"Official A"

As Hunter at Kos notes, the Associated Press cites no fewer than "three people close to the investigation" who identify "Official A" as none other than the Turd Blossom himself.

Why is "Official A" the only person not identified by name or title in the indictment?

On or about July 10 or July 11, 2003, LIBBY spoke to a senior official in the White House ("Official A") who advised LIBBY of a conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson's wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson's trip. LIBBY was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson's wife.

Why the secrecy around the identity of "Official A"? Why the deference to his anonymity? What's going on with "Official A" that isn't going on with anybody else?

At the end of this Fitzmas Day...

... the gifts revealed aren't as significant as the gifts still to be.

**For example (as I asked earlier), from whom did the Vice President learn of Joseph Wilson's wife as a CIA officer? Tenet has claimed it was not he, and the indictment only identifies a "senior officer of the CIA". As Mssrs. Lang and Johnson indicate, we may only learn that at a trial of Mr. Libby.

**Who is the "undersecretary of State" mentioned on page 4 of the indictment who was working with Libby to get information on Wilson?

Why, it could be Marc Grossman, or it could be John Bolton.

**And who is "Official A"?

**Finally, the gift revealed puts to rest the neocon bromide that Valerie Wilson was not undercover, as well as revealing that Libby -- and Cheney -- knew she was undercover. Page 5, top, item #9:

On or about June 12, 2003, LIBBY was advised by the Vice President of the United States that Wilson's wife worked at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Counterproliferation Divison. LIBBY understood that the Vice President had learned this information from the CIA.

Why is this noteworthy? As Josh Marshall clarifies, CPD is where the spies work, not the analysts. Libby and Cheney, with their top security clearances and close association going back to their days at the Pentagon, knew Plame was NOC. There was no way they could not know.

And yes, as Fitzgerald indicated, the investigation continues, but it's no longer just about Karl Rove.

It's about the Vice President of the United States.

Early Fitzmas present or a Pandora's box?

Maybe Fitzmas will finally come tomorrow...

... but today's news about the scuttled Supreme Court nominee, predicted here earlier in the week, produces the same combination of thrill and angst as does the looming announcment from special prosecutor Fitzgerald.

So now what will a petulant, bitter, angry, politically wounded President do -- especially since his brain is preoccupied with self-preservation? Long used to getting his way, Bush has been rumored to revile the Unreligious Wrong going back to his pre-Goobernatorial days. And the fundies now wear the blood of Harriet Miers, one of Bush's closest confidants, on their hands.

So will he throw the Christian lions a piece of red meat, such as Priscilla Owen or Edith Jones -- or will he tell them to "bring it on" again with a 'moderate' nominee like Al Gonzales or Edith Clement?

Is he a uniter (of just the GOP) or a divider (of the entire nation, again)?

Bush is foremost a rewarder of loyalty, and he prefers Texans, and he's got a bit of a retribution hangup, so I'm guessing he taps the beaner.

(Hey, Carlos Mencia uses that word all the time, so don't call me a racist. Besides, I'm married to a Cuban.)

*heavy sigh*

... on the opposite side of the upper deck near the left-field foul pole, 89-year-old L.L. Godwin sat in his chair, his cane tucked under one arm, a blanket over his legs and an Astros cap tipped back on his head.

He, too, attended countless games of the Astros, Colt .45s and, before that, the Houston Buffs. His granddaughter — Debbie Rasmussen of Tomball — recalled how as a child she used to cuddle into bed with her grandfather on visits and fall asleep to the sounds of Astros games on the radio.

It was a loss. The Astros' first World Series is over. But for many, the taste was worth the wait.

"Big Time" (and "Slam Dunk")

So now we know it was the Vice President who told Scooter Libby the name of Joe Wilson's wife ... but who told him?

Larry Johnson fills in the back story:

It also seems pretty clear that the notes show that Libby lied to the grand jury when he claimed he learned the name from reporters. ... Although the NY Times story reports that Libby's notes indicate that George Tenet told Cheney about Plame, there are some intriguing unanswered questions. For starters it is highly unlikely that George Tenet showed up at the White House and just happened to know the name of Valerie Plame. Someone at the White House asked for it first. Tenet clearly came prepared to respond to a White House request. I'm sure the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, knows who called CIA to ask the question.

I also doubt that Tenet used the name "Plame". Since Valerie married Joe Wilson she went by 'Valerie Wilson'. Someone introduced "Plame" into the equation. Who did the subsequent work up on Mrs. Wilson? Only Scooter? Unlikely. Look for other names to emerge in coming days that will reveal who helped work out the "background" info on Valerie Wilson.

Find the excerpt above here and here.

The situation is worsening quickly. Where does this lead from here?

Steve Clemons thinks there may be a connection to John Bolton:

The question is how did Libby then churn up more info on Wilson without other parts of the "untrusted" bureaucracy spitting in his face or reporting his sins?

My hunch is that he went to trusted spear-carriers for Vice President Cheney -- the office and staff of Under Secretary of State John Bolton. Fred Fleitz, Bolton's chief of staff, maintained his CIA WINPAC portfolio and access as an active duty CIA staff member while he operated as Bolton's "acting" chief of staff. We know that Fleitz was a key part of the intelligence cherry-picking/stove-piping operation when it came to both the intel and policy response to various global WMD concerns -- in North Korea, Libya, Iran, and Iraq.

We also know that David Wurmser and John Hannah, who have both apparently cooperated after threats of legal action (i.e., time behind bars) with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald worked both for John Bolton's operation and the Vice President's office.

I recently consulted with a number of senior State Department officials about the level of interaction between Vice President Cheney's office and John Bolton's office -- and was informed that there was "intense" exchange between them, constant. One said that "Bolton and his team were operatives of Vice President Cheney inside the State Department establishment -- there to subvert Armitage and Powell wherever they could, and if not subvert, then there to spy on the them and report back.

I'd just like to know if the President gets a pass because we all believe he's too stupid to have known any of this was going on.

Update: The Bolton connection -- specifically Bolton's chief of staff, Fred Fleitz -- was detailed by Arianna Huffington last month. Sheesh, I gotta keep up.