Would-be UN ambassador John Bolton’s connection to the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame was first broached in my July 15 column on Plame-gate:
“After the War Party met in solemn conclave, and the command went out from Cheney: “Bring me the head of Joe Wilson!”, there was only one logical place for Cheney’s minions to go. Who in the administration would’ve had access to the specific information regarding Plame-Wilson’s role in a deep-cover CIA operation involving nuclear proliferation? Why, the man who was the State Department deputy secretary in charge of “weapons of mass destruction” – the somewhat irritable if not downright reckless John Bolton, would-be ambassador to the UN, who played a central role in promulgating the Niger Uranium Myth.
“Conveniently, two of Bolton’s assistants, David Wurmser and John Hannah, also worked in Cheney’s office.”
Now, as Joshua Marshall and Steve Clemons note, we learn that Bolton was called to testify by Plame-gate prosecutor Patrick J. “Bulldog” Fitzgerald. Somehow, Bolton forgot to disclose this on the occasion of his confirmation hearings as UN ambassador.
As the focus of the Plame investigation shifts from Karl Rove to Bolton and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the Vice President’s chief of staff, just remember you read it here first.