife suggested sending him niger... cia says counter-proliferation officials selected wilson , asked wife contact him. (italics added.) story published on ari fleischer s last day white house press secretary.
16 july: white house smear article written david corn , published @ website of nation magazine. corn opines novak s informants revealed role of wilson s wife in order sully wilson s name sake of revenge, seem mean bush administration has screwed 1 of own top-secret operatives in order punish wilson or send message others might challenge it. corn s article first published argue nefarious white house role.
17 july: war on wilson? article written matthew cooper, massimo calabresi , john f. dickerson, , published in time. article indicates of sources question of trust had informed @ least 1 of them valerie plame s status. trace controversy surrounding president bush s 28 january 2003 state of union speech , african uranium controversy. anonymous sources of information attributed 2 senior administration officials , official , , intelligence official . named sources include vice president dick cheney s assistant scooter libby, joseph wilson, valerie plame s superior alan foley, , former state department proliferation expert greg thielmann.
18 july: undersecretary of state john r. bolton questioned state department inspector general regarding sources niger uranium claims.
21 july: newsday article columnist names cia iraq operative timothy m. phelps , knut royce attributes intelligence information independently leaked them plame coming intelligence officials , senior intelligence official. both authors later subpoenaed during criminal investigation.
22 july: newsday quotes novak regarding use of plame s name: didn t dig out. given me. thought significant. gave me name, , used it.
30 july: when pressed, newly appointed white house press secretary scott mcclellan tells reporters: i’m saying no 1 given authority of nature, , i’ve seen no evidence suggest there’s truth it.

august 2003

3 august: on cnn late night wolf blitzer, wilson expresses confidence american forces find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programs in iraq: think ll find chemical weapons. think ll find biological precursors may or may not have been weaponized. , think find continuing interest of — on nuclear weapons. question whether met threshold test of imminent threat our own national security or test of grave , gathering danger.
21 august: wilson participated in public panel in washington , quoted having said @ end of day, s of keen interest me see whether or not can karl rove frog-marched out of white house in handcuffs. , trust me. when use name, measure words.

september 2003

16 september: scott mcclellan says s totally ridiculous karl rove plame leaker.
26 september: tenet, director of cia, requests justice department open investigation leak.
29 september: mcclellan says karl rove has assured him not involved , found have leaked classified information fired.
29 september: novak insists stumbled on story himself. nobody in bush administration called me leak this, novak said on cnn, saying information disclosed him while interviewing senior bush administration official.... novak said administration official told him in july wilson s trip inspired wife, , cia confirmed involvement in mission husband. ... asked me not use name, never indicated endanger or else, said, adding source @ cia told him plame analyst — not covert operator , not in charge of undercover operators.
29 september: abc reporter asks did have knowledge or did leak name of cia agent press? rove answers no.
29 september: in article in national review, clifford may claims novak s column mentioning plame wasn t news me. had been told [plame worked cia]— not working in white house. rather, learned formerly worked in government , mentioned in offhand manner, leading me infer insiders aware of.
29 september: justice department officially launches criminal investigation of leak, while leading democrats call on attorney general ashcroft appoint special prosecutor. justice department informs white house counsel alberto gonzales around 8pm. gonzales informs white house chief of staff andrew card waits until next morning notify white house staff , order them preserve relevant documents.
30 september: while on hardball chris matthews, republican national committee chairman ed gillespie agrees that, if true, leak allegations worse watergate: think if allegation true, reveal identity of undercover cia operative — s abhorrent, , should crime, , crime.
30 september: during press conference, president bush states: if there s leak out of administration, want know is. , if person has violated law, person taken care of, declines appoint special prosecutor.

october 2003

1 october: in column, robert novak writes learned plame s identity offhand revelation [a senior administration official], no partisan gunslinger. after reading column , realizing source, richard armitage informs colin powell , meets fbi investigators.
1 october: wilson told ted koppel on nightline washington reporters told him senior white house adviser karl rove said wife fair game . wilson plans give names of reporters fbi, conducting full-blown investigation of possible leak.
6 october: president bush calls leak criminal action .
10 october: white house press secretary scott mcclellan says rove, national security aide elliott abrams, , vice presidential chief of staff lewis libby have assured me not involved in this.

december 2003

30 december: attorney general john ashcroft recuses himself investigation, appointing federal prosecutor patrick fitzgerald take on special prosecutor.
december 2003 or january 2004: rove s lawyer robert luskin says rove has signed waiver authorizing prosecutors speak reporters rove had talked to.




