Cheney directed to discredit diplomat

President Bush directed Vice President Dick Cheney to take personal charge of a campaign to discredit a former ambassador who had accused the administration of twisting prewar intelligence on Iraq. The revelation by the National Journal, a respected weekly political magazine, that Bush took a personal interest in countering damaging allegations by the former ambassador, Joe Wilson, reveals a White House that was extraordinarily sensitive to any criticism of its prewar planning. It also returns the focus of the criminal investigation into the outing of a CIA agent to the White House only weeks after the senior aide Karl Rove was told he would not face prosecution. The Journal said in July 5 article that Bush made the admission in a July 2004 interview in the Oval Office with the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, who is leading the investigation into the outing of the CIA agent, Valerie Plame. Plame is married to Wilson, who says her cover was broken in retaliation after he accused the administration of knowingly using false information on Saddam Hussein's weapons program. According to the National Journal, Bush told prosecutors he directed Cheney to disclose classified information both to defend his administration and to discredit Wilson. Elsewhere, the magazine quotes other government officials as saying that Bush was very anxious to use classified information to counter Wilson's charges, telling the vice president: "Let's get this out." However, the president told investigators that he never directed anyone to disclose Plame's identity. He also said that he was unaware Cheney had directed his chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to covertly leak the information, rather than formally declassify it. Libby faces prosecution for lying to investigators about his role in the outing of Plame. There was no immediate comment from the White House. The office of the special prosecutor also declined to comment. The revelation that Bush instructed Cheney to personally oversee the campaign to discredit Wilson arrives at an inconvenient time for a White House vehement in criticizing leaks. Last month it condemned as "disgraceful" a report in the New York Times that agents from the CIA and treasury departments had been secretly monitoring international wire transfers without court oversight.