The connection to Randy Bears is also quite strong. Its good to see Melanie Morgan of KSFO Radio in N. California to be on top of McCarthygate.

it might be of casual interest to readers here to note that mccarthy not only categorically denies having leaked information pertaining to the illegal prisons (she also happened to PASS that series of questioning during the polygraph), she also tendered her own resignation back on february. SHE WAS ALREADY PLANNING TO RESIGN. her date of resignation? april 30!. hmmmmm
makes you wonder what this is all really about.
can you spell scapegoat?

Rush Limbaugh also noted on today's show, that there are significant ties to Joe Wilson (yes - THAT Joe Wilson) and Mary McCarthy. They were in the administration at the same time, shared the African portfolio, and are apparently members of the same thinktank group (whose name escapes me at the moment). Rush also noted that Ms. McCarthy was either appointed by or promoted by none other than Sandy Berger!!!

Ms. McCarthy's predecessor went on to become a member of John Kerry's failed candidacy for President. It is also alleged that Ms. McCarthy gave some thousands of dollars to the Kerry campaign and the Demublican Party in 2004, as did Dana Priest, Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame...

It's a small world, after all! Isn't it just the strangest of coincidences that they all seem to have some association with one another?! I suppose it's like playing some political version of the seven stages of Kevin Bacon...

I was going to say, "Wait until the drive-by media gets a hold of this!" But then, I came to my senses and realized that they've probably known all about these connections for quite some time. And since there's no conceivable way that this information can be used to destroy George W. Bush, they'll probably make note of it at best, and, if pressed, will discount any association as being simply coincidence - not worthy of investigating.

If pressed further, they'll claim that efforts to make something of these oh-so-cozy acquaintances would amount to (can't you see this one coming!?) "a vast right-wing conspiracy" to slander the principals involved and tear their patriotic comrades to shreds...

Even Hollywood, perverted as all hell, couldn't make up this kind of stuff!!!

it might be of casual interest to readers here to note that mccarthy not only categorically denies having leaked information pertaining to the illegal prisons (she also happened to PASS that series of questioning during the polygraph), she also tendered her own resignation back on february. SHE WAS ALREADY PLANNING TO RESIGN. her date of resignation? april 30!. hmmmmm
makes you wonder what this is all really about.

i'll give you a hint: starts with an 's', two syllables, and ends with the name of a four-legged animal.

Hold on there boys...

"McCarthy's lawyer, Ty Cobb, told NEWSWEEK this afternooon that contrary to public statements by the CIA late last week, McCarthy never confessed to agency interrogators that she had divulged classified information and "didn't even have access to the information" in The Washington Post story in question."

Could this lead to another embarrassment for the Bush administration? Picking on poor old grandma, and stealing her pension?

“This cast of characters also has a bad habit of breaching U.S. security when it serves their own political agenda, and that is disgraceful behavior,”

This could very easily apply to the current administraton. Very easily.

-Joe

As I posted on another thread:

Its my prediction that the Mary McCarthy leak will be the undoing of the Democrats. Consider the following coincidences:

Mary McCarthy was a senior official within the Clinton admininstration.

Mary McCarthy worked on the National Security Council with Sandy "Those aren't classified documents stuffed down my pants, I'm just happy to see you" Berger and Joe "Did you hear the one about Yellow Cake from Niger" Wilson. While most of her service was during the Clinton years, she was a carry-over to the Bush administration.

Mary McCarthy worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Guess who else are members of CSIS? Try Zbigniew Brzezinski — Counselor and Trustee, who has been a frequent critic of the Bush Administration. General Wesley Clark USA (Ret.), Distinguished Senior Adviser. Need I say more. And finally.....wait for it....General Anthony Zinni USMC (Ret.), Distinguished Senior Adviser. Where have I heard his name before?

Mary McCarthy worked with Richard Clarke on NSC briefings. Now, what was Mr. Clarke's take on our involvement in Iraq? Was he for it or against it?

