Media reports played a key role in the CIA leak investigation. Below is a timeline of the various stories and columns.
2003
May 6: The New York Times published a column that disputed the accuracy of the "16 words" stated by President Bush in his January 2003 State of the Union address. It stated that an unnamed former U.S. Ambassador had traveled to Niger to investigate reports of a uranium deal and had found the reports were wrong.
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June 12: The Washington Post published an article by Walter Pincus questioning the accuracy of Bush's "16 words." Before publication of the artcile, Libby participated in discussions with others in the office of the vice president on how to respond to Pincus.
June 19: The New Republic published an article questioning Bush's "16 words" and criticized the vice president's office for how it portrayed intelligence on Iraq's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
July 6: Wilson criticized the White House in an op-ed piece and on television. He said that leading up to the war, the intelligence on Iraq's nuclear weapons program was "twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat."
July 14: Columnist Robert D. Novak identifies Plame as a CIA operative and said she had suggested sending Wilson to Niger.
July 17: Matthew Cooper writes in Time.com that Plame works for the CIA.