^ cite error: named reference gellman-linzer-2006 invoked never defined (see page).
^ cite error: named reference csmonitor-yellowcake invoked never defined (see page).
^ bush s state of union speech . cnn. 27 january 2003. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ scott shane (2005). ex-diplomat s surprise volley on iraq drove white house political warfare mode. new york times: 24 july.
^ nicholas kristof (6 may 2013). missing in action: truth . new york times. retrieved 10 december 2013. 
^ richard stevenson (16 july 2005). state dept. memo gets scrutiny in leak inquiry on c.i.a. officer . new york times. retrieved 10 december 2013. 
^ pincus, walter; vandehei, jim (21 july 2005). plame s identity marked secret . washington post. 
^ farhana hossain (6 march 2007). diary of leak trial . new york times. retrieved 25 november 2013. 
^ joseph wilson (6 july 2003). didn t find in africa , new york times
^ articles - plame , bush lied meme . realclearpolitics. 2006-08-29. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ johnston, david; stevenson, richard w. (15 july 2005). rove reportedly held phone talk on c.i.a. officer . new york times. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ murray waas (6 april 2006). libby says bush authorized leaks. archived 2013-08-14 @ wayback machine. national journal.
^ judith miller, 4 hours testifying in federal grand jury room , new york times, october 16, 2005, rpt. in judithmiller.com. retrieved january 2, 2008.
^ robert novak - conservative columnist , political commentator . townhall.com. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ pincus, walter; vandehei, jim. prosecutor in cia leak case casting wide net . washington post. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ robert novak (1 august 2005). correcting cia . townhall.com. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ susan schmidt (25 november 2004). when , how of leak being probed: timing of disclosure of cia employee s name factor in deciding if law broken . washington post. retrieved 24 november 2013. 
^ cooper, matthew (17 july 2005). told grand jury . time. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ liptak, adam (11 july 2005). time inc. reporter, frenzied decision testify . new york times. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ statement george j. tenet . archived original on july 14, 2003. 
^ johnston, david (22 july 2005). 2 aides in leak case, 2nd issue rises . new york times. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ press gaggle ari fleischer . georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ pincus, walter; allen, mike (12 october 2003). probe focuses on month before leak reporters . washington post. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ [1] [outdated link]
^ white house smear . thenation.com. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ freedom of information center @ missouri school of journalism . archived original on october 8, 2003. 
^ robert novak breaks silence . fox news. 13 july 2006. 
^ investigation? no, bush should pick phone . archived original on august 6, 2003. 
^ mark a. r. kleiman. joseph wilson on wolf blitzer . archived original on 2005-11-29. 
^ novak, robert d. (2008), prince of darkness: 50 years reporting in washington, new york: 3 rivers press, p. 606 
^ press briefing scott mcclellan . georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ mike allen; dana priest (28 september 2003). bush administration focus of inquiry . washington post.  available @ truthout.
^ alex johnson , andrea mitchell (26 september 2003). cia seeks probe of white house: agency asks justice investigate leak of employee’s identity. nbc news.
^ press briefing scott mcclellan . white house press office. 29 september 2003. retrieved 16 march 2013. 
^ ken fireman (30 september 2003). white house refuses request prosecutor in leak inquiry . sun-sentinel. newsday. retrieved 11 december 2013. 
^ jonathan silver (2003-09-29). columnist refuses reveal source of iraq report . reuters. archived original on october 2, 2003. retrieved 2013-12-07. 
^ abc news.
^ clifford may (29 september 2003). spy games . national review. retrieved 24 november 2013. 
^ eric lichtblau , richard w. stevenson (30 september 2013). justice dept. starts inquiry on leak of c.i.a officer s identity . new york times. retrieved 10 december 2013. 
^ linzer, dafna (25 july 2005). bush aide learned of leaks probe . washington post. retrieved 30 april 2010. 
^ alberto gonzalez, joe biden, , jan crawford greenburg (pdf). face nation. cbs news. 24 july 2005. 
^ margaret carlson (22 october 2005). rove not survive inquiry . seattle post-intelligencer. retrieved 25 november 2013. 
^ maura reynolds , richard b. schmitt (1 october 2003). bush says leak probe job justice dept . los angeles times. retrieved 6 december 2013. 
^ george w. bush (30 september 2003). president discusses job creation business leaders . white house press office. retrieved 2013-03-16. 
^ cia leak
^ armitage on cia leak — screwed , september 7, 2006, cbs news, in interview conducted david martin
^ getting personal . abc news. archived original on 2003-10-08. 
^ elisabeth bumiller (7 october 2003). bush toughens support of investigation leak. new york times.
^ press briefing scott mcclellan . white house press office. 10 october 2003. retrieved 2013-03-16.