Mary McCarthy, and her husband, donated over $7,500 to Democrat candidates ($2,000 to John Kerry) and the DNC in 2004. Pretty hefty sums for a mid-level analyst.

Dana Priest, who wrote the article about the secret prisons, is married to Bill Goddfellow, an anti-war activist with Center for International Policy and attended the Center's conference in 2003 with......wait for it.....Joe Wilson.

Finally, Mary McCarthy worked at the CIA with Valerie Plame and since she worked in the IG's Office, she would have been involved in a CIA referral to the Justice Dept over Plame's "outing".

So we have Wilson, Priest, Goodfellow. Clarke, Clark, Zinni, McCarthy, Berger, the Clintons, & the Kerry’s, all implicated in a elaborate plot to undermine the President of the United States in a time of war. Can you spell T.r.e.a.s.o.n.

Yes A-10, it could have cost the Demorats control of Congress after the upcoming mid term as I noted yesterday. The political damage may be huge since even bigger targets are in site, the story is not going away, and indictments appear to be forthcoming. There are at least a dozen more investigations going on.

The Demorats have declined in two generic Congressional ballot polls - 4 points in Bloomberg and 10 points in CNN (sans Gallup) of registered votes. This is not enough for them to win Congress.

Not to mention that there are many weak incumbent Demorat Governors in MI, PA, and WI.

Bloviator,

From what I just read, it is merely a friend of McCarthy's asserting that McCarthy told him she denies the allegations...that isn't much to go on...the friend in question is a guy named Beers...which is ringing a bell but as I'm at work I don't have time to look it up.

Tina,

I live in MI. Governor Granholm's numbers have been in freefall. Dick DeVos (Who made his fortune in Amway) has been running effective ads for about a month. No negative message. Just showing what he has done as a businessman to improve Michigan's economy. My guess is that MI will have a GOP Governor come November.

1+1=2+1=3+1=4

All the sudden the commenters can add things up to find the smoking gun.

When confronted by the left, every statement stands on its own. Nothing adds up to anything illegal or immoral.

Ties between the war profiteers and those that started this war of choice?
Kooky coincidence.

4 years of people bailing from the White House saying these guys are crazy?
They're just trying to get book deals.

Warrantless spying while the FBI infiltrates groups that support peace?
No proof that they're spying on their political enemies.

Downing street memos?
Stonewalling the 911 Commission?
10 year old PNAC Plans for Iraq regime change?
$2.5 Million to defend the phone-jammers?
Plame leak?
Laugh-down of those who even suggest we even look into Ohio '04's voting irregularities?

Sorry, those are all individual items that have to stand on their own.
No abacus here.

Meanwhile a CIA Agent, accused (but who will plead not guilty) of helping Americans learn the heinous acts performed in their name, knows people in Washington, and suddenly the commenters are Oliver Stone diiging their way to the real conspiracy.

Wow.

A-10,

Granholm seems like our former CA Governor Gray Davis, basically no good. Its a bit better with Arnold, particularly the CA economy is quite strong. Arnold has ads up throught the Chamber of Commerce touting 400k jobs in 2 years. His Demorat counterparts will rip themselves apart.

Mark,

Bears has the credibility of a door mat.

Tina,

One thing I'll give her credit for: Every time we have sent a National Guard unit off to fight in the War on Terror, and when they return, she has been there to see them off and welcome them home. And the short speeches she has given are genuine. She even went to Iraq over the holidays to visit the troops. So she goes take her job as the Commander-in-Chief of the Michigan Army & Air National Guard seriously.

Thanks, A-10, that at least is a plus. I am not too fond of Arnold, he has his pluses and a lot of minuses. He, however, has way more pluses and less minues than the two alternatives who want increased spending, more deifict spending, higher taxes for all, including the car tax. Did you hear that Tony Snowe may be the next press sec.?

I don't put much into what Mary McCarthy's lawyers and friends say. The CIA and the Justice Department are saying she flunked the poly.

