Plame Resources & Timeline

[Latest update: January 25, 2007] Welcome to my CIA leak timeline and resources page--an ongoing abandoned project (Jan. 25, 2007: go read liveblogging of the Libby trial at firedoglake--it's your best bet at this point in the story.) For years, I've been collecting links and dots about this story for personal consumption. Time to share.

There are two, parallel flows in the timeline: "raw data" with supporting links, and narrative text in boxes. The hope is that these two levels of timeline will make the thing useful not only to serious Plameologists, but also to interested amateurs. For your cross-linking pleasure, I have added a little asterisk at the end of every timeline entry that links directly to said entry. To use these links, click the asterisk and copy the url.

Eventually, I will add a formal section for credits and thanks. For now, big thanks to wg and Kid Oakland for advice in the early stages of development, and to Pollyusa for tips provided in the comments.

Table of Contents:

Background and link collections
Other Timelines
Legal documents and government reports
News and weblog archives
Weblog commentary and review papers
None of the above

TIMELINE -- RUN-UP TO THE WAR ON THE WILSONS (2002)
TIMELINE -- MAJOR COMBAT OPERATIONS (MAY 2003)
TIMELINE -- MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (LATE JULY 2003)
TIMELINE -- ASHCROFT INVESTIGATION + COVER-UP (LATE SEPT. 2003)
TIMELINE -- FITZGERALD INVESTIGATION (DECEMBER 2003)
TIMELINE -- LIBBY INDICTED (OCTOBER 2005)

Comments

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Background and link collections

Perrspectives CIA Leak/Valerie Plame Outing Scandal
Wikipedia: Plame affair article
Parks Department links
23 Administration Officials Involved in Plame Leak

Other Timelines

Wikipedia: Plame affair timeline
dKosopedia: Plame Leak timeline
NYT Leak Timeline
WaPo Libby Timeline
Maguire Timeline
Arianna's Russert Timeline
Firedoglake Rove Timeline
eriposte Timeline: CIA on "uranium from Africa"
Juan Cole's Illustrated Timeline
TPM Niger Uranium Timeline
ePluribus Media Plame Timeline
Cooperative Research Africa-Uranium Allegation Timeline
NPR CIA Leak Case Timeline
DNC CIA Leak Timeline

Legal documents and government reports

(Any page numbers in the timeline are the ones printed on the PDFs linked here.)
Office of the Special Counsel: Legal Proceedings (various documents)
FindLaw Special Coverage: Iraq Aftermath (various documents)
SSCI Report html PDF (July 7, 2004)
Robb-Silberman report html PDF (March 31, 2005)
The Decision to go to War in Iraq (House of Commons, July 7, 2003)
Butler Report PDF (July 14, 2004)
Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (National Security Archive)

News and weblog archives

emptywheel posts at The Next Hurrah
TalkLeft Valerie Plame Leak Archives
Firedoglake CIA Leak Case Category
Needlenose Plamemania Category
Waas National Journal Archive :: Waas Weblog
TIME Archive
WaPo background and article archive
NYT key documents and articles

Weblog commentary and review papers

- Anatomy of the WH's Smear Defense emptywheel, July 18, 2005
- Anatomy of a White House Smear, Redux emptywheel, October 6, 2005
--> Anatomy of a White House Smear, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 emptywheel, May-June 2006
- Scooter Agonistes Jane Hamsher, October 31, 2005
- Uranium from Africa and Valerie Plame expose eriposte, an ongoing effort
- Uranium from Africa and the Senate (SSCI) Report eriposte, a multi-part series.
- For a close reading of all things Judith Miller, see emptywheel's "Reading Judy" series parts one, two, and three. More: Scooter Libby Reads the News, from after Libby's "consolidated response to motions...."
- For expert discussion of the "1x2x6" leak dissemination theory, see the links Swopa provides in the comment to this Needlenose post.

None of the above

Excerpt from Joseph Wilson's book, The Politics of Truth
Scooter Libby's website: Libby Legal Defense Trust
TPM Grand Ole Docket (Libby)

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Timeline

2002

Jan. 1, 2002 (Tuesday) *

As far as Fitzgerald is concerned, Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer from this date through July 2003 and her association with the CIA was classified. She worked in the CIA's Directorate of Operations Counterproliferation Division (CPD) according to the SSCI report (pg. 39).

February 2002 *

The CIA decides to send Joseph Wilson to Niger to investigate the uranium issue. The only reason anyone cares about Niger and uranium in the first place is because of the forged documents and/or foreign intelligence reports that are only supported by the forged documents. "Sismi [Italian intelligence service] had reported to the CIA on October 15, 2001, that Iraq had sought yellowcake in Niger, a report it also plied on British intelligence, creating an echo that the Niger forgeries themselves purported to amplify before they were exposed as a hoax."

Meanwhile, plans for an Iraq war have been simmering for months. Bush declared Iraq a member of the "Axis of Evil" in his Jan. 28, 2002 state of the union address. He has authorized a covert CIA program to get rid of Saddam. Military planning for an Iraq war has been ongoing since Nov. 2001.

Feb. 12, 2002 (Tuesday) *

This is approximately the time that the CIA first considered sending Joe Wilson to investigate the Niger-uranium deal. The SSCI report says, "Some CPD officials could not recall how the office decided to contact [Joe Wilson], however, interviews and documents provided to the Committee indicate that his wife, a CPD employee, suggested his name for the trip. The CPD reports officer told Committee staff that [Valerie Wilson] 'offered up his name' and a memorandum to the Deputy Chief of the CPD on February 12, 2002, [Valerie Wilson] says, 'my husband has good relations [with various relevant people in Niger]'" (SSCI 39).

"Cheney received an expanded version of the unconfirmed Italian report. It said Iraq's then-ambassador to the Vatican had led a mission to Niger in 1999 and sealed a deal for the purchase of 500 tons of uranium in July 2000. Cheney asked for more information."

Feb. 16, 2002 (Saturday) *

"Bush signed an intelligence finding that directed the CIA to help the military overthrow Hussein and conduct operations within Iraq."

Feb. 19, 2002 (Tuesday) *

"CPD hosted a meeting with the former ambassador, intelligence analysts from both the CIA and INR, and several individuals from the DO's Africa and CPD divisions. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the merits of the former ambassador traveling to Niger. An INR analyst's notes indicate that the meeting was 'apparently convened by [the former ambassador's] wife who had the idea to dispatch [him] to use his contacts to sort out the Iraq-Niger uranium issue.' The former ambassador's wife told Committee staff that she only attended the meeting to introduce her husband and left after about three minutes" (SSCI Report 40).

The INR analyst's notes from the meeting actually say, "Meeting apparently convened by Valerie Wilson, a CIA WMD managerial type and the wife of Amb. Joe Wilson, with the idea that the agency and the larger USG [U.S. government] could dispatch Joe to Niger to use his contacts there to sort out the Niger/Iraq uranium sale question."

Nobody showed Wilson the forged documents or disclosed any sources of information at this meeting, but the participants did discuss, "intelligence reports from REDACTED intelligence regarding an alleged Iraq-Niger uranium deal" (SSCI Report 45)."

Feb. 26, 2002 (Tuesday) *

Wilson arrives in Niger (SSCI Report 42).

March 2002 *

Cheney has his heart set on war with Iraq. Ever since WINPAC stovepiped him the Sismi intelligence report on Iraq-Niger uranium, he's been asking about it. "In early March 2002, [Cheney] asked his morning briefer for an update on the Niger uranium issue" (SSCI Report 43). An update. This is a "high priority." Meanwhile, Wilson is in Niger investigating the claim, and INR analysts (Thielmann) are finishing their assessment of it for Cheney's office: sale unlikely.

On the broader scene, the March 2002 Downing Street Memos make it clear that the Bush administration has been talking war with Iraq--naively and impatiently--for awhile already. The British are concerned about things like "practical difficulties," "political risks," "legal background," "the morning after," etc. Cheney visits the Middle East this month. Bush and Blair will meet in Crawford in early April 2002.

