11-19-05

Karl Rove Enlists comrade Big George's Mouth comrade Bob Woodward to Smear Fitzgerald

" While neither statement appears to factually change Fitzgerald's contention that Libby lied and impeded the leak investigation, the Libby legal team plans to use Woodward's testimony to try to show that Libby was not obsessed with unmasking Plame and to raise questions about the prosecutor's full understanding of events."

"I think it's a considerable boost to the defendant's case," said John Moustakas, a former federal prosecutor who has no role in the case. "It casts doubt about whether Fitzgerald knew everything as he charged someone with very serious offenses," Other legal experts agreed. "When Woodward says this information was disclosed to me in a nonchalant and casual way - not as if was classified - it helps corroborate Libby's account about himself and about the administration," Moustakas said.

Theodore V. Wells, Jr., one of Libby's lawyers, issued a pointed statement, saying, "Woodward's disclosures are a bombshell to Mr. Fitzgerald's case "that show at least one accusation to be "totally inaccurate."

"It definitely raises the plausibility of Karl Rove's simple and honest lapses of memory, because it shows that there were other people discussing the matter in what Mr. Woodward describes as very offhanded, casual way," a source close to Rove said. "Let's face it, we don't all remember every conversation we have about significant issues, much less those about that are less significant."

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Bob Woodward may have confirmed the identity of Deep Throat as former FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt in May 2005, but what Woodward did not disclose was that it was Big George Bush and the Neocons who told Felt to tell Woodward the information Woodward wrote which helped out Nixon. What Woodward is not saying now is that Karl Rove and Big George Bush is behind this scam to out Fitzgerald.

Bob Woodward owes his financial security to Big George Bush. Woodward writes and does what Big George Bush tells him to write and do. Bob Woodward said Little George sat for lengthy interviews for his book, Plan of Attack, often speaking about classified information. The Post editor added he was surprised by Bush's frankness. I'm not. Little George knew Daddy O had Woodward in his back pocket from the days when Woodward, a young Yalie writer, helped Yalie Big George out Nixon and got rich. Woodward wrote a book with an ex friend All the President's Men, and it became a #1 best-seller and was later turned into a movie. Big George made Woodward and put Woodward in the chips. Little George knew Woodward would make him look smart in Plan of Attack and it is my guess Woodward has made a lot of money flattering Little George with backhanded compliments. Same ole same ole. Woodward gets rich and a Bush ( Shrub Bush) gets said what he wants said from an impartial ho ho writer. Can't you hear Rove and Big George, Why didn't we think of this earlier? Hell, let's get Yalie Bob Woodward to out Fitzgerald. Call up Kissinger, get him in the act too. We'll have Fitzgerald begging for mercy after Bob and Henry gets finished with him. Ho. Ho. Ha. Ha.

In Bob Woodward's public statement he says he was first contacted by Fitzgerald's office on Nov. 3 after one of three current or former Bush administration officials went to Fitzgerald to discuss an interview with me in mid-June 2003 during which the person told me Wilson's wife worked for the CIA on a weapons of mass destruction as a WMD analyst. This late in the game a Bush high official just up and goes to Fitzgerald? Sounds fishy like a plan was hatched in which Woodward was part of the scam from the get go and this some one in the Bush administration, current or former, probably former, went to Fitzgerald to get the scheme going. Fitzgerald calls Woodward, who acts surprised but boy does he know is lines. Funny you should call Pat. Oh yea, I forgot to mention I was the very first to know Mrs Wilson was a covert CIA operative. Just call me modest Bob. Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies. Maybe I'll write book on what I tell you and make a few more millions helping Big and Little George promote communi$m.

Woodward says "My testimony was given in a sworn deposition at the law office of Howard Shapiro (Where have I heard this Shapiro name before?) of the firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dore instead of appearing under subpoena before a grand jury. Sounds flaky. Rigged. Why not in front of a grand jury? The grand jury would not be in on the deal and could become a can of worms for Mr. Woodward.

