PlameGate: Blaming the Press

Kate O’Beirne was one of Russert’s guests this morning. At first she whined that the special prosecutor has been at this investigation for two years (actually he should have been at this two years ago) – and then she suggested it was someone else who first leaked Valerie Plame’s identity as a CIA agent. Her NRO colleague John Podhoretz writes:

Karl Rove and others learned that Joseph Wilson was married to a CIA operative from the media.

His source for this claim was this story:

Sources indicate that Rove may have learned Valerie Plame’s identity from within the Administration rather than from media contacts

That was the headline that Podhoretz dismisses the headline and accuses Massimo Calabresi of bizarre spin. It would seem Podhoretz is the master of bizarre spin.

Of course – it does not matter who within the Administration let Karl Rove know that Ms. Plame was a CIA agent. He should not have leaked this information to various reporters including one that was all too willing to publish this information.