Fred Fleitz, the CIA operative on loan to Bolton, is apparently the hot topic on the rumor mill tonight.
Per Clemons, who cautions that the role of Fleitz is purely rumor at this point:
But then, a short while ago -- one of America's top journalists called me to ask what I knew about Fleitz. He said rumors were swirling everywhere and that a "really wild rumor" was that Bob Woodward had a piece appearing in tomorrow's Washington Post focusing on Fleitz. Realize -- NOTHING substantiated here.
Part of the rumor is that Fleitz is on leave.
I just tried to track that down. I just called Fred Fleitz, but got his answering machine and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I then called Under Secretary of State Bob Joseph's office and talked to a person who told me that Fleitz was on leave for two days but would return to the office Monday morning.
Former UPI Intelligence Correspondent Richard
Sale is reporting that it was
not Cheney who told Libby about Plame, it was learned in a call from State:
This source, supported by three others, alleged that it was a telephone call from the Department of State that first gave Libby the name of Plame.
The name of the caller? No one is sure. But these sources said that the call defintely came from the State Department office of John Bolton, then the arms control chief of the department.
The same sources who say Cheney wasn't Libby's source believe Plame's name came from Fleitz, to Wurmser, to Libby.
Interesting rumors. At this point, who knows?