I love this line. In March 2003, the White House Iraq Group began doing a work-up on Joseph Wilson. This is a nice way of admitting in March 2003 Karl Rove starting trying to figure out a way to out Wilson. Rove tells Little George to get Wilson's CIA file. The CIA give Little George Wilson's CIA file which Little George gives to Rove which shows Mrs. Wilson as a covert CIA operative. Eureka. Rove dances in the street. We're going to screw Wilson. We are going to screw Wilson. Instantly Rove starts calling reporters telling them Wilson's wife was a covert CIA operative in the hope of outing both Mr. and Ms. Wilson as Rove has done to out people for years. John Moustakas, a former federal prosecutor who has no role in the case, ho ho, just accidentally got published stating exactly what Rove wanted said? That is not how propaganda works. Moustakas was briefed before the Woodward story broke and Rove told him he might be interviewed. Moustakas did not have to be told what he was expected to say in that interview. All planned.

Bob Woodward states in his Public Statement that he told Walter Pincus in mid-June 2003, a reporter at The Post, without naming my source, that I understood Wilson's wife worked at the CIA as a WMD analyst. Pincus does not recall that I passed this information on. Logic dictates Woodward is lying. If Woodward had told Pincus Wilson's wife worked for the CIA obviously Pincus would have remembered. Obviously Pincus does not want to lie for his boss!

Bob Woodward states in his Public Statement that June 20, 2003 I interviewed a second administration official for my book "Plan of Attack" and that one of the lists of questions I believe I brought to the interview included on a single line the phrase "Joe Wilson's wife." The tape recorded interview contains no indication that the subject arose.

Bob Woodward has come up with a story which helps Little George which is completely unsubstantiated. Pincus does know what the heck Woodward is saying and there is no proof in Woodward's interview he knew Wilson's wife was a CIA covert operative because on the tape recording of the interview there is no mention of Mrs. Wilson. Why should we believe Woodward's preposterous story? Zero evidence it is true.

It is my guess Bob Woodward's coming forth now is laced in lies and the entire deal is a Karl Rove Big George propaganda scam designed to smear Fitzgerald.