I have many friends with clearances. And I have been cleared in the past. Here is how it works. "Flunking" the poly means that in the operators opinion you are not being truthful in your answers. That alone is bad. It will probably get you fired. But, they can't use it in Court. So, what happens is the poly operator and an investigator question you with the poly running. When they hit the lies - they know it, and you know it. It takes a very strong person to not break down and confess when everyone in the room knows you are full of crap. She confessed. Confessing to witnesses IS useable in court.

I have seen some interesting fact invention in some posts here. Saying McCarthy never leaked. Never had access to the information. She was going to quit anyways. Bullshit. You liberals just look so untrustable when you act this way.

It looks to me like McCarthy was a regular leaker who the CIA managed to find by giving widespread poly’s. She DID have access, hated Bush and the Republicans, and ignored her oath and the law to hurt them. Thing is, these people are the lawfully elected government of the United States. She could not see that. She could not see that Bush was the President of the United States - she could only see her hatred. So, she chose to hurt us. She attacked the people of the United States out of hatred for Republicans. The fact that Democrats don't see a problem with that cancels out all those times you screamed "Secure the ports!!!" It all looks like a sham. You don't REALLY care about security.

We can argue on and on about this but right now it seems to be a he said she said situation.

What about the issue itself? That we are/were maintaining illegal hold prisons in Afghanistan, Thailand and a few East European countries? This was illegal and went against the treaty we signed.

Please do not bring Bill Clinton or John Kerry into your answers. This is a cover CIA operation, under the Bush Administration.

"it might be of casual interest to readers here to note that mccarthy not only categorically denies having leaked information pertaining to the illegal prisons (she also happened to PASS that series of questioning during the polygraph)"

Bloviator, don't confuse them with the facts. You won't last long on B4B that way!

Ash

You're argument about he said she said is weak. They have the confession on tape and on paper and will release them if it becomes necessary.

But - OK.
1. Since Al-Queda advocates killing civilians, and does kill them.
2. Does not belong to a nation.
3. Does not wear uniforms.
4. Tapes the torture and execution of prisoners

Just what treaty do you suppose we would be breaking by keeping them in "secret prisons"? Please don't use your normal dodge here. Really - what treaty? I don't think the Geneava Conventions apply.

And, besides the accusation - where exactly (what country) is just one of these prisons? Just one? And who are we keeping there? And - just because its secret (if it exists) how is that alone bad? Don't we have an interest in keeping the identity of some captured Al-Quaeda members secret while we intercept communications bound for him? While we use his capture in an intelligent way to capture more?

I really don't get it. What treat? And why would that even be bad?

Ash - but also - I'm not willing to let McCarthy off the hook. Disclosing secret and legal operations is not "leaking" to me. It's espionage certainly. It could even be treason in some cases.

You'd turn Benedict Arnold into a whistleblower (credit Rush for that one). And weren't Julius and Ethel Rosenberg "just spreading the truth?"

Ash,

Actually, I looked up Beers - he's Clinton's former Drug War boss who took an NSA position with the Bush Administration, only to resign to become Kerry's foreign policy advisor during the 2004 campaign...we'll have more on this later, but there is a very tangled web of Clintonites and Kerry staffers who have been leaking and otherwise undermining the Bush Administration since day one.

"What a tangled web we weave,
When we set out to deceive..."

How "coincidental" is it that all these people hung out together and somehow at different times, spoke out against the Administration policies - all with a similar spin on the events?

You know, this "vast right wing conspiracy" to besmirch them or identify them as collaborateurs in an ongoing effort to subvert this nation's foreign policy might just yield some fruit. But, of course, the left wing and its media whores will try their best to paint them individually and as a group as "patriotic americans, acting as whistleblowers," instead of criminal conspirators, with a definite political agenda as their objective.

It seems that as the Dems become further and further removed from the positions of power that they've enjoyed for the past 40 years or so, they dive deeper and deeper into murky areas of criminality to advance their agenda. They've lost in the elections, their numbers in the judiciary are being whittled down by attrition and by public outrage. So they must now depend upon well-placed political partisans positioned in the bureaucratic structure of our government to stymie and subvert the objectives of the Republicans and the Administration.

