Since the Valerie Plame story has been a frequent topic of this blog, I thought I should say something about this week’s news. Libby now says that not only was the classified information he leaked authorized by Cheney, he now says that Bush authorized the leak as well. He goes on to say that it was fine to do this because he talked to White House counsel who advised him that the president can defacto declassify material by authorizing its release. This seems to be the Kissinger defense, from when Kissinger reportedly quipped that he didn’t leak, he declassified.
So Libby’s defense now seems to rest on the argument that there was no crime in leaking the information. Never mind that everyone in the White House has apparently been lying about who leaked the story, if this argument is true. And never mind that Libby lied about it under oath. I just hope that the voters have the sense to toss out any politician who still defends these liars and/or criminals this fall.