Former Insider Lashes Out

Today, there's word that the two men talked about Plame before her identity was publicly revealed. In fact, if I've got this right, the latest word is that Rove, who initially told the grand jury he only heard about Plame from some unnamed journalist, has now told jurors that maybe his source was actually Libby, and that Libby's source was NBC's Tim Russert.

Jim VandeHei and Carol D. Leonnig write in The Washington Post: "White House adviser Karl Rove told the grand jury in the CIA leak case that I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, may have told him that CIA operative Valerie Plame worked for the intelligence agency before her identity was revealed, a source familiar with Rove's account said yesterday.

"In a talk that took place in the days before Plame's CIA employment was revealed, Rove and Libby discussed conversations they had had with reporters in which Plame and her marriage to Iraq war critic Joseph C. Wilson IV were raised, the source said. Rove told the grand jury the talk was confined to information the two men heard from reporters, the source said. . . .

"The account is the first time a person familiar with Rove's testimony has provided clues about where the deputy chief of staff learned about Plame, and confirmed that Rove and Libby were involved in a conversation about her before her identity became public. This further undermines the White House's contention early in the case that neither man was involved in leaking her identity to the media."

VandeHei and Leonnig also write that "John Hannah, an aide to Vice President Cheney and one of two dozen people questioned in the CIA leak case, has told friends in recent months he is worried he may be implicated by the investigation, according to two U.S. officials."

And they call attention to some important unanswered questions: "What role did Hannah play? What, if any, role was played by former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer? Who was the second source for Robert D. Novak, the columnist who first disclosed Plame's name and role in July 2003? Who was the White House official who leaked word about Wilson's wife to The Washington Post's Walter Pincus, who has never publicly revealed his source?"

John Solomon writes for the Associated Press that sources familiar with Rove's testimony described this sequence of events:

"During one of his grand jury appearances, Rove was shown testimony from Libby suggesting the two had discussed with each other information they had gotten about Wilson's wife from reporters in early July 2003.

"Rove responded that Libby's testimony was consistent with his general recollection that he had first learned Wilson's wife worked for the CIA from reporters or government officials who had talked with reporters. . . .

"Libby's testimony stated that Rove had told him about his contact with Novak and that Libby had told Rove about information he had gotten about Wilson's wife from NBC's Tim Russert, according to a person familiar with the information shown to Rove.

"Prosecutors, however, have a different account from Russert. The network has said Russert told authorities he did not know about Wilson's wife's identity until it was published and therefore could not have told Libby about it."

Kelly O'Donnell reports this morning on NBC's Today Show: "Sources say Rove told Libby he learned about Plame from columnist [Robert] Novak, and sources say Libby told Rove he learned about Plame from NBC bureau chief Tim Russert. But that conflicts with the timelines of two journalists, New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Tim Russert, who also gave sworn testimony to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.