Ex-deputy secretary of state new figure in CIA leak probe

Well, well, we reported that this might be the case before Libby was indicted.

Here's why:

Armitage was responsible for rushing State Department files to Colin Powell on the Sunday that Wilson's oped appeared in the Newspaper. Powell took the file, which was marked secret onto the plane with the presidential entourage for a trip to Africa. The State Department file apparently pointed out that the Niger, Uranium, Saddam cennecton was a bunch of hoowee.

While in Africa, Ari Fleischer was given the task of announcing to the press that the now infamous 16 words did not rise to a level of certainty, where they should have been included in the SOTU.

Meanwhile, back at the White House, Rove and Cheney set about getting Tenet to take the fall, which he sort of did, but Hadley was the final scapegoat for the 16 words.

By the following Sunday, Condi was on all the talk shows defending the whole sordid mess, as usual.

It always made sense to us that Armitage knew plenty and that he would be a key witness, if he was not involved in the outing of Valerie Wilson or in the cover-up that ensued, which we did not believe that he he was.

If anyone at State was involved, it would be the Bolton cadre of jackasses

New York Daily News - World & National Report - Ex-deputy secretary of state new figure in CIA leak probe:

"Armitage's testimony could hurt Vice President Cheney's indicted former chief aide Lewis (Scooter) Libby, or President Bush's political guru, Karl Rove.

Two sources familiar with the case said Armitage, Rove and Libby all had contacts with the press about Plame. Unlike Rove and Libby, Armitage appears to have tried to dissuade reporters from writing about her.

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald recently had to sneak Armitage into a Washington courthouse to get past reporters - a sign of his value in the case, according to one source.
'Rich has been cooperating with Fitzgerald since day one,' said another source, who has close ties to Armitage. 'He was one of the first people to offer his testimony.'"