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American Morning

Intelligence Leak

Aired September 30, 2003 - 07:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Who leaked the classified identity of a CIA employee? The White House says it will cooperate with an inquiry from the Justice Department, but it will not launch a probe of its own or seek an independent investigation.
Two reports to start this morning. Live from the White House, Dana Bash. She's up in a moment.

But first, a bit of background now from our national security correspondent, David Ensor, in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the request of CIA lawyers, the Justice Department is looking into whether to launch a full investigation into the leak of the name of a CIA operative, her face concealed here, at her husband, Joseph Wilson's, request.

JOSEPH WILSON, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I must say, if it was just to -- out of spite or for revenge it is really, truly despicable.

ENSOR: Former Ambassador Wilson is the man sent by the CIA to investigate whether Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger, a claim Wilson says he debunked, though President Bush went on to mention it anyway during his State of the Union message. Wilson says the leak was payback for his criticism of the administration's Iraq policy.

WILSON: I believe that it came out of the White House. I have sources who have told me that.

ENSOR: This man does know where the story came from, Bob Novak. The syndicated columnist and CNN contributor named Wilson's wife as an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction in a July column, quoting two senior administration officials. Now, he's calling the controversy "Bush bashing" and declining to reveal his sources.

ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this. In July, I was interviewing a senior administration official on Ambassador Wilson's report, when he told me the trip was inspired by his wife, a CIA employee working on weapons of mass destruction. Another senior official told me the same thing.

ENSOR: At the CIA four years ago, former President Bush, Sr. made his views about such leaks crystal clear. GEORGE H. W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have nothing by contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are in my view the most insidious of traitors.

ENSOR (on camera): If caught, a leaker can face jail time, since exposing the identity of a clandestine CIA operative is a felony, and it can cause the sources developed during an entire career to run dry up.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Previously, Ambassador Wilson had said he believed that Karl Rove, the senior advisor to President Bush, was to blame for the leak. Yesterday, Wilson backed away from specifically naming Rove, but speaking CNN, Wilson continued to point the finger at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE WILSON, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: What I do have are any number of journalist sources, none of whom I have any reason not to believe, who have said that the White House was pushing this story after the leak, after the Novak article, and including Karl Rove.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now for how the administration is reacting to all of this, Dana Bash is live at the White House this morning.

Good morning to you -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, the White House is denying any involvement of the leak of Ambassador Wilson's wife's identity. They are not, at this point, launching a formal internal investigation. They say that's because they haven't been contacted by the Justice Department, asking for any records or e-mails or anything that you see in these kinds of investigations of this sort, because at this point the Justice Department just is launching an informal inquiry at this time.

But any investigation now is going to be left to the Justice Department, according to the White House, but the spokesman, Scott McClellan, made clear that they believe it would be a fireable (ph) offense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes leaking classified information is a very serious matter, and it should be pursued to the fullest extent by the appropriate agency, and the appropriate agency is the Department of Justice. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the White House is also rejecting calls from leading Democratic senators and also almost all of the Democratic presidential candidates for a special independent prosecutor, someone outside the Justice Department. At this point, the White House says it's not necessary. The Justice Department is independent enough.

Back to you -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash live this morning from the White House. Thanks, Dana.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired September 30, 2003 - 07:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Who leaked the classified identity of a CIA employee? The White House says it will cooperate with an inquiry from the Justice Department, but it will not launch a probe of its own or seek an independent investigation.
Two reports to start this morning. Live from the White House, Dana Bash. She's up in a moment.

But first, a bit of background now from our national security correspondent, David Ensor, in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the request of CIA lawyers, the Justice Department is looking into whether to launch a full investigation into the leak of the name of a CIA operative, her face concealed here, at her husband, Joseph Wilson's, request.

JOSEPH WILSON, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I must say, if it was just to -- out of spite or for revenge it is really, truly despicable.

ENSOR: Former Ambassador Wilson is the man sent by the CIA to investigate whether Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger, a claim Wilson says he debunked, though President Bush went on to mention it anyway during his State of the Union message. Wilson says the leak was payback for his criticism of the administration's Iraq policy.

WILSON: I believe that it came out of the White House. I have sources who have told me that.

ENSOR: This man does know where the story came from, Bob Novak. The syndicated columnist and CNN contributor named Wilson's wife as an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction in a July column, quoting two senior administration officials. Now, he's calling the controversy "Bush bashing" and declining to reveal his sources.

ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this. In July, I was interviewing a senior administration official on Ambassador Wilson's report, when he told me the trip was inspired by his wife, a CIA employee working on weapons of mass destruction. Another senior official told me the same thing.

ENSOR: At the CIA four years ago, former President Bush, Sr. made his views about such leaks crystal clear. GEORGE H. W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have nothing by contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are in my view the most insidious of traitors.

ENSOR (on camera): If caught, a leaker can face jail time, since exposing the identity of a clandestine CIA operative is a felony, and it can cause the sources developed during an entire career to run dry up.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Previously, Ambassador Wilson had said he believed that Karl Rove, the senior advisor to President Bush, was to blame for the leak. Yesterday, Wilson backed away from specifically naming Rove, but speaking CNN, Wilson continued to point the finger at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE WILSON, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: What I do have are any number of journalist sources, none of whom I have any reason not to believe, who have said that the White House was pushing this story after the leak, after the Novak article, and including Karl Rove.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now for how the administration is reacting to all of this, Dana Bash is live at the White House this morning.

Good morning to you -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, the White House is denying any involvement of the leak of Ambassador Wilson's wife's identity. They are not, at this point, launching a formal internal investigation. They say that's because they haven't been contacted by the Justice Department, asking for any records or e-mails or anything that you see in these kinds of investigations of this sort, because at this point the Justice Department just is launching an informal inquiry at this time.

But any investigation now is going to be left to the Justice Department, according to the White House, but the spokesman, Scott McClellan, made clear that they believe it would be a fireable (ph) offense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes leaking classified information is a very serious matter, and it should be pursued to the fullest extent by the appropriate agency, and the appropriate agency is the Department of Justice. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, the White House is also rejecting calls from leading Democratic senators and also almost all of the Democratic presidential candidates for a special independent prosecutor, someone outside the Justice Department. At this point, the White House says it's not necessary. The Justice Department is independent enough.

Back to you -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash live this morning from the White House. Thanks, Dana.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.