The New York Sun obtains a key and secret court document. The PDF is here. Libby claimed to the court that Bush himself authorized the leak of portions of the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq to Judith Miller (of course, only the portions that tended to show Iraq was a threat, not those that indicated there were likely no WMD). Libby is using this as part of his defense, in other words, he is hinting that perhaps Bush authorized the leaking of the CIA agent’s name as well. This is major news and Scottie McClellan will have to come out of his cuckoo clock to explain it.
Update: The National Journal (as usual) has a much better story on this with more detail and facts:
Although not reflected in the court papers, two senior government officials said in interviews with National Journal in recent days that Libby has also asserted that Cheney authorized him to leak classified information to a number of journalists during the run-up to war with Iraq. In some instances, the information leaked was directly discussed with the Vice President, while in other instances Libby believed he had broad authority to release information that would make the case to go to war.
In yet another instance, Libby had claimed that President Bush authorized Libby to speak to and provide classified information to Washington Post assistant managing editor Bob Woodward for “Plan of Attack,” a book written by Woodward about the run-up to the Iraqi war.
Bush and Cheney authorized the release of the information regarding the NIE in the summer of 2003, according to court documents, as part of a damage-control effort undertaken only days after former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV alleged in an op-ed in The New York Times that claims by Bush that Saddam Hussein had attempted to procure uranium from the African nation of Niger were most likely a hoax.
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