March 1, 2002 (Friday) *

"INR published an intelligence assessment, Niger: Sale of Uranium to Iraq Is Unlikely. The INR analyst who drafted the assessment told Committee staff that he had been told that the piece was in response to interest from the Vice President's office in the alleged Iraq-Niger uranium deal" (SSCI Report 42).

March 4, 2002 (Monday) *

Wilson returns from Niger (SSCI Report 43).

March 5, 2002 (Tuesday) *

In response [to Cheney's early March request -&y], WINPAC analysts sent an analytic update to the briefer which noted that the government of Niger said it was making all efforts to ensure that its uranium would be used for only peaceful purposes. The update said the foreign government service that provided the original report "was unable to provide new information, but continues to assess that its source is reliable." The update also noted that the CIA would "be debriefing a source who may have information related to the alleged sale on March 5."

Later that day, two CIA DO officers debriefed the former ambassador.... The debriefing took place in the former ambassador's home and although his wife was there, according to the reports officer, she acted as a hostess and did not participate in the debrief. Based on information provided verbally by the former ambassador, the DO case officer wrote a draft intelligence report and sent it to the DO reports officer who added additional relevant information from his notes (SSCI Report 43).

March 8, 2002 (Friday) *

"The intelligence report based on the former ambassador's trip was disseminated.... The report did not identify the former ambassador by name or as a former ambassador.... DO officials also said they alerted WINPAC analysts when the report was being disseminated because they knew the 'high priority of the issue.' The report was widely distributed in routine channels" (SSCI Report 43).

The British Overseas and Defence Secretariat Cabinet Office writes in its Iraq Options paper (text, PDF of transcript): "10 The US has lost confidence in containment. Some in government want Saddam removed. The success of Operation Enduring Freedom, distrust of UN sanctions and inspection regimes, and unfinished business from 1991 are all factors. Washington believes the legal basis for an attack on Iraq already exists. Nor will it necessarily be governed by wider political factors. The US may be willing to work with a much smaller coalition than we think desirable."

March 14, 2002 (Thursday) *

UK Foreign Policy Advisor David Manning writes a memo (text, PDF of transcript) to Tony Blair in advance of his April meeting with Bush in Crawford, "Condi's enthusiasm for regime change is undimmed. But there were some signs, since we last spoke, of greater awareness of the practical difficulties and political risks."

Spring 2002 *

Wilson's trip is complete and his report has made its rounds. He considers it "highly doubtful" that Iraq ever bought uranium from Niger. This is enough for Cheney. On March 24, he tells Tim Russert, "there's good reason to believe that [Saddam] continues to aggressively pursue the development of a nuclear weapon." With Wolf Blitzer later that day, Cheney is blunter: "[Saddam] is actively pursuing nuclear weapons."

At some point this spring, Rocco Martino tries to sell the forged Niger documents to the CIA station chief in Rome. "The station chief, 'saw they were fakes and threw [Martino] out'" (WaPo). Eventually, Martino will pass/sell the documents to the French, the British, and probably the Italians. The U.S. will not have copies of the documents until Oct., 2002.

Bush and Blair meet at Crawford in April. "I have made up my mind that Saddam needs to go," Bush reportedly says at this time. In his Q&A with reporters at The Ranch, Bush puts it like this, "Maybe I should be a little less direct and be a little more nuanced, and say we support regime change."

Planning for the war becomes more intense this spring. "Every three or four weeks, Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander of U.S. Central Command, would travel to the White House to give Bush a private briefing on the war planning for Iraq." (See also Woodward's tales in Plan of Attack.) By the time the "main" Downing Street Memo is written in July, Rumsfeld has already begun "spikes of activity" to pressure Iraq. That same memo notes that Saddam's WMD capability is limited.

June 1, 2002 (Saturday) *

Bush announces his new first-strike policy of "preemption" in a speech at West Point, "[O]ur security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives."

July 2002 *

The CIA commences covert action in Iraq.

July 23, 2002 (Tuesday) *

Downing Street Memo says, "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Sept. 9, 2002 (Monday) *

Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley meets with Nicolo Pollari, the chief of Italy's Sismi intelligence service.

Sept. 12, 2002 (Thursday) *

Bush addresses the U.N. General Assembly, "We must choose between a world of fear and a world of progress. We cannot stand by and do nothing while dangers gather."

Sept. 9-17, 2002 *

Senators Durbin (D-IL), Graham (D-FL), Feinstein (D-CA), and Levin (D-MI) request a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq.

Sept. 24, 2002 (Tuesday) *

"[T]he British government published a White Paper on Iraq's WMD stating, 'there is intelligence that Iraq has sought the supply of significant quantities of uranium from Africa'" (SSCI Report 50).

October 2002 *

With a midterm election around the corner, the fixing of intelligence and facts goes into overdrive. The Bush administration releases a document (PDF) to help build public support for war. It is based on the recently completed, classified NIE on Iraq (heavily redacted PDF; declassified PDF of its "Key Judgements"). Although the classified NIE includes dissenting views from members of the intelligence community on several points concerning Iraq's WMD programs, these views are not mentioned in the public document.

The sales pitch has the intended effect. Congress approves the "Authorization to Use Military Force against Iraq Resolution" and Bush makes it Public Law 107-243 on October 16. Many in Congress state that they support the Resolution because it will strengthen Bush's hand at the United Nations.

Meanwhile, the already-debunked Niger uranium story comes back to life when the U.S. government obtains copies of the forged documents. An "INR nuclear analyst" suspects the documents are fake immediately. Matters are considerably more complicated over at the CIA, but analysts--particularly those with WINPAC--continue to push Iraq-Niger story.

Oct. 9, 2002 (Wednesday) *

The Italian journalist turns over copies of the forged Niger documents to the U.S. Embassy in Rome (SSCI Report 57).

Oct. 11, 2002 (Friday) *

"[T]he U.S. Embassy in Rome reported to State Department headquarters that it had acquired photocopies of documents on a purported uranium deal between Iraq and Niger from an Italian journalist" (SSCI Report 58).

Oct. 15, 2002 (Tuesday) *

"The [U.S. embassy in Rome] faxed the documents to the State Department's Bureau of Nonproliferation ... which passed a copy of the documents to INR.... Immediately after receiving the documents, the INR Iraq nuclear analyst e-mailed [intelligence community] colleagues.... The analyst, apparently already suspicious of the validity of the documents noted in his e-mail, 'you'll note that it bears a funky Emb. of Niger stamp (to make it look official, I guess).'" (SSCI Report 58).

Nov. 8, 2002 (Friday) *

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1441. The Resolution declares Iraq to be in "material breach" of past obligations to the U.N., orders the resumption of weapons inspections, and "Recalls ... that the Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations."

Bush says, "The outcome of the current crisis is already determined: the full disarmament of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq will occur. The only question for the Iraqi regime is to decide how."

2003

January 2003 *

At the Pentagon's request, the National Intelligence Council's officer for Africa issues a memo saying "The Niger story [is] baseless and should be laid to rest."

Jan. 11, 2003 (Saturday) *

"Cheney and Rumsfeld call [Saudi Prince] Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan.... They describe in detail the war plan for Bandar."

Jan. 12, 2003 (Sunday) *

"INR, 'expressed concerns to the CIA that the documents pertaining to the Iraq-Niger deal were forgeries'" (June 10, 2003 INR memo).

Jan. 13, 2003 (Monday) *

"[T]he INR Iraq nuclear analyst sent an e-mail to several IC analysts outlining his reasoning why, 'the uranium purchase agreement probably is a hoax'" (SSCI Report 62).

