Libby: Bush, Cheney authorized Plame leak

The New York Sun is reporting the latest big development in the 'Plamegate' case.

A former White House aide under indictment for obstructing a leak probe, I. Lewis Libby, testified to a grand jury that he gave information from a closely-guarded "National Intelligence Estimate" on Iraq to a New York Times reporter in 2003 with the specific permission of President Bush, according to a new court filing from the special prosecutor in the case.

The court papers from the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, do not suggest that Mr. Bush violated any law or rule. However, the new disclosure could be awkward for the president because it places him, for the first time, directly in a chain of events that led to a meeting where prosecutors contend the identity of a CIA employee, Valerie Plame, was provided to a reporter.

This means Bush would be in the clear, legally speaking. As the prez, he can de-classify whatever he wants. It would, however expose him as a liar (since he has always denied any knowledge of how the leak occurred). Which is nothing new, and unlikely to change a thing. The age of the Bushies has managed to accomplish one thing in politics-- it's become perfectly acceptable to the public to be lied to on a regular basis.

UPDATE: Although the legal ramifications for the White House are still minimal, I'd guess, this piece points out that even though A) the president may have the right to de-classify anything he wants, and B) even if the standard is nothing more than 'if I say it, it's automatically de-classified,' the administration has then de-classified information, shared it with a reporter, then re-classified it. There won't be any accountability, but it's of dubious legality and certainly unethical.