Dick Armitage's role in "Plamegate"

In spite of the seriousness of allegations that several administration officials leaked the name of a covert CIA agent to the press, it hasn't caused much of a stir among the public at large. That hasn't stopped right-wing pundits from claiming that the revelation of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage as a third source of the leak somehow exonerates Karl Rove and "Scooter" Libby. It's twisted logic-- actually, it isn't logic at all-- and Media Matters shows why.

The Armitage leak was not directly a part of the White House's fierce anti-Wilson crusade. But as Hubris notes, it was, in a way, linked to the White House effort, for Amitage [sic] had been sent a key memo about Wilson's trip that referred to his wife and her CIA connection, and this memo had been written, according to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald [who was appointed to investigate the Plame leak], at the request of I. Lewis Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff. Libby had asked for the memo because he was looking to protect his boss from the mounting criticism that Bush and Cheney had misrepresented the WMD intelligence to garner public support for the invasion of Iraq.

The memo included information on Valerie Wilson's role in a meeting at the CIA that led to her husband's trip. This critical memo was -- as Hubris discloses -- based on notes that were not accurate. (You're going to have to read the book for more on this.) But because of Libby's request, a memo did circulate among State Department officials, including Armitage, that briefly mentioned Wilson's wife.