Jan. 16, 2003 (Thursday) *

"CIA received copies of the foreign language [Niger] documents.... Two CIA Iraq WINPAC analysts told Committee staff that after looking at the documents, they did notice some inconsistencies. One of the analysts told Committee staff, 'it was not immediately apparent, it was not jumping out at us that the documents were forgeries'" (SSCI Report 62).

Jan. 24, 2003 (Friday) *

Date of a mysterious classified document mentioned in Fitzgerald's "Response to Defendant's Third Motion to Compel Discovery" (PDF). The Response says, "officials were pressed to carry out a declassification" of this document along with the October 2002 NIE and the Wilson-trip report.

Jan. 27, 2003 (Monday) *

"[T]he DCI was provided with a hardcopy draft of the State of the Union address at an NSC meeting.... The DCI testified ... that he never read the State of the Union speech" (SSCI Report 64).

Jan. 28, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Bush gives the State of the Union address: "In a whirlwind of change and hope and peril, our faith is sure, our resolve is firm, and our union is ... uranium from Africa."

Earlier this day, U.N. chief nuclear weapons inspector Mohamed ElBaradei tells PBS NewsHour, "There were reports about Iraq importing uranium from Africa, again, we are going through that investigation, and we haven't seen any evidence, so overall we haven't seen any evidence of revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq, but ... we have not completed our job yet."

February - March 2003 *

U.N. weapons inspectors continue searching Iraq as required by Security Council Resolution 1441. Iraq is reluctantly cooperating with their efforts. Access to inspection sites--all unanounced--has generally been good. After initial tensions, private, untaped, "unminded" interviews with Iraqis have begun by early March.

Hans Blix briefs the Security Council on Feb. 14 and March 7. He states that Iraq possesses a number of missiles with a range exceeding that allowed by the U.N. and that destruction of these missiles is underway. He also notes the difficulty in verifying the quantity of chemical and biological agents that Iraq claims to have destroyed in 1991.

Mohamed ElBaradei also reports to the Security Council on Feb. 14 and March 7. He says, "After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons programme in Iraq." The aluminum tubes are for rockets, Iraq's high-strength magnets cannot be used in uranium-separation centrifuges, the Niger documents are "not authentic," and so on.

Meanwhile, Bush steps up his campaign to persuade the U.N. Security Council to authorize an attack on Iraq--to approve a "second resolution." The public face of the campaign is Colin Powell and his Feb. 5 presentation. Behind the scenes, Bush launches a "dirty tricks" campaign involving surveillance of U.N. delegations and "threats to economic and aid packages." Hans Blix suspects he is the target of surveillance and would later "[claim] US officials tried to undermine his inspection team." Such actions are reportedly "standard procedure" at the U.N.

Feb. 5, 2003 (Wednesday) *

Powell gives his presentation at the U.N. He does not mention uranium from Niger.

Feb. 12, 2003 (Wednesday) *

In a floor speech, Sen. Byrd (D-WV) says, "To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war. Yet, this Chamber is, for the most part, silent -- ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing."

Feb. 28, 2003 (Friday) *

Bill Moyers interviews J. Wilson on NOW. On Saddam Hussein, Wilson says, "His worldview is very limited. It is essentially what he sees from his palace and what his sycophants come and tell him."

March 8, 2003 (Saturday) *

Joe Wilson appears on CNN and speaks about the Niger forgeries, "I think it's safe to say that the U.S. government should have or did know that this report was a fake before Dr. ElBaradei mentioned it in his report at the U.N. yesterday."

According to Wilson, the Office of the Vice President began, "to take a close look at who I was and what my agenda might be," after this appearance.

March 16, 2003 (Sunday) *

After "a lot of phone talking," Bush, Blair, Aznar, and Barroso hold a summit in the Azores. The subject is Iraq. Bush issues an ultimatum: "Many nations have voiced a commitment to peace and security. And now they must demonstrate that commitment to peace and security in the only effective way, by supporting the immediate and unconditional disarmament of Saddam Hussein.... Tomorrow is the day that we will determine whether or not diplomacy can work.

March 17, 2003 (Monday) *

Fearing a veto, the US and UK abandon diplomacy and withdraw their planned (second) Security Council resolution. Bush says, "Today, no nation can possibly claim that Iraq has disarmed.... Yet, some permanent members of the Security Council have publicly announced they will veto any resolution that compels the disarmament of Iraq. These governments share our assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it."

Among other inspection-related program activities, "An UNMOVIC biological team inspected the Tikrit Dairy Factory approximately 140km north of Baghdad. This factory processes milk and derivatives." Later in the day, Kofi Annan says, "I have just informed the council that we will withdraw the UNMOVIC and atomic agency inspectors. We will withdraw the U.N. humanitarian workers."

Robin Cook resigns from Tony Blair's cabinet: "I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support."

March 19, 2003 (Wednesday) *

The invasion of Iraq begins. "Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."

March 25, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Executive order 13292 gives Cheney declassification authority.

May 2003 *

The Iraq war has been a "catastrophic success." May 1, 2003: "Mission accomplished." The search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that started during the invasion will eventually end in late 2004. Find html and PDF links to Duelfer's 1,000-page report on the findings of the Iraq Survey Group here. Long story short: Iraq did not have any WMDs in March 2003.

Soon after Mission Accomplished Day, a column about the "Mystery of the Missing W.M.D." appears in the NYT. It mentions both Cheney's request "for an investigation of the uranium deal" and "a former U.S. ambassador" who went to Niger to investigate that deal in the same sentence. Ouch. And on top of that, the column suggests, incorrectly, that the former ambassador had seen and debunked the forgeries themselves--rather than the information they contained. Double-ouch.

By the end of the month, Scooter Libby has asked around about the trip and learned the name of this ambassador. The war on Wilson has begun.

May 6, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Kristof column cites an unnamed former ambassador, "I'm told by a person involved in the Niger caper that more than a year ago the vice president's office asked for an investigation of the uranium deal, so a former U.S. ambassador to Africa was dispatched to Niger.... The envoy's debunking of the forgery was passed around the administration...."

Late May 2003 *

"Libby allegedly began acquiring information about a 2002 trip ... by Joseph Wilson."

May 29, 2003 (Thursday) *

"Libby asked an Undersecretary of State for information concerning the unnamed ambassador's travel to Niger." The Undersecretary--reported to be Grossman in the WaPo Timeline and elsewhere--gave Libby, "interim oral reports in late May and early June 2003, and advised Libby that Wilson was the former ambassador."

Libby may have initially requested information about the ambassador from then-Undersecretary of State John Bolton. According to attorneys (!!), the flow of information goes like this: Libby asks Bolton about the ambassador's trip; Fleitz, Bolton's chief of staff and an official with CIA-WINPAC, tells Bolton about Wilson and about Plame's identity; Bolton tells Libby aide Wurmser; Wurmser tells Hannah, another Libby aide. Presumably, Hannah tells Libby. Libby then requests further information about the Wilson trip--information he receives from another Undersecretary, David Grossman.

Early June 2003 *

Washington is abuzz with talk of the former ambassador mentioned Kristof's May 6 column. Libby now knows it is Wilson and is gathering information about both him and his trip. The State Department prepares an internal memo on the topic. WaPo reporter Walter Pincus also knows enough about the Niger trip to use Wilson as an unnamed source in a June 12 article. In a remarkable coincidence, on the same day this article is published, a source tells Pincus that Wilson's CIA wife set up the Niger "boondoggle" trip.

By mid-June, Libby knows from sources at the CIA and the State Department that Wilson's wife works at the CIA and was involved with organizing the Niger trip. Further, he learns from Cheney that she is with the CIA's Counterproliferation Division, part of the CIA's clandestine, Operations Directorate.

Over the the next month, Libby will discuss the Niger story with several reporters. Later, when answering questions from investigators and the grand jury about these conversations, Libby will claim that he did not know about Wilson's wife at the time--that he learned of her from the reporters and wasn't sure if what they were telling him was true. These alleged lies will be the basis of his Oct. 28, 2005 indictment for perjury, making false statements, and obstruction of justice.

