For the past three years, it seemed to be a plot of Shakespearean intrigue. Turns out it was much ado about nothing.
At least that's all one can now conclude about the case of who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak. Three years and one special prosecutor later, it turns out that the culprit was none other than former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
This is significant because since Plame's identity was first revealed, it was portrayed as a deliberate attempt by the "neo-cons" in the Bush administration to smear their political enemies. Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, was an outspoken critic of the evidence being presented for the war in Iraq, and many in the media (as well as Wilson himself) concocted the story that his wife was being punished for his accusations.
As this sensational tale went, a Bush administration insider such as Karl Rove or Scooter Libby was the culprit. Wilson pushed this line repeatedly, writing in June 2004 that "the conspiracy to destroy us was most likely conceived - and carried out - within the office of the vice president of the United States."
Thanks to a new book by liberal journalists David Corn and Michael Isikoff, we now know that not one word of that is true. Instead, it turns out that Armitage allowed his colleagues to be dragged through the mud by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald - all the while knowing that an honest declaration on his part would end the witch hunt.
Many observers probably find this whole saga unimaginably boring, but with Armitage's confession last week that he was the original source, a couple points must be made.
First, it should be clear that the wild accusations made by Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, and many other Democrats were nothing more than cheap attempts to score political points. John Kerry repeatedly raised this issue during the 2004 campaign.
"The buck doesn't stop anywhere with this White House. Now we know why the president hasn't been straight with Americans," he said in one speech. "Two and a half years ago, President Bush said, 'If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is.' He said he'd fire whoever leaked classified information, and now we know the president himself authorized it. Now we know that the president's search for the leaker needs to go no further than a mirror."
In fact, we know that the search needed to go a bit further - just over to Foggy Bottom.
It should also raise questions about former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Armitage admitted last week that soon after the scandal broke, he told Powell that he was the source. Powell, however, only gave a vague overview of the situation to the Justice Department. It goes to show how deep-seated hostility to the administration was at State.
But the most important lesson from the case is simple: Be wary of allowing political caricatures to obscure the truth. This is an especially helpful lesson for the media. The most overblown charges - that the leak was "treason" or that it was orchestrated from Cheney's office - found traction in part because they conformed to stereotypes many have long held about the Bush administration. Although some outlets, notably The Washington Post, have been wary of the supposed scandal from the start, many other mainstream papers got taken along for a ride.
As for Armitage, it's only too bad that Bush won't be able to fulfill his promise and fire him. Last week he sounded contrite in an interview with CBS News.
"Oh I feel terrible," he said. "Every day, I think I let down the president. I let down the secretary of state. I let down my department, my family and I also let down Mr. and Mrs. Wilson."
Too bad his candor was just a few years too late.
Andrew Buttaro is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at buttaroa@bcheights.com
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