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Did Cheney Deceive FBI On Instructions To Libby?

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney

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Most reactions to the release of Dick Cheney's 2004 interview with FBI investigators on the Valerie Plame affair have focused on the numerous instances in which the then-vice president claimed a faulty memory about events that had occurred less than a year before.

But did Cheney at one point all but lie under oath about whether he directed Lewis Libby to give Judith Miller information from a government report on Saddam's alleged efforts to procure uranium from Africa?

As the New York Times notes, Cheney said in the interview that "no one ever told him of a desire to share key judgments" of the report, which was classified.

But Libby had testified in March 2004 that Cheney thought it was "very important" to get out the information in the report, and said: "[T]he vice president instructed me to go talk to Judy Miller to lay this out for her."

And Marcy Wheeler at Firedoglake adds that Cheney press aide Cathie Martin has corroborated Libby's account, testifying that the veep directed Libby to work with journalists that week in disseminating the NIE.

So could Cheney be hiding here behind the legalistic distinction that no one ever told him of a desire to leak the information in the report, because that desire was his own, and therefore he wasn't told of it by anyone else? If so, it's fair to conclude that Cheney badly misled law enforcement.

Given the time that's passed, and the fact that Cheney isn't exactly known for his honesty and trustworthiness It's tempting to dismiss that news as dog bites man. But it's worth remembering, every now and then, that we're talking about the man who was perhaps the most powerful person in the world for eight years.

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9 comments

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November 2, 2009 5:44 PM   

Did Cheney lie...? Is the Pope Catholic...? Cheney is a sociopath and a pathological liar ...most politicians are...

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November 2, 2009 5:46 PM   

Cheney? Deceive? Surely you jest. What's will you suggest next? That Liz is a liar?

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November 2, 2009 5:57 PM   

I'm not positive, but I think making false statements to law enforcement agents is a criminal offense (obstruction?) -- even if the Dark One wasn't under oath.

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November 2, 2009 6:16 PM   

Does anyone actually believe that Dick Cheney was not the one who identified an under cover CIA agent as revenge?

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November 3, 2009 9:32 AM    in reply to rbeats

You mean besides Lynne and Liz?

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November 2, 2009 6:59 PM   

Time to call Dickie back in for a memory test by a new federal prosecutor. He has a great memory even if it conveniently leaves him on this crime scene. His ticker may be bad but they have good health care in federal prisons.

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November 2, 2009 7:06 PM   

No more dithering with the truth, Dick. Seventy two times he cannot remember? If his amnesia for this crime is so severe, he cannot comment on anything from now on if the issue is based on past events. History is history for forgetful Dick.

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November 2, 2009 7:18 PM   

Did he mislead law enforcement? Sure. But misleading law enforcement isn't a crime, only lying to them is. And given what he said - no one ever told him of a desire to share key judgments (He was the one who had the desire and communicated it, no one seems to have communicated the desire to him) - he didn't lie. Better questioning by law enforcement might have got him.

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November 3, 2009 9:39 AM   

Did cheney deceive the f.b.i.?

Did cheney's mouth move and words came out?

The answer to both questions is yes.

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