June 9, 2003 (Monday) *

"[A] number of classified documents from the CIA were faxed to the [OVP] to the personal attention of Libby and another person in the [OVP]." The documents (bearing classification markings) did not mention Wilson by name, but discussed the trip. Libby and one or more person handwrote "Wilson" and "Joe Wilson" on the documents.

June 10, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Date on the original (June 10) Carl Ford INR memo to Undersecretary Grossman. This memo mentions both J. and V. Wilson by name. (See The Next Hurrah discussion of differences between the two copies--June 10 and July 7--of the memo).

June 11, 2003 (Wednesday) *

A senior officer of the CIA tells Libby "that Wilson's wife was employed by the CIA and was believed responsible for sending Wilson on the trip."

June 11 or 12, 2003 (Wednesday or Thursday) *

Grossman tells Libby that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA and that State Dept. personnel were saying Wilson's wife was involved in planning the trip (WaPo Timeline). "Libby was orally advised by the Undersecretary of State that Wilson's wife was involved in the organization of his trip."

June 12, 2003 (Thursday) *

"Libby was advised by [Cheney] that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA in the Counterproliferation Division." Libby understood the VP had learned this from the CIA. According to Libby, Cheney gave him this information, "in an off sort of curiosity sort of fashion."

Pincus writes about the Niger trip, "the CIA's decision to send an emissary to Niger was triggered by questions raised by an aide to Vice President Cheney during an agency briefing.... [Cheney] and his staff did not learn of its role in spurring the mission until [Kristof's column]." Wilson told the SSCI (Report pg. 45) that he was a source for this article. Before the aticle appeared, "Libby participated in discussions in the Vice President's office concerning how to respond to Pincus."

A source talking to Pincus, "veered off the precise matter we were discussing and told me that the White House had not paid attention to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's CIA-sponsored February 2002 trip to Niger because it was set up as a boondoggle by his wife, an analyst with the agency working on weapons of mass destruction."

June 14, 2003 (Saturday) *

Libby "expressed displeasure" to a CIA briefer, "that CIA officials were making comments to reporters critical of the Vice President’s office." According to the briefer's notes from the meeting, Libby mentioned Joe and Valerie Wilson by name.

Late June 2003 *

Libby's knowledge of "Wilson's wife" now includes both her name and her profession. After another article appears about the "sixteen words," Cheney's request for information, and the Niger trip, Libby instructs an eager aide not to share information about the trip with reporters because it might upset the CIA.

On the 23rd, Libby will mention Wilson's wife--and that she might work at the CIA--in his "first" interview with New York Times ace reporter Judith Miller. Curiously, Miller does not find her notes from this meeting until after she's given her first testimony to the grand jury.

Also, according to Bob Woodward, a "current or former Bush administration official" tells him in mid-June, "Wilson's wife worked for the CIA on weapons of mass destruction as a WMD analyst." This conversation almost certainly occurs before Woodward's June 20 interview with an administration official. Woodward claims that after he learns this information, he shares it with Pincus; although this is one of the stories Pincus is working on at the time, he doesn't remember Woodward saying anything about it. Read Woodward's gripping account of it all here.

June 19, 2003 (Thursday) *

New Republic article (PDF) questioning 16 words. "Shortly after publication of [this article], Libby spoke by telephone with his then Principal Deputy," who asked Libby, "whether information about Wilson's trip could be shared with the press." Libby said, "there would be complications at the CIA in disclosing that information.... [H]e could not discuss the matter on a non-secure telephone line."

June 20, 2003 (Friday) *

Woodward interviews an administration official; the questions he brings to the interview include, "on a single line the phrase 'Joe Wilson's wife.'"

June 23, 2003 (Monday) *

Libby meets with Judith Miller at the Old Executive Office Building. Her notes from this "first" Libby meeting turn up in a notebook she finds in her office just before her second grand jury appearance. "In discussing the CIA's handling of Wilson's trip to Niger, Libby informed her that Wilson's wife might work at a bureau of the CIA." Miller writes about this meeting here. Her NYT colleagues write about the Miller saga here. See also emptywheel's "Reading Judy" series parts one, two, and three at The Next Hurrah.

Woodward talks with Libby on the phone, "I testified that I have no recollection that Wilson or his wife was discussed, and I have no notes of the conversation."

June 27, 2003 (Friday) *

Woodward: "I met with Libby at 5:10 p.m. in his office.... I have four pages of typed notes from this interview, and I testified that there is no reference in them to Wilson or his wife."

Early July 2003 *

As if the smattering of recent articles citing the "former ambassador" haven't been enough, Wilson piles on now--publishing "What I Didn't Find in Africa" under his own name on the 6th. It's pretty clear this column pushes the Bush administration off the deep end. Events fly by quickly in the week following publication of the column.

On the 7th, Libby tells Ari Fleischer over lunch about Wilson's wife and her job in the Counterproliferation at the CIA. He instructs Ari not to share the information with anyone (TalkLeft analysis here). On the 8th, Libby and Miller have a second Plame-related meeting (the "breakfast meeting"); "Libby advise[s] Miller of his belief that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA." The two will speak twice by phone on the 12th.

Karl Rove joins the battle, speaking with Robert Novak about Wilson's wife several times this week. The details of their conversations remain unknown. On the 11th, Rove talks about the Wilsons with Matt Cooper on deep ("double super secret") background. Cooper later says, "There is no question. I first learned about Valerie Plame working at the CIA from Karl Rove." The day after this talk with Rove, Cooper receives confirmation from Libby.

Meanwhile, Bush and his entourage travel to Africa for some photo-opping and presidenting. While on this trip, Ari and Condi face reporters' questions about Wilson and Niger. Cheney and his gang fly to Virginia on the 12th and reportedly scheme during the return flight about how to deal with the Wilson situation. Finally, on Friday the 11th, George Tenet takes the blame for allowing the 16 words to appear in Bush's State of the Union address.

July 2, 2003 (Wednesday) *

According to grand jury testimony (disclosed in this PDF), Libby meets with someone (it is not clear with whom) and discusses something (it is not clear what). Whatever happened at this meeting--possibly an unauthorized leak from the NIE--Fitzgerald tells Judge Walton, "it is not a big deal." Speculation about this meeting at The Next Hurrah.

July 6, 2003 (Sunday) *

Wilson op-ed, What I Didn't Find in Africa. Wilson also appears with Andrea Mitchell on MTP (transcript, video). Here is a scan of Cheney's annotated copy of the op-ed.

Armitage phones Carl Ford at home and asks him to send a copy of the June 10 INR memo to Powell so he can read it on his upcoming trip.

July 7, 2003 (Monday) *

Date on second, nearly identical copy of the June 10 Carl Ford INR memo addressed to Grossman. The likely cover sheet on this copy indicates it was distributed to Powell, Armitage, Grossman, and Boucher (see emptywheel The INR Memos Were Part of the Niger Forgery Cover-Up and The Next Hurrah discussion of differences between the two copies--June 10 and July 7--of the memo.)

Bush, Powell, Ari, and others depart for Africa (NYT Timeline). Bob Novak calls Ari (NYT Timeline). Office of the Vice President sends Ari talking points about Wilson. Libby tells Ari at lunch that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA--in his testimony, Ari describes this conversation as "weird" and notes that Libby said the information was "hush hush."

In his briefing, Ari says, "the Vice President's office did not request the mission to Niger. The Vice President's office was not informed of his mission and he was not aware of Mr. Wilson's mission until recent press accounts -- press reports accounted for it.... [A]nd this is old news, we've said this repeatedly -- that the information on yellow cake did, indeed, turn out to be incorrect."