Bob Woodward, the great intuitive writer, does not understand Mrs. Wilson's CIA connection is a big deal when he is the very first person to find out Mrs. Wilson's CIA connection. Sure. We believe you Bob.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bob Woodward was born in Geneva, Illinois, the son of Alfred E. Woodward, a judge. He attended Yale University on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship, joining Book and Snake and graduating in 1965. Woodward served for five years as a communications officer in the United States Navy, his last year in Washington, D.C. including volunteer work for John Erlenborn, the Republican Congressman from the district in Wheaton, Illinois where he had been raised.
Woodward was discharged from the Navy in August 1970. He had applied to several law schools, but had also applied for a job as a reporter for the Washington Post. Harry Rosenfeld, the paper's metropolitan editor hired him on a two-week trial basis, a tryout which failed due to his complete lack of experience as a journalist. Still interested in becoming a reporter, he got a job with the Montgomery Sentinel. A year after his on-the-job training at the Sentinel, he left that paper and joined The Washington Post in August 1971.
He and colleague Carl Bernstein were assigned to investigate the June 17, 1972 burglary of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in a Washington, D.C. office building called Watergate. Their work, under editor Ben Bradlee, led to uncovering a large number of political "dirty tricks" used by the Nixon re-election committee during his campaign for reelection. Their book about the scandal, All the President's Men became a #1 best-seller and was later turned into a movie. The 1976 film, starring Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein, transformed the reporters into celebrities and inspired a wave of interest in investigative journalism.
The book and movie also led to one of Washington D.C.'s most famous mysteries: the identity of Woodward's secret Watergate informant known as Deep Throat -- a reference to the title of a popular pornographic movie at the time. Woodward said he would protect Deep Throat's identity until the man died or allowed his name to be revealed. For over 30 years, only Woodward, Bernstein, Bradlee, and Deep Throat himself knew the identity of Deep Throat until he revealed himself to Vanity Fair magazine as former FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt in May 2005. Woodward has confirmed his identity.
Woodward has continued to write books and report stories for The Washington Post, and serves as an assistant managing editor[1] at the paper. He focuses on the presidency, intelligence, and Washington institutions such as the U.S. Supreme Court, The Pentagon, and the Federal Reserve. He has also written Wired, about the Hollywood drug culture and the death of comic John Belushi.
In a series of articles published in January 2002, he and Dan Balz described the events at Camp David in the aftermath of September 11 attacks. In these they mention the Worldwide Attack Matrix.
Woodward has spent the most time of any journalist with President George W. Bush while in office, interviewing him four times for more than seven hours total. Woodward's most recent two books, Bush at War (2002) and Plan of Attack (2004), are detailed accounts of the Bush presidency, including the response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Woodward has just released a book, The Secret Man written to be released when Deep Throat revealed his identity, which is about his relationship with Mark Felt. Woodward is at work on another book about the second administration of George W. Bush.
On November 14, 2005 Bob Woodward gave a two hour deposition to Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald regarding the Valerie Plame affair. An unnamed official (reportedly U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Stephen Hadley) told Woodward that Plame was a CIA analyst in June 2003. Woodward did not reveal he had any special knowledge about the scandal and even denied it on an episode of Larry King's television show. The unnamed source told Fitzgerald that he revealed Plame to Woodward, on November 3. Woodward alleges that he kept this information secret, despite several media appearances in which he commented on the case, because he did not want to get a subpoena. He was forced to publicly apologize to the Washington Post, and the paper's editor and readers for his concealment of information. [2] Woodward has increasingly been criticized for becoming an administration insider in a White House scandal, in seemingly marked difference to his role in Watergate. He has publicly been at odds with former partner Carl Bernstein over the Bush administration.

ILM Convention Center - What the Star News did not Tell US

Old Plan

Overlooking the scenic Cape Fear River, this 13-story, 172,390 SF Marriott property will contain 271 rooms, a swimming pool, exercise room and restaurant. A separate three-floor, 139,940 SF conference center will contain a mezzanine level, ballrooms, meeting space, break rooms and various open, public spaces. An adjacent, 4-level, 247,800 SF parking structure will contain 650 spaces.

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New Plan

The Star News Nov. 16, 2005 article on the convention center begins " Wilmington's downtown convention center and Marriott hotel complex will be successful facility, paid for without the use of property tax dollars, but will be "less than our dreams," the chairman of the Mayor's Convention Center Task force's facility design committee said Tuesday." The article states, " The city will pay for and own the convention center and parking deck through the 3 percent tax on hotel and motel stays in Wilmington."

The same guy, the chairman of the Mayor's Convention Center Task Force, who the newspaper quotes as saying "the convention center without the the use of property tax dollars" told me the 3 percent hotel occupancy tax is collecting $1.8 million dollars per year from the hotel 3 percent occupancy tax which is the City's source of funds for building the Convention Center. Hello. With current long term interest rates at around 6 percent annually, $1.8 million dollars per year will pay interest on a $30 million dollar loan. Using a current similar City long term loan as a guide, $ 1.8 million dollars per year and will only amortize a $22 million dollar loan.

The article states, "Architects and developers said they redesigned the facility over the past week and a half after cost estimates came in over the city's $50 million budget, ..." Well if an occupancy tax income stream of $1.8 million annually will only amortize a $22 million dollar loan, where is the City going to get the money to amortize the additional $28 million it must come up with to finance a $50 million convention center project? Why did Mr. Smith tell a lowly nobody like Randy Crow that the occupancy tax generates $1.8 annually? Certainly the Star News is not going to tell taxpayers something meaty like how much money the occupancy tax is generating? A run for City Council perk. City Council candidates were given a question and answer period with Mr. Smith and I jumped at the opportunity. As I am businessman who cannot tax to pay my bills, how much money is the City getting from the occupany tax seemed a first logical critical all important question. The rest of the money to pay the debt service on the $50 million the City is budgeting for the Convention Center may not come from property taxes, but it must come from a source other than the hotel 3 percent occupancy tax because the occupancy tax will not generate enough money to pay the debt service on $50 million dollar convention Center loan.

