Simon Dodge

by emptywheel

Imagine you're Condi. The guy whom you stuck a shiv in has been wandering around the talk show circuit for the past week, insisting you're responsible for the 16 words that made it into the SOTU. Next Thursday, he's going to go before the House Government Reform Committee and repeat the same story under oath.

If you're Condi, you think maybe you can ride it out, just do the Sunday shows and try to refute George Tenet by lying, not under oath (most Americans, Rove has told you, can't distinguish between sworn testimony and Tim Russert). Just keep repeating your lies over and over again, and maybe you can save your husband Bush's ass from having to admit that he trumped up a war on a set of forgeries.

But then Waxman decides to call the guy who debunked the documents right when they came into State, Simon Dodge. Dodge, of course, realized that the forgeries had a funky seal. He implied, in fact, that the person who made the forgeries used the funky seal to make it look more authentic.

FWIW, Dodge is not going to make Condi look like a complete liar, as Tenet would if he had even an ounce of credibility left. It is conceivable that Dodge's warnings never made it beyond his immediate email list, at least not before January 2003. But Dodge is going to get right to the core of the hoax, to the way WINPAC served as a filter for any efforts to debunk the forgeries--or any other crappy intelligence claims. And once we get into that scheme, we could blow the whole lid off this thing.

Come to think of it, we might see both Condi and Tenet completely discredited next week.

Update: Well, I guess Dodge will make Condi look like an idiot. Why else would State be preventing him from testifying (unless it's a Bolton recidivist, which is a distinct possibility). [Damn the wifi gods! I've got free wifi, but with no ability to open Waxman's PDF!! Someone help! Send the text!!]

Well, whatever it is, Dodge is the single person I've been most interested in hearing from publicly. Which is enough reason for Condi to obstruct justice by impeding his testimony.

Update: The wifi gods do love me, they do!! I finally got into the PDF. I'm even more excited now, given the list of documents they're looking for:

• The memo to the NSC telling Hadley et al not to use the Niger claim (one thing this will show is that Hadley really misrepresented the content of the memo at his July 22, 2003 press briefing).
• The January 24 excerpt of the NIE. Eureka!!! This one may well show that Hadley, Libby, and Bob Joseph, after having been told that Alan Foley wouldn't approve their claims, had faxed over so they had CYA to include the 16 words in the SOTU. This could be very very interesting.
• Anything from State to EOP about the Niger claim. This might be very interesting, particularly any discussion as to why Colin Powell would not, under any circumstances, voice the Niger claim. It would likely explain why,just a week or so after the SOTU, Powell did not use the Niger claim.
• Simon Dodge emails. Me, I'll take any and all evidence relating to Simon Dodge. Damn--anyone want to send me to DC next week?
• Any backup to the SOTU and Condi's op-ed repeating the Niger claim.
• "The September 2003 joint report of the Department of State and CIA Inspectors General
  on the Alleged Iraqi Attempts to Procure Uranium from Niger." This will be very very interesting. It's a document that admits a lot of what we've been looking for (including some stuff about the Italian scam, I think). Let me put it this way: this is the one review of the 16 words that has never been released publicly. That, by itself should recommend it.

Next week is gonna be fun. Waxman is not fucking around.

Comments

[yam]

Heck maybe we can even name the trick of blowing off subpoenas by showing up on Sunday Talking Head shows as the "Simon dodge," as in:

Condi is unwilling to face Waxman and her appearances on Sunday are an attempt to sway public opinion by using the Simon dodge.

[Ken Muldrew]

I'm working with an old copy of Acrobat, so things look a little funky; nevertheless, it seems to be mostly OK.

Dear Madam Secretary:
I am writing to urge you to instruct your staff, particularly officials in your legislative
affairs office, not to impede the Committee's investigation into why President Bush and other
senior Administration off,rcials, including yourself, cited forged evidence in building a case for
war against lraq. I am also writing to notiff you of a deposition of a State Department offlrcial
and to request documents relevant to the Committee's investigation.