It's a compelling argument for the shrinking of our federal government. Too bad the Republicrats don't seem to recognize this vital necessity for the continuance of our republic. In all probability, the bureaucracy will continue to grow, filled with partisans from this party or that party. As Administrations change, an internecine battle will erupt as the "holdovers" attempt to thwart the policies of the "newcomers" who, after all, are only going to be here for 4 or 8 years. They come and go, but the bureaucrats remain despite the changes in Administrations. This "career bureaucrat" scenario is, whether we like it or not, representative of who REALLY RUNS this behemoth of a government that we all depend upon.

Shrink to government.
Stop the libs.

Take our country back!

I see Ash-hole rushed to reply to those who shot down his drug-induced b/s.

Where are ya, Ash?

It appears to me that the DemocRATs--Kerry--and the Drive-by Media are circling the wagons on this one. I'll be waiting this one out to see what develops. Too early to tell, and remember, this gal is a DemocRAT operative, so it'll be hard to nail her on this.

The Culture of Treason--that's your modern-day Liberal DemocRAT party...

i see that no one here even attempted to address the fact that mccarthy had tendered her resignation in february of this year (bc she recently passed the bar and was planning on beginning a career in law) with a scheduled date of departure falling on april 30, 2006 - conspicuously close to her firing date.

"You're argument about he said she said is weak. They have the confession on tape and on paper and will release them if it becomes necessary."

Then produce the recording! She says she didn't confess, then prove that she did by letting us hear the tape!

btw Mark, it is also her lawyer, not just a "friend" who is making this claim. must be a pretty bad lawyer to come out in public, make the claim she never confessed when she knows there is a tape of her confession? fishy.

Where is the tape? what is the hold up? oooh, let me guess. National security might be threatened if we actualy here McCarthy's voice saying "I was the leaker"???

right now, I believe the word of a citizen of the US before I believe statements from the federal govt.

from the article by Isikoff
. . .
A counter-terrorism official acknowledged to NEWSWEEK today that in firing McCarthy, the CIA was not necessarily accusing her of being the principal, original, or sole leaker of any particular story. Intelligence officials privately acknowledge that key news stories about secret agency prison and “rendition” operations have been based, at least in part, upon information available from unclassified sources.

. . .

McCarthy's lawyer, Ty Cobb, told NEWSWEEK this afternooon that contrary to public statements by the CIA late last week, McCarthy never confessed to agency interrogators that she had divulged classified information and "didn't even have access to the information" in The Washington Post story in question.

After being told by agency interrogators that she may have been deceptive on one quesiton during a polygraph, McCarthy did acknowledge that she had failed to report contacts with Washington Post reporter Dana Priest and at least one other reporter, said a source familiar with her account who asked not to be identified because of legal sensitivities. McCarthy has known Priest for some time, the source said.

the link to the article:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12466719/site/newsweek/

"You're argument about he said she said is weak. They have the confession on tape and on paper and will release them if it becomes necessary."

Then produce the recording! She says she didn't confess, then prove that she did by letting us hear the tape!

dav - this argument sounds eerily similar to this one made by bearmanusmc in an earlier thread:

Almiranta, don't waste your time with stevey. He doesn't want to believe that the thousands of documents still being poured over are chalked full of proof of WMD's & ties with Al-Queada!

These two both seem to have a mysterious inside source that gives them access to undisclosed information.

Where are ya, Ash?

Ah keefer not everyone is a toll booth "operater" and can blog at will. Some of us have important jobs that claim our attention.

dav - Obviously I do not have a recording like that. I'm just telling you - they certainly made one. If and when the decide to prosecute her - then it will come out - as evidence.

But, since you brought it up... produce a copy of her resignation please. Certainly THAT is within her power to produce. Show it to us. Show us where it said next week was the end anyways. Oh - and show us why catching her last week would make a difference - even if you are correct (big IF), maybe when they started the systematic Poly's she knew she better scram.

Kahn:

where exactly (what country) is just one of these prisons? Just one?

