Mother Davis watches the pieces come together as she notes,
Today, months after the beginning of an internal Bush Administration investigation into the leaking of a CIA agent’s identity to a conservative commentator, Attorney General John Ashcroft has recused himself from any involvement in the investigation.
The CIA agent, Valerie Plame, is the wife of Joseph Wilson, the envoy sent to Africa to investigate the plausibility of intelligence claims of an Iraqi attempt to obtain yellowcake uranium from the government of Niger. Plame’s life was endangered by the leak of her name, which appears to have come directly from within the Bush Administration. Wilson claims that the leak was revenge upon his public revelation that he told the Bush Administration about the fraudulent nature of the weapons allegations, months before George W. Bush repeated the allegations during the State of the Union Address.
The fact that John Ashcroft has now recused himself from the investigation of the Bush Administration suggests that the leak of Plame’s identity was indeed politically motivated, and occurred with the approval of top officials, such as John Ashcroft and perhaps Bush himself.
We thank Mr. Ashcroft for having the decency to recuse himself, even if the recusal is months late. However, when the top official of the Department of Justice admits that he has a conflict of interest in the case, how can the American public trust the results of any internal investigation into the betrayal of Valerie Plame? It is long past time for a truly independent investigation to take place. The Bush Administration cannot be trusted to keep these matters free of political influence, especially at the dawn of the 2004 presidential election year.
Crossing her fingers, but not holding her breath,
Mother Davis
