February 12, 2004

Another Whitewash?

Remember when everyone was up in arms that the appointment of the DOJ to investigate l'affaire Plame constituted a full-blown whitewash? (with the so hated John Ashcroft pilloried, ahead of the investigation, as an Administration stooge who wouldn't, you know, really dig into the whole affair).

Well, maybe not:

"But the investigation into who at the White House leaked the name of an undercover C.I.A. officer has become much more intense in the last few weeks. Some administration officials have been summoned for confrontational interviews. Current and former members of the White House's communications and foreign policy teams have hired lawyers. At least a handful of White House aides have had to appear before a federal grand jury.

Some officials now find themselves in a bind borne of the potentially huge political stakes of the case. Since the investigation began in September, President Bush has said repeatedly that he wants to get to the bottom of the matter and that he has directed everyone on his staff to cooperate fully. Some lawyers involved in the case said White House officials were now trapped between that direction from the president and legal advice that they aggressively assert their own rights." [emphasis added]

Note the bolded language too. Recall that Bush was accused of trying to whitewash the Plame investigation too.

Instead, his aides are conflicted between his directive that staff cooperate fully and their counsel's advice. And you're reading that in the NYT--not Washington Times.

Methinks he isn't Dick Nixon.