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American Morning
CIA Leak
Aired September 29, 2003 - 09:32 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: The Justice Department looking into who blew the cover of a CIA officer. It involves a former ambassador Joe Wilson, who criticized the White House for charging that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger in the 1990s. Not long afterward, Wilson's wife was identified as a CIA employee. Wilson says he believes the leak to "Chicago Sun-Times" and CNN's Robert Novak came from an aide to the president. The White House denies that.
National security correspondent David Ensor is piecing this together for us and joins us now with more in D.C.
David, good morning there.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, Joe Wilson is a great critic of the administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. And as you mentioned, he was the one that was actually sent by the CIA sometime earlier to check out whether the allegations that Niger had sold uranium to the Iraqis or had tried or been willing to or not were correct or not.
Now, identifying his wife as A CIA operative, and identifying her using her maiden name in the media, is a felony, if an American official tells journalists that name as a CIA operative. So there are national security implications to the release of that name. Anyone that she's had dealings with now knows they were dealing with the CIA, and that hurts American national security.
It also has political implications today, as the word comes that the CIA has asked the Justice Department to look into this, implications that were underscored by the comments of a senior Democrat, who says he doesn't trust the justice department to look into this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: If you appoint someone of real, rock-grid (ph) integrity, I think that's the only way the public will have faith that there will be a complete and thorough and fearless investigation that will go wherever it leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Now the White House is promising to cooperate with the Justice Department and supply any phone records or anything that's required. They are saying, as you mentioned, that White House officials had nothing to do with this. HEMMER: And, David, about an hour and a half ago one of the points you made with us is that oftentimes these leaks and investigations go nowhere in the end. Is that right?
ENSOR: Well, that's right, because journalists do not reveal their sources. If they do, they're quickly out of business. So, it's somewhat unlikely that an investigation by the FBI, which is now pretty much automatically going to start, is going to get to the bottom of who actually told Mr. Novak, and I gather about half a dozen other journalists, about the identity of this CIA operative.
HEMMER: Thank you, David. David Ensor in D.C. -- Heidi.
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 29, 2003 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department looking into who blew the cover of a CIA officer. It involves a former ambassador Joe Wilson, who criticized the White House for charging that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger in the 1990s. Not long afterward, Wilson's wife was identified as a CIA employee. Wilson says he believes the leak to "Chicago Sun-Times" and CNN's Robert Novak came from an aide to the president. The White House denies that.
National security correspondent David Ensor is piecing this together for us and joins us now with more in D.C.
David, good morning there.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, Joe Wilson is a great critic of the administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. And as you mentioned, he was the one that was actually sent by the CIA sometime earlier to check out whether the allegations that Niger had sold uranium to the Iraqis or had tried or been willing to or not were correct or not.
Now, identifying his wife as A CIA operative, and identifying her using her maiden name in the media, is a felony, if an American official tells journalists that name as a CIA operative. So there are national security implications to the release of that name. Anyone that she's had dealings with now knows they were dealing with the CIA, and that hurts American national security.
It also has political implications today, as the word comes that the CIA has asked the Justice Department to look into this, implications that were underscored by the comments of a senior Democrat, who says he doesn't trust the justice department to look into this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: If you appoint someone of real, rock-grid (ph) integrity, I think that's the only way the public will have faith that there will be a complete and thorough and fearless investigation that will go wherever it leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Now the White House is promising to cooperate with the Justice Department and supply any phone records or anything that's required. They are saying, as you mentioned, that White House officials had nothing to do with this. HEMMER: And, David, about an hour and a half ago one of the points you made with us is that oftentimes these leaks and investigations go nowhere in the end. Is that right?
ENSOR: Well, that's right, because journalists do not reveal their sources. If they do, they're quickly out of business. So, it's somewhat unlikely that an investigation by the FBI, which is now pretty much automatically going to start, is going to get to the bottom of who actually told Mr. Novak, and I gather about half a dozen other journalists, about the identity of this CIA operative.
HEMMER: Thank you, David. David Ensor in D.C. -- Heidi.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
