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Exclusive Interview: Murray Waas on How Cheney "Authorized"
Libby to Leak Classified Information
Why We Fight: New Film Takes a Hard Look at the American
War Machine From World War II to Iraq
The Press, The President and the Privilege of Power: Part
II Of Our Conversation With Fired CBS "Memo-Gate"
Producer Mary Mapes
Exclusive Interview: Murray Waas on How Cheney "Authorized"
Libby to Leak Classified Information
We speak with investigative journalist Murray Waas who reports
that Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Cheney's indicted former
chief of staff - testified he had been "authorized"
by Cheney and other White House "superiors" to disclose
classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's
use of prewar intelligence in making the case to invade Iraq.
[includes rush
transcript]
We turn now to the ongoing controversy over the outing of
CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Three months ago Vice President Cheney's chief of staff Lewis
"Scooter" Libby resigned after being charged with
obstruction of justice, lying to the FBI and committing perjury
before a federal grand jury in connection to the Plame case.
So far Libby is the only White House official to be charged
in the case. He is schedule to go on trial next January -
two months after the mid-term elections.
But newly released court documents raise new questions about
the role of the Vice President in the affair. Investigative
journalist Murray Waas has revealed
in the National Journal that Libby testified before federal
grand jury that he had been "authorized" by Cheney
and other White House "superiors" in the summer
of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists
to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence
in making the case to go to war with Iraq.
Waas bases his article in part on a recent letter written
by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's to Libby's attorney.
Fitzgerald writes, "Mr. Libby testified in the grand
jury that he had contact with reporters in which he disclosed
the content of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) ...
in the course of his interaction with reporters in June and
July 2003.
Fitzgerald went on to write, "We also note that it is
our understanding that Mr. Libby testified that he was authorized
to disclose information about the NIE to the press by his
superiors."
Although Fitzgerald does not identify Cheney by name, sources
have told Waas that Fitzgerald is in fact referring to the
Vice President.
- Murray Waas, investigative journalist who writes for
a number of publications. Among them, American Prospect
magazine and Salon.com. He has broken a number of stories
on the saga of the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
He maintains a blog at WhateverAlready.blogspot.com.
Why We Fight: New Film Takes a Hard Look at the American
War Machine From World War II to Iraq
A new film opening in theaters nationwide Friday takes a
look at the American war machine over the past half century.
"Why We Fight" looks at conflicts from World War
II right up to the current war in Iraq to examine the political,
economic and ideological reasons that drive American war policy.
We play excerpts from the film and speak with award-wining
director Eugene Jarecki.
Forty five years ago - January 1961 - Dwight Eisenhower gave
his final address as President of the United States.
- Dwight Eisenhower, January 17, 1961.
Those words are the starting point for a new film that takes
a look at the American war machine over the past half century.
"Why We Fight" by filmmaker Eugene Jarecki looks
at conflicts from World War II right up to the current war
in Iraq to examine the political, economic and ideological
reasons that drive American war policy.
The film includes interviews with John McCain, Gore Vidal,
William Kristol and Richard Perle, as well as a retired New
York City cop and Vietnam vet who lost a son in the World
Trade Center attacks.
"Why We Fight" won the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at
the Sundance Film Festival. It opens in theaters nationwide
today. Director Eugene Jarecki's previous film, "The
Trials of Henry Kissinger" was widely acclaimed and won
the 2002 Amnesty International Award.
Read Eugene's article: "An
Unhappy Anniversary"
The Press, The President and the Privilege of Power:
Part II Of Our Conversation With Fired CBS "Memo-Gate"
Producer Mary Mapes
We continue our conversation with Mary Mapes, the longtime
television news producer and reporter who worked for CBS for
fifteen years. Mapes tells the story of the memo that brought
down CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather and prompted CBS to
force out four of its top journalists - including Mapes. In
the report, Rather charged that President Bush had received
preferential treatment in the National Guard in the early
1970s.
We go now to Part II of our interview with Mary Mapes who
joined us yesterday in our firehouse studio.
Mary is a veteran television news producer and reporter who
worked for CBS for 15 years. She was most well-known for breaking
the Abu Ghraib prison torture stories in 2004. A few months
after that story aired, another story in which Mary was the
lead producer aired on the Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes.
That report ended up bringing down CBS News anchor Dan Rather
and prompted the network to force out four of its top journalists,
including Mary Mapes.
On September 8th 2004- two months before the Presidential
election- a report critical of President Bush's service in
the Texas National Guard aired on 60 Minutes. In the report,
CBS anchor Dan Rather charged that President Bush had received
preferential treatment in the National Guard in the early
1970"s and used as evidence copies of memos that had
been provided to the network by a confidential source.
The source turned out to be retired Texas National Guard
officer, Bill Burkett. Almost immediately, the validity of
the memo and the credibility of the source came under attack.
Mapes was fired after an investigation by CBS which she says
was politically biased. The investigation was led by the CEO
of the Associated Press Louis Boccardi and former U.S Attorney
General Dick Thornburgh who had served in the Presidential
administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Senior.
Mapes has written a book about her experience titled, "Truth
and Duty: The Press, The President and the Privilege of Power."
She has always stood by the National Guard story and maintains
that the documents in question were never found to be false."
- Mary Mapes, former CBS producer. Author of "Truth
and Duty: The Press, The President and the Privilege of
Power."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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