On Wednesday, Committee staff contacted Simon Dodge, a nuclear weapons analyst at
the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, to ask whether he would be willing
to meet to discuss the warnings he raised in January 2003 about the fabricated evidence that Iraq
sought uranium from Niger. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee report, Mr. Dodge
wrote to members of the Intelligence Community on January 13,2003 -
two weeks before the President's State of the Union address - that the Niger claim was "probably a hoax" and
"clearly a forgery."l Mr. Dodge indicated that he was willing to cooperate fully with the
Committee's efforts.

Yesterday, however, a member of your legislative office informed Committee staff that
you were prohibiting Mr. Dodge from meeting with Committee investigators. This official
claimed that allowing Mr. Dodge to speak with Committee staff would be o'inappropriate"
because the Committee voted to issue a subpoena to compel your attendance at a hearing on your
knowledge of the fabricated evidence.

I assume that your legislative staff was acting without your authorization in this matter.
It would be a matter of sreat concern - as well as an obvious conflict of interest - if vou had
I Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Report on the U.S, Intelligence Community's
Prewar Intelligence Assessments on lraq (July 7,2004).

The Honorable Condoleezza Rjce
May 4,2007
Page2

directed your staff to impede a congressional investigation into matter that may implicate your
conduct as National Security Advisor.

Mr. Dodge issued a timely and unmistakable warning that the uranium evidence the
President cited in his State of the Union address - and that you subsequently used in a New
York Times op-ed fabricated. Yet neither the Senate report nor any other public report
has addressed whether you and other officials in the White House were aware of, or should have
been aware of Mr. Dodge's assessment. This is relevant and appropriate information for the
Committee to obtain.

To ensure that the Committee obtains the information it seeks without further delay, I am
advising you that the Committee has sent a letter to Mr. Dodge notifying him that he must appear
for a deposition on May 9, 2007. I trust you will cooperate in this matter and instruct your staff
to cease further interference with the Committee's inquiry.
I am also writing to request documents relevant to the Committee's inquiry. I previously
requested some of these documents from you in a letter on July 29,2003, but you failed to
provide them. I renewed my request for these documents in a letter on March 12,2007,but
again you failed to provide them.

Specifically, the Committee requests that you provide all documents in your possession
or control, or the possession or control of the State Department, whether classified or
unclassified, relating to the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Africa. These documents
should include:

All documents and communications between the CIA and the Executive Offrce of the
President, including the National Security Council, the Office of the Vice President, and
the White House Iraq Group (collectively, "EOP"), relating to the claim that Iraq sought
uranium from Africa, including two memos sent to you or your deputy, Stephen Hadley,
on October 5 and 6,2002;
All documents and communications between the National Intelligence Council and the
EOP or the State Department relating to the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Africa,
including a National Intelligence Council communication reportedly sent in January
2003;

All documents and communications between the State Department and the EOP relating
to the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Africa;
All communications between State Department official Simon Dodge and Intelligence
Community officials relating to the claim that Iraq sought uranium in Africa, including e-mails
sent in January 2003;
l. All documents and communications between the CIA and the Executive Offrce of the
President, including the National Security Council, the Office of the Vice President, and
the White House Iraq Group (collectively, "EOP"), relating to the claim that Iraq sought
uranium from Africa, including two memos sent to you or your deputy, Stephen Hadley,
on October 5 and 6,2002;
2. All documents and communications between the National Intelligence Council and the
EOP or the State Department relating to the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Africa,
including a National Intelligence Council communication reportedly sent in January
2003;
3. All documents and communications between the State Department and the EOP relating
to the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Africa;
4. All communications between State Department official Simon Dodge and Intelligence
Community officials relating to the claim that Iraq sought uranium in Africa, including e-mails
sent in January 2003;

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
I|l4;ay 4,2007
Page 3
5. All documents and communications relating to the portion of the President's 2003 State
of the Union Address that stated that "Saddam Hussein recently sought significant
quantities of uranium from Africa";
6. All documents or communications relating to the portion of your January 23,2003, op-ed
in the New York Times entitled "Why We Know Iraq is Lying" that concerned the issue
of Iraq seeking uranium in Africa; and
7 . The September 2003 joint report of the Department of State and CIA Inspectors General
on the Alleged Iraqi Attempts to Procure Uranium from Niger.

