Is the Press lying? (Not Tim Russert -- no way!) Or the White House? Take an alka-seltzer and forget about it. None of it matters.It's all bushwa-

So, what does bushwa mean? - Slang word, coined in the early 1930's. It means nonsense. Talking like an idiot.

Garrett Graff wrote this on FridayJuly 22nd, at Fishbowl DC, the DC Gossip PR blog:

Little Russ And The Prosecutor

This morning's Plame/Rove leak investigation developments make it appear that NBC's Sunday star Tim Russert, who has long been known to be a bit player in the saga, might actually end up proving to have a decisive role in the case.

It's his testimony, according to Bloomberg's Dick Keil, that doesn't line up with the testimony given by Scooter Libby--and, if the speculation that the special prosecutor is pursuing perjury charges is correct, he may prove the linch-pin of the investigation.

This now raises one of those uncomfortable journalism questions: How much does Russert need to tell us about his role? According to the transcript, he managed to make it all the way through Sunday's show--which focused almost exclusively on the investigation--without mentioning his role.

When asked about Russert's need to disclose he's involved when reporting on the subject, an NBC spokesperson today replied: "We have been very transparent with our position." The spokesperson referred back to last August's network statement following Russert's original testimony (full statement after the jump).

Has Russert been interviewed again? Has the special prosecutor contacted him since August? Matt Cooper has come clean (on Russert's program of all places), do we have the right to expect the host to do the same? And, if not, shouldn't he at least mention "I'm involved" when discussing this?

continued...

Posted by Garrett 03:21 PM Sort of Serious Stuff Email this post

From the Washington Post:
Libby has testified that he learned about Plame from NBC correspondent Tim Russert,* according to a source who spoke with The Washington Post some months ago. Russert said in a statement last year that he told the prosecutor that "he did not know Ms. Plame's name or that she was a CIA operative" and that he did not provide such information to Libby in July 2003.

From the LA Times:

THE NATION

CIA Leak Investigation Turns to Possible Perjury, Obstruction

By Douglas Frantz, Sonni Efron and Richard B. Schmitt, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON — The special prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation has shifted his focus from determining whether White House officials violated a law against exposing undercover agents to determining whether evidence exists to bring perjury or obstruction of justice charges, according to people briefed in recent days on the inquiry's status...[More]

Libby, according to a person familiar with events, told investigators that he learned Plame's name from a reporter, apparently Tim Russert of NBC-TV.

But Russert, who spoke with Fitzgerald last summer after Libby released him from a pledge of confidentiality, said he did not give Plame's name to Libby, according to a statement issued by NBC at the time. Cooper wrote in Time that he had also talked to Libby. He said he asked Libby whether he had heard anything about Wilson's wife dispatching Wilson to Niger, and that Libby replied, " 'Yeah, I've heard that, too,' or words to that effect."Fitzgerald's term as special prosecutor expires in October, but it could be renewed if the investigation is not finished.

*Totally irrelevent(?) sidebar: Mr. Russert is married to the fabulously on-target Maureen Orth ("The Importance of being Famous")

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