July 8, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Libby talks with J. Miller (again... about the same stuff they discussed at the June 23 meeting). This is the meeting where Libby requests that Miller deceptively attribute his information to a "former Hill staffer." The notebook Miller brings to this meeting mentions "Valerie Flame"--Miller insists, "I simply could not recall where that came from, when I wrote it or why the name was misspelled." Waas: "At their breakfast meeting, Libby told Miller that Plame worked at the CIA, and also alleged that the CIA sent Wilson to Niger on Plame's recommendation, according to the grand jury indictment."

Libby asks VP's counsel (Addington) what paperwork there would be at the CIA if an employee's spouse undertook an overseas trip.

According to Wilson, R. Novak tells a stranger on the street, 'Wilson's an (expletive).' The CIA sent him. His wife, Valerie, works for the CIA. She's a weapons of mass destruction specialist. She sent him.' [Note: there is a stray ' mark in the May 2, 2004 MTP transcript of this. -&y]

"Rove's secretary wrote [Frances Fragos] Townsend's name on a telephone message slip" (Waas). Rove and Novak will discuss her--among other things--the next day.

July 9, 2003 (Wednesday) *

Rove and Novak talk on the phone--precise details unknown [Did they also talk on the 8th?]. Looks like the account here was fed to the WaPo by Rove's lawyer. Waas has little else to offer, but discusses the alleged background to the call in detail. The call's main purpose was to discuss Frances Fragos Townsend:

[T]he subject of Valerie Plame came up only after they had finished talking about Townsend....

Both Novak and Rove have told federal prosecutors that it was Novak who raised Plame's name, with the columnist saying he had heard that "Wilson's wife" had worked for the CIA and had been responsible for having her husband sent on the Niger mission.

"I heard that too," Rove responded, according to published accounts of what Rove told federal investigators of the conversations. Novak's version of what was said has been slightly different. He reportedly has told investigators that Rove's response was something to the effect of, "Oh, you know about it."

July 10, 2003 (Thursday) *

Colin Powell answers relevant questions while in South Africa.

Libby speaks with Russert by phone. Libby's indictment alleges he perjured himself when answering questions about this conversation during grand jury testimony on March 5, 2004: Russert did not ask Libby if he knew that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA; Russert did not tell Libby that all the reporters knew it; and Libby could not have been surprised to learn Wilson's wife worked for the CIA since he'd known about her for weeks.

July 10 or 11, 2003 (Thursday or Friday) *

"Official A" (almost certainly Rove) tells Libby that earlier this week he had discussed Wilson's trip and his CIA wife with R. Novak and that Novak would be writing a story.

July 11, 2003 (Friday) *

See the extremely detailed dKosopedia entry for this day--it's way better than what I have here.

En route to Uganda, Condoleezza Rice and Ari brief reporters aboard Air Force One. Rice says, "on Ambassador Wilson's going out to Niger, I learned of that when I was sitting on whatever TV show it was, because that mission was not known to anybody in the White House." Rice clarified that the TV show was "about a month ago"--so sometime in or around June 2003.

"Mission to Niger" probably moved to newspaper clients--the Friday before a Monday column.

Rove discusses the Wilsons with Cooper. Here's Isikoff's article about "What Karl Rove told Time magazine's reporter"--it includes text from the "double super secret background" e-mail from Cooper to his bureau chief at Time. Cooper's What I Told the Grand Jury also discusses this day and his contact with Rove: "we went over this in microscopic, excruciating detail."

Rove e-mails Hadley, "I didn't take the bait." Other excerpts from the e-mail (possibly not in the correct order--I haven't seen the message): "Matt Cooper called to give me a heads-up that he's got a welfare reform story coming.... When he finished his brief heads-up he immediately launched into Niger. Isn't this damaging? Hasn't the president been hurt? I didn't take the bait, but I said if I were him I wouldn't get Time far out in front on this."

Tenet's mea culpa is released in the evening.

July 12, 2003 (Saturday) *

Ari holds a press gaggle in Abjua, Nigeria. The briefing transcript is yanked from the White House website and only reappears after it has been subpoenaed.

Libby, Cheney and others (Catherine Martin) fly to and from Norfolk, Virginia on AF2. Indictment: "On his return trip, Libby discussed with other officials aboard the plane what Libby should say in response to certain pending media inquiries...." Fitzgerald's 4/5/6 court filing (PDF) has more details about this flight.

Libby discusses the Wilsons with Cooper (NYT Timeline); Cooper asked Libby whether he had heard about Plame's involvement in sending Wilson and Libby confirmed that he'd heard this information (WaPo Timeline), indictment alleges Libby did not tell Cooper other reporters were saying Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, rather he told Cooper without qualification that he had heard Wilson's wife worked at the CIA (WaPo Timeline).

Libby discusses Wilson's wife with Miller. "Libby and Miller had a three-minute conversation on July 12 while Miller was apparently in a taxicab returning home. When the reporter got home, she and Libby spoke for a 37 minutes, according to the phone records." Libby's indictment alleges he did not tell Miller that he had heard other reporters saying Wilson's wife worked for the CIA and that he didn't tell Miller he didn't know this was true because they'd discussed Wilson and his wife before.

July 13, 2003 (Sunday) *

Bush returns from Africa.

Jack Straw describes Wilson's trip report.

Late July 2003 *

On July 14th--despite the request from a CIA official "not to use her name"--Robert Novak prints Valerie Wilson's cover name "Plame" and refers to her as a CIA "operative." Discussing the leak later, CIA spokesman Bill Harlow will say, "People spend years in the business developing contacts overseas who can be placed in danger.... This sets a precedent which can result in people being targeted and killed." By the 22nd, Newsday will confirm that Plame had been, until recently, undercover. And by the end of the month, members of Congress will be calling for an investigation into the exposure of her name/status.

Prior to the Novak column, Libby had been discussing the Wilsons with reporters for weeks. And in the week just before the column, Rove told Cooper about Valerie Plame. In interviews with the FBI and in grand jury testimony, Libby will claim that he learned about Valerie Wilson from these reporters--these are the lies alleged in his indictment. Rove, too, will claim that he learned about her from media reports and that he forgot about the "double super secret" conversation with Cooper when he testified to the grand jury.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration continues to push back against the stories now circulating that they exaggerated the Iraqi threat in making their case for war. They release a deceptively altered version of the Key Judgements from the prewar National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. And they continue to smear the Wilsons. Rove, for example, boasts that after R. Novak's column appeared he, "circulated and discussed damaging information regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame with others in the White House, outside political consultants, and journalists."

July 14, 2003 (Monday) *

Robert Novak destroys Valerie Wilson's career in his now-famous column, Mission to Niger:

Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife to contact him.

According to phone logs, "several White House officials talked to Novak shortly before the appearance of" the column.

"[A] senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife.... [the alleged leak] was meant purely and simply for revenge" (WaPo). A Newsweek article would later claim this SAO, "simply got it wrong... most, if not all, of these phone calls, were made after the Novak column appeared, some government officials now believe."

July 16, 2003 (Wednesday) *

David Corn is the first to observe that Novak's column may turn out to be a big deal: A White House Smear, "Did senior Bush officials blow the cover of a US intelligence officer working covertly in a field of vital importance to national security--and break the law--in order to strike at a Bush administration critic and intimidate others?"

July 17 (original date 22?), 2003 (Thursday) *

Cooper et al. publish A War on Wilson? See Maguire Timeline on revisions to this article.

July 18, 2003 (Friday) *

The actual Oct. 2002 Iraq NIE Key Judgements are declassified and released to the public (PDF). Here an excerpt from the first paragraph of the declassified document; words that did not appear in the same paragraph of the unclassified Key Judgements that were released in Oct. 2002 (PDF) are crossed out:

"Baghdad has chemical and biological weapons as well as missiles with ranges in excess of UN restrictions; if left unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade. (See INR alternative view at the end of these Key Judgements.)"

July 21, 2003 (Monday) *

According to J. Wilson's book, Rove calls Chris Matthews and says that Wilson's wife is "fair game."