I ask that you provide these documents to the Committee by Friday, May 11, 2007. You
should provide all responsive documents in your possession or control, or within the possession
or control of the State Department, regardless of whether other offices or agencies may have
generated original versions of these documents. I am also sending similar document requests to
the White House and other agencies.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight
committee in the House of Representatives and has broad oversight jurisdiction as set forth in
House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional information on how to respond to
the Committee's request.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact me or David Rapallo or
Theodore Chuang with the Committee staff at (202)225-5420.
Sincerely,

[mk]

so do you have a paypal account for contributions?
Seriously, I'd love to have you in Washington to comment on this.
Your analysis has made my week more times than not -- along with the commentary by Jeff and others.

[freepatriot]

looks like Waxman is going to execute the "Phase Two" investigatioon that repuglican senator roberts never got around to starting.

any word on what Senator Rockerfeller thinks about this ???

does this seem strange ???

Waxman = Govt Affairs

so where's the Senate Intel Committee investigation ???

[kaleidescope]

I agree with MK. If you're serious about us sending you to Washington, let us know how we can help.

[John Forde]

Wheeee!
It's like a thrill ride!

[orionATL]

it's time for eripsote to put on his mask and cape and join you in the final assault on the aes/simsi forgeries.

i'm dying to know how it all unfolded, but when i know that, i will, alas, also know that one of the great modern political mystery stories will be at an end.

sweet sorrow.

[randiego]

re: sending EW to DC - I feel an FDL post coming on!!

[*xyz]

Randiego - sounds like a great idea!

Has everyone seen this?

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a2E0Xyb65axc

Three hours before Goodling visited his fourth-floor office, Margolis told House and Senate investigators that Sampson dropped by to say he had information Margolis needed to know, one congressional aide said.

Margolis recounted that Sampson read his e-mail exchanges with White House aides that showed the decisions on firing the prosecutors were closely coordinated with members of the president’s staff, the aide said.

[oddball]

EW goes to Washington.

I'm In!

[randiego]

Speaking of Monica - where is she? I'm picturing her in rural Virginia in a quasi-religious witness protection program - sort of like 'Witness', only no Amish folk.

[oddball]

A little OT but.....

A moment in our thoughts those at Kent State 37 yrs ago.

I wonder about the other day, if the Riot police had real bullets in LA, how many peaceful protesters would have been laying in the streets.

[freepatriot]

yo, ew, if you need a ride to DC, I'm sure tokyo jodi could loan you her rocket rollerskates

or an acme rocket

[AZ Matt]

From Bloomberg's:
Goodling Shed Tears Before Revelations About Firings (Update1)

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a2E0Xyb65axc

By James Rowley

May 4 (Bloomberg) -- A former U.S. Justice Department official and central figure in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys tearfully told a colleague two months ago her government career probably was over as the matter was about to erupt into a political storm, according to closed-door congressional testimony.

Monica Goodling, at the time an aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, sobbed for 45 minutes in the office of career Justice Department official David Margolis on March 8 as she related her fears that she would have to quit, according to congressional aides briefed on Margolis's private testimony to House and Senate investigators. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity.

Margolis's description of the emotional scene in his office sheds new light on divisions that were developing in the Justice Department's Washington headquarters as the Democratic-controlled Congress was demanding documents that might show White House involvement in the dismissals.

...

[mk]

from the same bloomberg story:
"The House Judiciary Committee has voted to compel her testimony by granting limited immunity from prosecution. Goodling may have signaled in a letter yesterday -- sent by her lawyers to the Justice Department -- that she is eager to tell Congress her side of the story.

The letter noted that the Justice Department, which is conducting its own inquiry into whether Goodling improperly considered the political affiliation of applicants to be prosecutors, is powerless to block the congressional grant of immunity. "

from bloomberg's mouth to God's ear -- I would like to hear Monica sing, preferably with Sheldon Whitehouse asking the questions.

