In a new article by Murray Waas, Bush told the special prosecutor in his testimony that he wanted Cheney to personally lead the charge against Joseph Wilson to discredit him because Wilson had publicly attacked Saddam's WMD capability and the threat he posed which would undermine Bush's credibility to go to war with Iraq. He also gave Cheney instructions as the Leaker in Chief to disclose highly classified information to do it.
President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson that his administration had misrepresented intelligence information to make the case to go to war with Iraq, according to people familiar with the president’s statement.
Bush also told federal prosecutors during his June 24, 2004 interview in the Oval Office that he had directed Cheney, as part of that broader effort, to disclose highly classified intelligence information that would not only defend his administration, but also discredit Wilson, the sources said.
The article also outlines that Bush threw Cheney under the bus in his interview about the leaking of Valerie Plame's name.
Bush had previously feigned a lack of knowledge about any person in his administration leaking information about Valerie Plame and at first vowed to fire anyone involved in leaking her name. This is the exchange from June 10th, 2004
Q Given -- given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?
PRESIDENT: That's up to --
Q And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?
PRESIDENT: Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.
He later changed his position and said:
"I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts. And if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration," Bush said.
On Oct, 02,2005 during ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos dropped this bomb that Bush involved all along:
Definitely a political problem but I wonder, George Will, do you think it’s a manageable one for the White House especially if we don’t know whether Fitzgerald is going to write a report or have indictments but if he is able to show as a source close to this told me this week, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney were actually involved in some of these discussions...
It's pretty clear in this article that Bush and Cheney had it in for Wilson and were willing to leak classified information to do so. There's much more in Murray's' piece to discuss...