July 22, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Scotty gets his first questions about Plame story. "Thank you for bringing that up. That is not the way this President or this White House operates.... that is not the way that this President or this White House operates... that that is not the way this White House operates... that is simply not the way this White House operates... that's just not the way this White House operates."

In Newsday, Tim Phelps and Knut Royce print confirmation from "intelligence officials" that Valerie Plame, "was undercover until last week when she was named by columnist Robert Novak."

July 23, 2003 (Wednesday) *

Scotty gets more questions. "John, I think I answered that yesterday. That is not the way that this White House operates. That's not the way the President operates.... That is simply not the way we operate, and that's simply not the way the President operates.... that's simply not the way we operate."

July 24, 2003 (Thursday) *

"[A] CIA attorney left a phone message for the Chief of the Counterespionage Section of the DoJ noting concern with recent articles [on the identity of an undercover employee] and stating that the CIA would forward a written crimes report pending the outcome of a review of the articles by subject matter experts."

Senator Schumer (D-NY), "asks [FBI Director] Mueller to open an FBI investigation into illegal leak of CIA agent's identity.... 'This is one of the most reckless and nasty things I’ve seen in all my years of government,' Schumer said." Here is Schumer's letter to Mueller. See also the July 29, 2003 article in The Hill on the same topic.

July 30, 2003 (Wednesday) *

"[T]he CIA reported to the criminal Division of DoJ a possible violation of criminal law concerning the unauthorized disclosure of classified information [and] that the CIA's Office of Security had opened an investigation into this matter."

August 2003 *

This is a slow month in the CIA leak story. Novak's column has appeared and although, "CIA officials approached the Justice Department about a possible investigation within a week of the column's publication," Justice has not yet decided to investigate.

Joe Wilson appears on CNN with Blitzer on the 3rd and on PBS Frontline on the 12th. Wilson also figures prominently in a NYT article on the 8th, and a St. Petersburg Times article on the 12th. Toward the end of the month--on the 21st, it seems--he famously wonders, "whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs." Wilson later backtracks a bit on this, "I thought that [the leak] came from the White House, and Karl Rove was the personification of the White House political operation."

Frog-marching aside, reformed Watergate criminal John W. Dean reviews laws relevant to "the deadly serious crime of naming CIA operatives" for us on the 15th.

Meanwhile, Bush spends the month on vacation working at The Ranch--with the occasional day trip for a photo-op or a Bush-Cheney '04 fundraiser. I have no idea where Cheney is all month, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that he was secretly shooting friends acquaintances in the face.

Sept. 5, 2003 (Friday) *

The CIA resends by fax its July 30, 2003 letter to the CIA.

Sept. 14, 2003 (Sunday) *

Cheney gives a truly spectacular performance on Meet the Press. He says he doesn't know who sent Wilson on the trip to Niger. He denies getting a briefing on Wilson's findings. He predicts that we'll eventually discover "the Iraqis did have a robust [WMD] program." And so on.

Sept. 16, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Scotty denies Rove's involvement (again). Josh Marshall interviews (PDF) Joe Wilson.

"[T]he CIA informed DoJ that the Agency's investigation into [the disclosure of the identity of an emplayee operating under cover] was complete, provided DoJ a memorandum setting forth the results of that investigation, and requested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) undertake a criminal investigation of this matter." The memorandum presumably included the CIA's answers to the eleven questions that must be answered before the DoJ will initiate such a criminal investigation.

Late September 2003 *

Two-and-a-half months after R. Novak's column exposing Valerie Plame as one of their operatives, the CIA requests a criminal investigation. It begins on the 26th and is revealed to the public two days later. At issue is whether the leak violated any laws--notably the Intelligence Identities and Protection Act.

The White House's public response to the investigation is a predictable blend of denials ("there's no specific information being brought to our attention to suggest White House involvement") and pledges to cooperate ("we always cooperate with the Department of Justice in matters like this.") Behind the scenes, though, the story is a bit different....

First, there are some phone calls made at this time, "between Novak and Rove, and other White House officials" that will later be a concern to investigators. Novak, who's had nothing to say about the story since he published "Mission to Niger," writes another column on the topic on Oct. 1st.

Then there is a curious sluggishness at the beginning of the investigation that will tick off many people, including members of Congress. The FBI investigation begins on the 26th. Scotty gets dozens of questions about it on the 29th. It is not until late on the 29th, though, that the Dept. of Justice officially informs White House counsel Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales immediately tells Chief of Staff Andy Card, but he waits 12 hours (overnight) before sending out a memo to White House employees announcing that they should preserve relevant documents etc. The Justice Department had said, oddly, that it would be OK to wait till morning to tell the employees--but Gonzales told Card, and Card could have talked to anyone that night.

Meanwhile, members of Congress write letters to Ashcroft asking him to appoint a Special Counsel to run the investigation. Ashcroft will fend off these requests until the end of the year.

Sept. 26, 2003 (Friday) *

"[T]he Department of Justice and the FBI began a criminal investigation into the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Valerie Wilson's CIA affiliation to various reporters..." (PDF).

Sept. 28, 2003 (Sunday) *

News of the criminal investigation reported widely (MSNBC.com actually broke the story on Friday the 26th).

Sept. 26? 28?-??, 2003 *

"Also of interest to investigators have been a series of telephone contacts between Novak and Rove, and other White House officials, in the days just after press reports first disclosed the existence of a federal criminal investigation as to who leaked Plame's identity. Investigators have been concerned that Novak and his sources might have conceived or co-ordinated a cover story to disguise the nature of their conversations" (Waas, July 12, 2005).

Sept. 29, 2003 (Monday) *

In a memorable press briefing, Scotty denies a lot of stuff--including that Rove was involved. "[I]t was a ridiculous suggestion in the first place.... If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration." Libby's name comes up once, but Scotty doesn't acknowledge the question. Oh--and he only says "not the way this White House operates" twice.

On this same day, Rove personally denies leaking Plame's name.

In a letter, "DoJ advised that the Counterespionage Section of DoJ had requested that the FBI initiate an investigation [of the disclosure of the identity of an employee operating under cover]."

White House counsel Alberto Gonzales officially learns there will be a Justice Deptartment criminal investigation at 8 p.m.

He tells Chief of Staff Andy Card.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) writes Ashcroft and formally requests appointment of an outside Special Counsel to handle the leak investigation. "There can be no doubt that this matter presents a clear conflict of interest for you and your Department to investigate." Sen. Schumer (D-NY) writes a similar letter to Ashcroft--his letter mentions "dastardly deeds."

Sept. 30, 2003 (Tuesday) *

This morning, Gonzales sends a first memo to White House employees, "We were informed last evening by the Department of Justice that it has opened an investigation into possible unauthorized disclosures concerning the identity of an undercover CIA employee."

Bush announces, "If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is."

Later, Gonzales sends a second memo to White House employees, "You must preserve all documents relating, in any way, directly or indirectly, to these subjects, even if there would be a question whether the document would be a presidential or federal record or even if its destruction might otherwise be permitted."

Members of a Senate committee send a letter to Andy Card, asking him for, "immediate and public assurance that the White House is taking every step necessary to preserve relevant evidence and ensure the full cooperation of White House personnel in the investigation."

October 2003 *

After its peculiar initial steps, the investigation finally begins to look like one. Ashcroft's FBI forms an investigative team led by John Dion, chief of the counterespionage section. The investigators commence interviews and send out more "do not destroy potential evidence" letters: to the State Department, the Pentagon, and the CIA.

The White House has already received such a letter and is in the process of collecting evidence. News that White House lawyers will review and cull the documents before sending them over to Justice prompts Sen. Schumer (D-NY) to remark, "the possibility of mischief, or worse than mischief, is very, very large."