[phred]

EW, just sent you an email to offer to help pay for your trip to DC. Alas, the yahoo account that I reached from your "Email me" link appears to be no longer active. So, along with several other folks here I too would be happy to chip in to get you to DC if you really want to go...

[AZ Matt]

It looks like David Margolis has ratted her out. I hope she feels the need to ratout some rats too. Or maybe she likes having bus wheels roll over her.

[freepatriot]

did we make poor widdle monica goodling cry ???

GOOD

if losing your job hurt, imagine how losing your law license and the right to vote are gonna feel

I'm not an overly sympathetic type of bleeding heart liberal, think they'll kick me out of the club ???

[ab initio]

*xyz

Thanks for the Bloomberg link.

Looks like the Congressional investigators know a lot more than we think. Its probably only a matter of time and a few good souls that the investigators will have actual evidence and testimony that confirms what we all believe that the WH political guys were the ones behind the firings of the USAs to obstruct and slow boat the investigations into the Repub corruption machine and subsequently managed the apparent coverup and obstruction of the investigation by Congress.

There's probably a good reason why Goodling has not yet received her immunity. Being in the DoJ many of them probably understand well the legal implications. I wonder if Congress themselves can bring charges or does it have to be the DoJ? If its the latter I'm sure there will be louder and louder calls for a special prosecutor with plenary powers.

With 3 carrier groups in the Persian Gulf shortly I wonder if the Commander Guy will order air and missile attacks against Iran? He needs to change the tune in DC!

[freepatriot]

ab inito:

out of the frying pan and into the fire

from zero to impeachment in 24 hours

can anybody think of anything else that happened in the week of March 8th ???

[pow wow]

Want to alert those interested to this (from a commenter at TPM):

On the subject of the niger forgeries. Tonight on PBS:

Bill Moyer's Journal "Forged Intelligence Documents"
Airdate: Friday, May 4, 2007 at 9:00 p.m. EDT on PBS.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050307U.shtml
(Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/moyers.)

"Italy's foremost investigative reporter, Carlo Bonini, takes viewers on the trail of forged intelligence documents that the Bush administration used to help make a case for war."

This ought to be really good.
Posted by: B W
Date: May 4, 2007 01:53 PM

[texas dem]

There may be nothing anywhere on the whole internets that I'd rather see than this statement

Next week is gonna be fun. Waxman is not fucking around.

written by emptywheel.

Headlines that begin "FBI raids offices of..." have been pretty good lately, and hell, even "House passes..." have been consistently gratifying. But "Waxman is not fucking around" is one of the happiest sentences on the internet today, no doubt.

[freepatriot]

anybody seen the Michael Isikoff article at truthout about kkkarl and kkkompany

Deputy chief of staff Karl Rove participated in a hastily called meeting at the White House two months ago. The subject: The firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. The purpose: to coach a top Justice Department official heading to Capitol Hill to testify on the prosecutorial purge on what he should say.

snip ...

The problem, according to the Democratic aide, is that Rove and Kelley never told Moscella about the White House’s own role in pushing to have some U.S. attorneys fired in the first place. Moscella followed the coaching by Rove and others—and made no mention of White House involvement in the firings during his March 6, 2007 testimony to House Judiciary. “They let Moscella come up here without telling him the full story,” said the Democratic staffer.

Moscella at one point even appeared to specifically deny that Rove pushed to have one of his former aides, Timothy Griffin, installed at a top job at Justice. “I don’t know that he played any role,” Moscella said when asked by one committee member what Rove played in recommending Griffin to Justice.

how is that NOT obstruction of Congress ???

there's a LOT of happy stuff on the innertoobz today

truthout also has the third ranking house repuglican (Putnam) calling for abu gonzo to resign

the lid is officially OFF of this can of worms

one constitutional shitstorm coming up ...

[Mimikatz]

Marcy: Go to DC. Kaleidoscope--I hope you are serious. We can cover it.

[Gini]

I too have looked for a PayPal button on this site. Please let us contribute to your excellent, democracy-saving citizen investigative journalism! Please.