It was created--I believe--during the Second World War to remind the American military and possibly the public not to talk about secret information regarding the war to others. There was always a chance that whoever you talked to may have been an enemy spy, who would then use that information to thwart your war plans.
So what do I see today, but a little article from the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (July 25) - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday that he notified White House chief of staff Andy Card after the Justice Department opened an investigation into who revealed a covert CIA officer's identity, but waited 12 hours to tell anyone else in the executive mansion.
The White House did not respond to questions Sunday about whether Card passed that information to top Bush aide Karl Rove or anyone else, giving them advance notice to prepare for the investigation.
Gonzales was White House counsel on Sept. 29, 2003, and got the first official word inside the White House when the Justice Department opened its inquiry. Earlier that day, White House press secretary Scott McClellan had said the leak was a serious matter the Justice Department should pursue "to the fullest extent." McClellan also said it was "ridiculous" to suggest Rove, Bush's top political operative, was involved.
Despite repeated denials by the White House that Rove played a part in revealing the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper recently said he first learned of her position during a discussion with Rove in July 2003. Cooper said Rove made the disclosure as he cautioned the reporter against allegations that Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, was making about faulty Iraq intelligence.
Gonzales said Justice Department lawyers notified him of the investigation around 8 p.m., and he got permission from them to wait until the following morning to direct the staff to preserve any materials related to the case.
"We were advised, `Go ahead and notify the staff early in the morning, that would be OK,'" Gonzales said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "And again, most of the staff had gone home. No one knew about the investigation."
Gonzales said he immediately notified Card, then told President Bush the next morning before notifying the White House staff.
At the time, the Justice Department was run by John Ashcroft, who eventually recused himself from the case under pressure from Democrats who complained about his ties to Rove.
So Gonzales learned that the Justice Department was opening an investigation into the Valerie Plame leak. He immediately told Card about the investigation, but then waited 12 hours before telling anyone else in the White House? That was not the most intelligent thing for Gonzales to have done--especially if the leak had come from the White House itself. Certainly the next big question to ask is who did Card talk to about this investigation? Did he talk to Karl Rove? Did he talk to Lewis Libby? If either Rove and Libby were originally involved with leaking this information to reporters, then Card's possible notification would allow both Rove and Libby to CYA. Yes, we are talking about a cover-up here. And if there is a cover-up started by both Rove and Libby, an even bigger question is does the president know about this cover-up? It certainly doesn't help the Bush White House that Gonzales first tells Card of the investigation, then tells President Bush and the rest of the White House staff, 12 hours later. For 12 hours is a great deal of time for either Rove and Libby to shred documents, delete email files, and clean up whatever evidence of their involvement.
So now Card is on the hot seat. Who did he tell?
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