The FBI interviews Libby at least twice this month; his indictment alleges he lied to them on both occasions. Sometime this month, they also interview Rove. No information about what he told the investigators has been released, but legal types "familiar with" the story have leaked that Rove "did not disclose [the July 11, 2003 conversation with Cooper] to the FBI when he was first interviewed by agents in the fall of 2003," and that, "[Rove admitted he] circulated and discussed damaging information regarding CIA operative Valerie Plame with others in the White House, outside political consultants, and journalists... after it had appeared in Novak's column."

Speaking of Novak's column. He writes another one--the "no partisan gunslinger" piece--on the 1st. Here he lays out three vital talking points that will help keep a lid on talk that the leakers violated the Intelligence Identities and Protection Act: "First, I did not receive a planned leak. Second, the CIA never warned me that the disclosure of Wilson's wife working at the agency would endanger her or anybody else. Third, it was not much of a secret."

Oct. 1, 2003 (Wednesday) *

Scotty gets many questions about Plame story.

Robert Novak describes his contacts with the two senior administration officials in The CIA leak:

During a long conversation with a senior administration official, I asked why Wilson was assigned the mission to Niger. He said Wilson had been sent by the CIA's counterproliferation section at the suggestion of one of its employees, his wife. It was an offhand revelation from this official, who is no partisan gunslinger. When I called another official for confirmation, he said: "Oh, you know about it." The published report that somebody in the White House failed to plant this story with six reporters and finally found me as a willing pawn is simply untrue.

The Department of Justice assembles a team of investigators, led by John Dion. "The team includes agents from the counterintelligence and inspections division of the FBI" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Agents cast wide net in CIA leak inquiry," 10/3/3). That same article reports that Dion is, "a 30-year career prosecutor who has headed the department's counterespionage section since 2002."

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) writes a letter to Ashcroft, complaining about the four-day gap between the beginning of the FBI investigation and when the Dept. of Justice notified the White House. He adds, "Until a Special Counsel is appointed, questions will arise almost daily regarding the fairness and completeness of how this investigation is being conducted."

Oct. 2, 2003 (Thursday) *

"A federal investigation into the disclosure of a CIA agent's identity expanded beyond the White House on Thursday to encompass the State and Defense departments, a senior Justice Department official said" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Agents cast wide net in CIA leak inquiry," 10/3/3). USA Today adds "CIA" to the broad list of departments under investigation in their 10/3/3 article, "Justice Dept. plans wide probe into CIA leak."

Oct. 3, 2003 (Friday) *

Gonzales sends out a third memo to White House employees. This one says they all have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 7 to turn over relevant documents (defined in the memo) to the White House counsel's office.

Oct. 4, 2003 (Saturday) *

R. Novak circulates damaging information regarding the Wilsons. He discloses Valerie Wilson's front company, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, and writes, "Any CIA employee working under 'non-official cover' always is listed with a real firm, but never an imaginary one." He also beats up a little on Joe Wilson for donating to the Gore campaign and arranging a book deal.

Oct. 7, 2003 (Tuesday) *

This is the White House deadline for turning over potential evidence to the White House counsel's office for review and culling. Here is how Scotty describes the process, "[T]he information will be turned into the Counsel's Office from the White House staff.... [W]hat the Counsel's Office will do is look through this information to make sure its responsive to the request from the Department of Justice so that we can assist them in moving forward as quickly as they possibly can to get to the bottom of this." The briefing also includes this passage:

Q: So you're saying -- you're saying categorically those three individuals [Libby, Rove and Elliot Abrams -&y] were not the leakers or did not authorize the leaks; is that what you're saying?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct. I've spoken with them.

Oct. 14, 2003 (Tuesday) *

FBI agents interview Libby. Counts Two and Three of his indictment allege he lied to these investigators when answering questions about conversations he had with Cooper and Russert.

Nov. 26, 2003 (Wednesday) *

FBI agents interview Libby again. Counts Two and Three of his indictment allege he lied to these investigators when answering questions about conversations he had with Cooper and Russert.

Dec. 30, 2003 (Tuesday) *

Ashcroft recuses himself. Acting Attorney General James Comey delegates to Patrick Fitzgerald, "all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department's investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity" (PDF).

2004

January 2004 *

"[T]he grand jury investigation began examining possible violations of criminal laws prohibiting disclosing the identy of covert intelligence personnel (The Intelligence Identities Protection Act), improperly disclosing national defense information, making false statements to government agents, and perjury" (PDF).

Jan. 23, 2004 (Friday) *

Mary Matalin appears before the grand jury.

Jan. 30, 2004 (Friday) *

Claire Buchan appears before the grand jury.

February 2004 *

Rove's first appearances before the grand jury. Isikoff writes in May 2006 Newsweek: "In February 2004, Rove testified before Fitzgerald's grand jury--twice. He told of speaking briefly to columnist Bob Novak about the Wilson trip. But Rove never mentioned any conversation with Time's Cooper." Isikoff had previously, "Rove did not disclose [the July 11, 2003 conversation with Cooper] ... during his first grand jury appearance, says one of the lawyers familiar with Rove's account."

Feb. 6, 2004 (Friday) *

Scotty and Adam Levine appear before the grand jury.

Feb. 11, 2004 (Wednesday) *

Newsday reports:

According to the New York Times, the set of documents that prosecutors repeatedly referred to in their meetings with White House aides are extensive notes compiled by I. Lewis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff and national security adviser.

The FBI has interviewed Rove, Libby, McClellan, Levine, Matalin, White House communications director Dan Bartlett, former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer and Cheney aide Cathie Martin.

March 5, 2004 (Friday) *

Libby testifies before the grand jury. The fourth count of his indictment alleges he committed perjury on this day when testifying about the July 10, 2003 conversation with Russert. Count five alleges more perjury for his answers to questions about the July 12, 2003 conversation with Cooper.

March 24, 2004 (Wednesday) *

Libby testifies to grand jury. The fifth count of his indictment alleges he committed perjury in this testimony when answering questions about "conversations with reporters."

May 21, 2004 (Friday) *

Grand jury subpoenas Tim Russert and Matthew Cooper. In the case of Cooper, the grand jury seeks, "testimony and documents related to articles published on July 17, 2003 and July 21, 2003 to which he had contributed.... Cooper refused to comply with the subpoena, even after the Special Counsel offered to narrow its scope to cover only conversations between Cooper and a specific individual identified by the Special Counsel." I call this his "specific individual" subpoena (as opposed to his Sept. 13, 2004 "broad" subpoenas).

June 1, 2004 (Tuesday) *

A declassified version of the Oct. 2002 Iraq NIE (heavily redacted PDF) is released to the public.

June 3, 2004 (Thursday) *

Cooper moves to quash his "specific individual" subpoena.

June 4, 2004 (Friday) *

NBC moves to quash the Russert subpoena.

June 18, 2004 (Friday) *

Alberto Gonzales testifies to the grand jury.

June 24, 2004 (Thursday) *

Fitzgerald interviews Bush for 70 minutes in the Oval Office. Bush is not under oath, but he has a private lawyer on-hand.

July 20, 2004 (Tuesday) *

Court secretly orders Russert to provide testimony to Fitzgerald (the ruling is announced to the public on Aug. 9, 2004 by NBC). The judge also denies Cooper's motion to quash the his "specific individual" subpoena. Here is Judge Hogan's opinion (PDF).

Aug. 6, 2004 (Friday) *

Time magazine's motion to quash a subpoena of Cooper documents is denied.

Aug. 7, 2004 (Saturday) *

Russert testifies to Fitzgerald, who is free to share the testimony with the grand jury, about his July 10, 2003 phone conversation with Libby. In Oct. 2004, Russert describes his testimony: He denied telling Libby, "all the reporters know Mr. Wilson's wife works at the CIA," and he said, "And whether I knew Valerie Plame's name or where she worked as a CIA operative ... the answer was, no." Related post by Maguire.