Three candidates took advantage of this one on one treat - a question and answer period with the chairman of the Mayor's Convention Center Task Force.

The Star News did not tell us the City's Convention Center's Development Agreement with Armada Hoffler is not on the Internet. The City gave me a copy of the Development Agreement because I asked them to do so when I was running for City Council. The Star News in this article did not tell us this Development Agreement is being revised by Raleigh lawyers as I write. Powers to be asking taxpayers to go along with a $90 million convention center project, yes that is what the old Development Agreement stated, $90 million bucks, every penny going in to Armada Hoffler's hot hands first. Armada Hoffler even gets the no compete construction contract to build their own infrastructure. Armada Hoffler makes a construction profit on the entire $90 million. Wilmington taxpayers not being able to read the Development Agreement on the Internet, is about as logical as asking a driver driver to Raleigh blind folded.

The Star News did tell us the City Council was going to vote on the final Development Agreement December 6, 2005. Glory be to Jesus, meaty information in the newspaper. Give them a thermometer, they must have bird flu? We, the taxpayers have 21 days to review a Development Agreement which the lawyers have not even completed. Now tell me one more time how well the taxpayer has been informed and asked to take a part in the convention center decision making process.

If one searches Armada Hoffler articles on the Internet, the biggest complaint against them, as I see it, is that Armada Hoffler is real slick in getting large construction contracts in which competition and taxpayers are given very little time and very little information to make very big decisions.

Fifty million to Armada Hoffler is about like a penny to you and me. As an aside, as the old Development Agreement was written, Armada Hoffler could sell their 90 year no cost lease on the convention center at any time. Believe me or don't, there are financial ways Armada Hoffler can make hundreds of millions of dollars off this long term lease. In the financial world a 90 year lease is basically no different than owning something free and clear. The Wilmington taxpayers may not realize the value of no debt service, but investors wanting to buy Armada Hoffler's lease on the Convention Center will. Ask your stockbroker if a $50 million 6% 30 year loan backed by a convention center and municipality has value?

In 21 days, if the City Council votes December 6 in favor of the final Development Agreement, provided there are no changes in the long term lease, Armada Hoffler will have just made hundreds of millions of dollars off construction contracts and a 90 year lease in a deal which is being touted as a puny cheap $50 million convention center paid for without the use of property tax dollars.

The Star News did not tell us the kitchen, as now designed, is not going to be on the same floor as the main ballroom. So if you your steak is raw the waiter must take an elevator downstairs to the kitchen to get it cooked a little more. Every bit of the food served must be taken up one floor by waiters to diners. This is not good and not a new problem. Multimillion dollar restaurant facilities have been torn down and rebuilt to get the kitchen on the same floor as where the food is to be served. Citizen input can help construction plans.

The Star News did quote architect and Task Force member Michael Moorefield criticism of the process and design of the convention center, hotel, and parking deck. "I think it is a bad example of urban design and a bad example of development on the river."

To my eye the convention center exhibit space reminds me of a field house and changing its elevation should add nothing to the construction cost. As one city council candidate in the last election mentioned to me, the developer knows the City wants a convention center too much.

This article may read as if I am against the convention center. This is not the case. The taxpayer is not being told important facts about the Convention Center. The taxpayer is not being told where all the money for the Convention Center is coming because the occupancy tax will not cover all the costs. The Development Agreement should be put on the Internet. Citizens should be allowed to give input and ask questions. "Let us know, go to www.StarNewsOnline.com, click on this story and comment in the forum." is not citizen input.