If you had actually comprehended my post you would have come across this: That we are/were maintaining illegal hold prisons in Afghanistan, Thailand and a few East European countries?

Kahn, again:

You're argument about he said she said is weak. They have the confession on tape and on paper and will release them if it becomes necessary.

Talk about weak! They will release them if necessary? You take their word for it? That's lame.

Kahns last point:

I really don't get it. What treat? And why would that even be bad?

U.S. law, 18 U.S. Code 2441, the War Crimes Act. It would be bad because it means our word and our signature are worthless. When we sign something we should abide by it. Don't blame the liberals because the world hates us. Blame this kind of arrogance.

PREWAR INTELLIGENCE
Is There A Double Standard On Leak Probes?
By Murray Waas, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006

When the CIA announced on Friday that it had fired an employee who the agency claims "knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence" with a newspaper reporter, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, immediately praised the agency's action, saying that "unauthorized disclosures of classified information can significantly harm our ability to protect the American people." [...]
[please do not cut and paste article in full, link to the source]

I can't leave this part out. . .

"In his 2002 book 'Bush at War,'" Rockefeller wrote, "Bob Woodward described almost unfettered access to classified material of the most sensitive nature. According to his account, he was provided information related to sources and methods, extremely sensitive covert actions, and foreign intelligence liaison relationships. It is no wonder, as Director Goss wrote, `because of the number of recent news reports discussing our relationships with other intelligence services, some of these partners have even informed the C.I.A. that they are reconsidering their participation of some of our most important antiterrorism ventures.'"

http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0425nj1.htm

one more quick question. . .

did McCarthy get fired for breaking the law? If so, why hasn't she been arrested yet?

seems like if she is guilty of everything we have been hearing, they would be filing charges. After all, Cythina McKinney got the attention of the State department for scuffling with the capitol police. They were threatening charges within 48 hours. I guess McCarthy's alleged leak doesn't quite rise to that level of security threat?

Ash,

So you are claiming that there are "illegal" prisons in Thailand and Afghanistan. Care to say which eastern European nations have them? If they are not illegal in thoise nations, are you saying our laws apply everywhere? Well, and how exactly would they be illegal? The Al_Queada twerps are not covered by the Geneva Conventions. And, I fail to see how the war crimes law covers them. As active murderers of civilian men, women, and children I believe the Conventions allow for summary field executions. You may want to check on that.

Care to go out on a limb and explain to me how "secret" prisons equals "illegal" prisons? Is ANY secret prison used in the terror war by your definition illegal? If that is your position, can you point to the specific legal language that draws you to that conclusion? How exactly does that law tie in? And, is it a treaty or a law you're referring to? If it is a treaty, which one, and with who? Would it apply to non-signatory entities like Al-Queada?

Now really. Don't take this as goading. Here is your chance to describe your position. Treat it like an exam and be thorough - maybe you can convince me.....

dav,

Justice Department. Cythina McKinney got the attention of the JUSTICE department. And, well yes they said they were considering charges (not threatening). But, well none have been filed have they?

You uh, feel a lot of hate don't you dav? When did it start? Florida? Earlier? Hate is not a family value dav. You know, it was hate filled liberals who shot into multiple Republican offices last election. Who set fire and ransacked several more. And who slashed the tires of GOP vans in Ohio to keep voters away from the polls. It would be pathetic if it wasn't so frightening.

Wouldn't a person who was already planning to quit, had already submitted her resignation, feel less concerned about being fired and more confident in beraking the rules? The "defense" that McCarthy had already resigned seems to add to the credibility of the belief that she risked getting caught, not the opposite. It's people who want to hang on to their jobs who are more concerned about following the rules, and people with nothing to lose who are more likely to take risks.

I'm not a big Limbaugh fan, but one of his sayings comes to mind when I read Ash's posts. "Stuck on Stupid" He's so stuck on, so committed to, the idea that for one thing he KNOWS we have "secret prisons" in faraway lands, and two, that it is illegal to do this.