Aug. 9, 2004 (Monday) *

NBC issues a statement about the Russert testimony of August 7.

Cooper held in contempt for refusing to comply with his "specific individual" subpoena about contacts with Scooter. "After being held in contempt, and after filing notices of appeal, Cooper and Time agreed to comply with the subpoenas, as limited by the Special Counsel, with the Special Counsel explicitly reserving the right to seek additional testimony and documents from Cooper and Time, if necessary."

Aug. 12, 2004 (Thursday) *

(And Aug. 20, 2004) "[G]rand jury subpoenas were issued to reporter Judith Miller and the New York Times, seeking documents and testimony related to conversations between Miller and a specified government official occurring between on or about July 6, 2003 and on or about July 13, 2003, 'concerning Valerie Plame Wilson,' whether referred to by name or by description, 'concerning Iraqi efforts to obtain uranium.'"

Aug. 20, 2004 (Friday) *

(And Aug. 12, 2004) "[G]rand jury subpoenas were issued to reporter Judith Miller and the New York Times, seeking documents and testimony related to conversations between Miller and a specified government official occurring between on or about July 6, 2003 and on or about July 13, 2003, 'concerning Valerie Plame Wilson,' whether referred to by name or by description, 'concerning Iraqi efforts to obtain uranium.'"

Aug. 23, 2004 (Monday) *

Cooper testifies about his contact(s) with Scooter Libby. (commenter at FDL, dKosopedia).

Aug. 27, 2004 (Friday) *

Fitzgerald affidavit "In re: Special Counsel Investigation (Grand Jury Subpoena to Judith Miller." Heavily redacted. Argues Miller's testimony is essential to determining whether Libby committed crimes.

Sept. 13, 2004 (Monday) *

"[T]he grand jury issued a second set of subpoenas to Cooper and Time seeking testimony and documents relating to 'conversations between Matthew Cooper and official source(s) prior to July 14, 2003, concerning in any way: former Ambassador Joseph Wilson; the 2002 trip by former Ambassador Wilson to Niger; Valerie Wilson Plame a/k/a Valerie Wilson a/k/a Valerie Plame (the wife of former Ambassador Wilson); and/or any affiliation between Valerie Wilson Plame and the CIA.'" I call these the "broad" subpoenas (as opposed to the May 21, 2004 "specific individual" subpoena.

Sept. 15, 2004 (Wednesday) *

Walter Pincus gives a deposition. "Fitzgerald asked me about the substance of my [July 12, 2003] conversation about Wilson's wife, the gist of which I had reported in the newspaper. But he did not ask me to confirm my source's identity, which was my condition for being deposed. My original understanding with my source still holds--to withhold his identity until he makes it public, if ever."

Oct. 7, 2004 (Thursday) *

A district court denies motions to quash the "broad" Sept. 13, 2004 subpoenas to Cooper and Time.

Miller held in contempt (commenter at FDL)

Oct. 13, 2004 (Wednesday) *

A district court holds Cooper and Time in civil contempt for refusing to comply with the "broad" subpoenas.

Oct. 15, 2004 (Friday) *

Rove testifies before the grand jury. A commenter at FDL says this happened on October 14, instead. I didn't make a note of where I saw that this happened on the 15th.

Nov. 2, 2004 (Tuesday) *

Bush is reelected (sic).

Feb. 15, 2005 (Tuesday) *

Judges Sentelle, Tatel, and Henderson rule on In re: Grand Jury Subpoena, Judith Miller--basically, everyone has to comply with the subpoenas. The case title says "Miller," but this ruling was in regard to the consolidated appeal to the US Court of Appeals filed by Cooper, Time, and Miller.

March 31, 2005 (Thursday) *

Robb-Silberman report (big PDF), "We conclude that the Intelligence Community was dead wrong in almost all of its pre-war judgments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction."

June 27, 2005 (Monday) *

Supreme Court refuses to hear Cooper-Miller appeal (commenter at TNH).

July 6, 2005 (Wednesday) *

Miller goes to jail.

July 12, 2005 (Tuesday) *

GOP distributes Wilson/Rove Research & Talking Points, "documenting the blatant partisan political attack on Karl Rove."

July 14, 2005 (Thursday) *

Wilson tells Blitzer, "My wife was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity."

July 18, 2005 (Monday) *

"If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."

Aug. 4, 2005 (Thursday) *

R. Novak freaks out, swears, and walks off the set on CNN.

Sept. 15, 2005 (Thursday) *

Libby writes "Aspens" letter to Miller (PDF)

Sept. 30, 2005 (Friday) *

Miller testifies before the grand jury--her description of her testimony is here.

Oct. 12, 2005 (Wednesday) *

After finding a notebook in her office with notes from her June 23, 2002 meeting with Libby, Miller testifies before the grand jury--her description of her testimony is here.

Oct. 22, 2005 (Saturday) *

Holly and I get married.

Oct. 28, 2005 (Friday) *

Libby is indicted. PDF of indictment. PDF of Fitzgerald press release. Transcript of Fitzgerald press conference. The true meaning of Fitzmas.

Nov. 10, 2005 (Thursday) *

Miller writes farewell letter to the editor in the NYT.

Fitzgerald meets for 2 hours with Viveca Novak in her lawyer's office. Her account of the meeting: "[Fitzgerald asked] 'Did Luskin ever talk to me about whether Rove was a source for Matt on the subject of Wilson's wife?' ... Here's what happened. Toward the end of one of our meetings, I remember Luskin looking at me and saying something to the effect of 'Karl doesn't have a Cooper problem. He was not a source for Matt.' I responded instinctively, thinking he was trying to spin me, and said something like, 'Are you sure about that? That's not what I hear around TIME.' He looked surprised and very serious. 'There's nothing in the phone logs,' he said."

Nov. 14, 2005 (Monday) *

Fitzgerald takes a deposition from Bob Woodward.

April 2006 *

This month, Rove testifies again before the grand jury--his fifth appearance. A brief recap is in order. First, the FBI questions Rove in October 2003 and he appears twice before Fitzgerald's grand jury in February 2004--at no point does he mention his July 11, 2003 conversation with Matt Cooper. Next (or meanwhile), at some point in January, March, or May 2004, reporter Viveca Novak says something to Rove's attorney Luskin that prompts him to consider that, the testimony notwithstanding, Rove may have spoken with Cooper about Plame. Cooper will be involved in legal battles--trying to dodge a subpoena--from May 2004 until July 2005.

In October 2004 Luskin gives investigators a peculiar e-mail that Rove wrote to Stephen Hadley on the day he talked with Cooper. Luskin's "discovery" of this e-mail jars Rove's memory and earns him his third grand jury appearance. In his October 15 testimony, Rove admits he spoke with Cooper--just like the e-mail says--but says he doesn't remember much about the conversation. Rove comes back for a fourth appearance on October 14, 2005, after Cooper has lost his legal battle and testified. Details of the fourth appearance are murky, but the upside is that two weeks later, the grand jury indicts Libby and not Rove.

April 26, 2006 (Wednesday) *

Rove testifies for a fifth time to the grand jury. According to Waas and his sources "familiar with" the testimony, "[Rove testified] that when he told Cooper that Plame worked at the agency, he was only passing along unverified gossip.... much of the questioning of Rove on Wednesday also focused on the contradictions between Cooper's and Rove's accounts of their crucial July 11 conversation."

May 1, 2006 (Monday) *

Libby files his "Consolidated Response to Motions to Quash by NBC News, Judith Miller, Andrea Mitchell, Matthew Cooper, Time Inc., and the New York Times, and Memorandum of Law in Support" (PDF Part I, Part II).

May 16, 2006 (Tuesday) *

Teaser stub from Firedoglake: "Judge Walton heard the arguments from the various media attorneys and from Team Libby about what was or was not discoverable, relevant and necessary for Scooter’s defense from the various media outlets that Team Libby has subpoenaed."

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