Joe Wilson may have been deceptive all along

Over the weekend, I found a well written op-ed in The American Spectator by Clinton W. Taylor, published on 10/31/2005, Joe Wilson in a Bind.

In the op-ed, Mr. Taylor indicated that he attended a lecture at Stanford given by Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV last week. Mr. Taylor pointed out several of Wilson's deceptions starting with Wilson's ramblings in a LA Times op-ed and has continued for two years ago. (Ref: Wilson's 2003 op-ed in LA Times, What I Didn't Find in Africa.)

Apparently the mainstream media (MSM) has been unable to connect the dots or report on Wilson's deceptions for the past two years and has helped Wilson spread his deceptions from sea to shining sea.

Taylor pointed out that evidence to Wilson's deception can be found in the just unsealed indictment of Scooter Libby. Even though the information is there, our most biased MSM appears to be either incapable of or refuses to connect the dots regarding Wilson's apparent oft-repeated fabrications. Guess MSM is to busy trying to catch President Bush's administration and cannot see the forest through the trees.

During a question and answers portion of Wilson's talk at Stanford, Taylor questioned Wilson regarding Wilson's Niger mission. Taylor noted that Wilson's response was essentially the same statement as Wilson's previous account in a L.A. Times op-ed:
Valerie was an innocent in this whole affair. Although there were suggestions that she was behind the decision to send me to Niger, the CIA told Newsday just a week after the Novak article appeared that "she did not recommend her husband to undertake the Niger assignment."

The CIA repeated the same statement to every reporter thereafter.

The Newsday article Wilson referred to in his rambling notes:

A senior intelligence official confirmed that Plame was a Directorate of Operations undercover officer who worked "alongside" the operations officers who asked her husband to travel to Niger.)

Wilson has continued to claim that his wife, Valerie Plame, did not recommend him to undertake the Niger assignment, but that CIA officers were aware that he and Plame were married. Wilson transitions into a conspiracy theory that, "There are people elsewhere in government who are trying to make her look like she was the one who was cooking this up, for some reason," he said. "I can't figure out what it could be." (Lets get out the black helocopters, we got another one of them there paranoids.)

Taylor noted that the CIA has on the record twice contradicted Wilson.

In July 2004, a Senate Select Committee's report on WMD intelligence failures pointed out that Valerie Plame came up with the idea of sending her husband to Niger. Both in a memorandum by Plame and by testimony of a CIA officer, it showed that Wilson's trip was Plame's idea. Hum mm, very interesting. I wonder why nobody discusses this little newsworthy item. Mr. Taylor conveniently provided a link so that one can download a copy of the Senate Select Committee's report; the relevant sections where the information can be found is located on page 39, 40, and 72, if you would like to read it.)

In Libby's grand jury indictment, on June 11, 2003, Libby indicated that he learned about Wilson's trip through a senior CIA officer; see page 4 and page 12 of the unsealed indictment.
Mr. Taylor's synopsis is that, "Either Wilson is lying, or the indictment is. Which is it? If it's the latter, then perhaps Scooter Libby didn't know what the indictment said he knew, and the indictment ought to be thrown out or at least amended." Mr. Taylor does agree with many of us that Wilson's lies wouldn't excuse any crime that Libby might have committed. However, "it ought to be enough to prevent Wilson from ever being taken seriously again."

To me, the whole Wilson - Plame - Niger - Outing affair was a fishing expedition by the DNC to get to President Bush's administration. Scooter Libby was not charged with outing a CIA operative after the grand jury heard the story. It is unfortunate that Libby either got his facts wrong or was deceitful.

Personally, I don't think that outing crime ever existed. The accusations were based on a theory that a senior Whitehouse official outed Plame on a vendetta. So, here we have Plame who apparently nominated her husband for a covert mission, Wilson denying that she nominated him. And, then the CIA discounts Wilson in their testimony. Wilson talked with the press about some his findings and his theories. Libby getting nailed for not being forthcoming with the investigators, but was not indicted for outing a CIA operative. This whole thing sounds like a story line for a "B" movie. I have another question, What was the CIA was doing and thinking during this whole affair?

How come MSM cannot connect the dots and throw up a BS flag? That's right; revealing truth does not support their (MSM) agenda. Mr. Taylor has done a superb job connecting the dots in regards to Wilson's deception. And, the whole affair has certainly raised some questions in my mind. For a complete unabridged text to the article here is a link to: Clinton W. Taylor's op-ed.

A little more about the author, Clinton W. Taylor. He is a lawyer and a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Stanford. Taylor is a regular contributor to The American Spectator and the National Review Online. He is an excellent writer and can get you thinking. You may be interested in other articles that he has written:

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Technorati tags: Plame, Wilson, bias, outing, CIA, Taylor, journalists, and Opinion

Cross-posted: The Bos'un Locker, The Bos'un also is on MSN