Today in Chutzpah: Rove Rips NYT for Outing CIA Agent!

Posted by Satyam Khanna, Think Progress at 11:34 AM on June 25, 2008.

On Sunday, the New York Times published an extensive article examining the CIA’s interrogation of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM). The article identified the name of the CIA agent who interrogated KSM, Deuce Martinez.

Yesterday, on The O’Reilly Factor, Karl Rove slammed the New York Times for supposedly leaking the name of a CIA agent. “[T]hey’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests,” Rove charged:

ROVE: Well, I read their explanation. And basically, it sounded to me like they were saying we put his name out there because we decided we could. And I mean, they didn’t have a good explanation for it.

Rove claimed the United States is put at risk when a CIA agent’s identity is leaked. “Look, they put our country at risk when they reveal the details of a program that saved America from attacks.” Watch it.

How ironic that Karl Rove says that the country is put “at risk” when a CIA agent’s name is exposed. A quick recap of Rove’s role in leaking undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity for political retribution:

– Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper said, “Karl Rove told me about Valerie Plame’s identity on July 11, 2003. I called him because Ambassador Wilson [Plame’s husband] was in the news that week. I didn’t know Ambassador Wilson even had a wife until I talked to Karl Rove.”

– A week prior to publishing his column which outed Plame, Robert Novak spoke with Rove. Novak brought up Plame’s role at the CIA, and Rove confirmed that Plame worked at the CIA: "I heard that too,” said Rove.

In an addendum to the article, the Times explained its rationale: “Mr. Martinez had never worked under cover and…others involved in the campaign against Al Qaeda have been named in news stories and books.”

As former White House press secretary Scott McClellan said recently, Rove is “pretty disingenuous” when he talks about the CIA leak scandal.

Transcript:

O’REILLY: Well, now, last week, The New York Times outed a CIA agent. I’m not going to mention his name, who interrogated Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Now the CIA asked The New York Times not to do that. It obviously puts the CIA agent in danger because al Qaeda knows who he is. And they say well, we’ll out anybody unless they’re undercover. Since you were involved with this, how could you respond to that?

ROVE: Well, look, The New York Times has a double standard. It is deeply concerned when Richard Armitage outed Valerie Plame. Of course, they were only concerned until the point that it became apparent that it was Richard Armitage, not Karl Rove.

But The New York Times has a habit, they did this. They previously, against the objection of all of our intelligence agencies, revealed the existence of programs to monitor the electronic communications of known and suspected terrorists abroad. And they’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests.

O’REILLY: Do you know why they’re behind that? Why would they want to put this guy’s name in the paper? It’s not important to the story? They could tell the story without it. Why…

ROVE: Well, I read their explanation. And basically, it sounded to me like they were saying we put his name out there because we decided we could. And I mean, they didn’t have a good explanation for it.

O’REILLY: No, they don’t. They don’t. You know, I wish I could read minds. Again, I know what Imus thinks. And then I know what The New York Times thinks. But to me, you put the man in danger for no good reason. And after the Valerie Plame stuff where they just went crazy on it, and it’s the same kind of deal, you don’t want to put any of our intelligence people…

ROVE: Well…

O’REILLY: …whether it’s Ms. Plame or anybody else in danger, and they do exactly the opposite.

ROVE: Look, they put our country at risk when they reveal the details of a program that saved America from attacks.

O’REILLY: But see, they think that you put our country at risk, Mr. Rove. You see? That’s where they’re coming from.

ROVE: Every single day, they think I put America at risk.

O’REILLY: I get that. And that’s where we are in the United States.

Update: Raw Story has more.

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