He has been asked, over and over again, for anything that can back up his claims. He has not answered---but then, there IS no answer. There is no proof of such prisons, and no law that would make them illegal if there was proof.

bloviator seems to be accusing bearman and me of using the infamous Democrat Crystal Ball, but in fact it has been published that there are hundreds of thousands of pages of untranslated information found in various locations in Iraq. In what I thought was a brilliant use of the Internet, some administration guy suggested putting them on the Net so anyone who can read Arabic can see them and offer translations if something appears to be significant. (Naturally, when a document is called to the attention of the appropriate agency, another, official, translation is made.) Already, we have dozens of documents showing relationships between Iraq and Al-Queda, and information on various WMD. Just cause Ranty and Al don't tell you don't mean it isn't so. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Poor Rantin' Robert is still ranting away. A few years behind the times, but hey, he's a liberal. No one will even notice.

"Ties between the war profiteers and those that started this war of choice?"
Kooky coincidence?

N, tinfoil-hat fantasy. First you invent 'war profiteers' and then you claim they are connected to Bush.

"4 years of people bailing from the White House saying these guys are crazy?"

Name one.

"Warrantless spying while the FBI infiltrates groups that support peace?"

You've got three allegations to support here. One is "warrantless spying", one is "infiltrates" and one is "supports peace"

"No proof that they're spying on their political enemies."
Exactly. None.
You are way too vague to deal with on this one, since no one knows what you are talking about.

"Downing street memos?"
Debunked. Don't mean squat. What got the libs' panties in a twist was a comment about something being "fixed". But those of us who have spent time in England know that some words are used differently there than here, and have heard the word "fixed" used not to mean "rigged" but rather "set". "The time for dinner has been fixed." And this explanation was given by the person who used the terminology. The original misunderstanding was based on ignorance. The persistence in refusing to grasp that fact is based on stupidity.

"Stonewalling the 911 Commission?"
Do you mean refusing to discuss Able Danger? Appointing a fox to guard the henhouse, or in this case putting Jamie Gorelick on the commission that should have been investigating the infamous "wall" she created to keep all intelligence agencies separate---created by her to keep those intelligence agencies from comparing notes on the illegal Chinese "donations" to Clinton and the Dems?
The theft of top secret documents from the archives by Sandy Berger? The stonewalling about what he was trying to hide?
No, there was no conservative stonewalling to the 9/11 commission, only in Conspiracy Country.

"10 year old PNAC Plans for Iraq regime change?"

The Pentagon plans for every possible contingency. They have plans on file for dealing with invasions from outer space. It is part of war gaming, part of strategy sessions, part of training. If here are such plans, they may have been prompted by Clinton administration speeches about the need for regime change in Iraq. Or it may have been that they got to the I's that month, and the next month they did plans for something in Japan.

"$2.5 Million to defend the phone-jammers?"

Huh???? I thought you just made pointy hats out of tinfoil.

"Plame leak?"

The leak by Plame herself, when she told people she worked for the CIA? Or one of several by her husband, who told the world at large?

"Laugh-down of those who even suggest we even look into Ohio '04's voting irregularities?"

Remind us, Bobby. I'm sure it was terrible. And awfully important if all it took to do a massive coverup wsa to "laugh it down".

Cling to your sad illusions, Rantin' Robert, because that's all you have. I know it makes you feel important, maybe even potent, to believe in things no one else is smart enough to see. Good for you. AA must be proud.

Almiranta - be fair. There were irregularities in Ohio. The DEMOCRATS responsible pleaded guilty today in a plea-bargain to get out of the origibnally filed FELONY charges.

They disbled vehicles to stifle the Republican get-out-the-vote effort.

Almiranta - be fair. There were irregularities in Ohio. The DEMOCRATS responsible pleaded guilty today in a plea-bargain to get out of the origibnally filed FELONY charges.

They disbled vehicles to stifle the Republican get-out-the-vote effort.

Almiranta - be fair. There were irregularities in Ohio. The DEMOCRATS responsible pleaded guilty today in a plea-bargain to get out of the origibnally filed FELONY charges.

They disbled vehicles to stifle the Republican get-out-the-vote effort.