Armitage Admits He Was Source Of Leak

Richard Armitage publicly admitted he was the source for the leak of Valeria Plame's name. He did so by accident and thought Plame's status was not a secret because he had learned it from a State Department memo.

Say goodnight, Gracie.

Confirming that he was the source of a leak that triggered a federal investigation, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he never intended to reveal Plame's identity. He apologized for his conversations with syndicated columnist Robert Novak and Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

For almost three years, an investigation led by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has tried to determine whether Bush administration officials intentionally revealed Plame's identity as covert operative as a way to punish her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, for criticizing the Bush administration's march to war with Iraq.

"I made a terrible mistake, not maliciously, but I made a terrible mistake," Armitage said in a telephone interview from his home Thursday night.

He said he did not realize Plame's job was covert.

This trumped up mess that the execrable Joe Wilson has happily been pimping for three years is over. Plame and Wilson both look like complete fools, as do their fawning sycophants in both the press and the ranks of the hard left. Fitzgerald should be made to pay back the money he has thrown down this toilet and should drop the charges against Libby.

(I wonder if Jason Leopold is still camped out waiting for the Rove indictment. One rather hopes so.)

UPDATE: Never fear, true believers! Some in the press will continue to spin for all they are worth on this dead horse! They are even now gathering in the graveyard imploring Baron Samedi to bring this back to life as the zombie scandal that would not die!

The administration's defenders have claimed that Armitage's acknowledgement of his role, which has been speculated about for months, takes much of the sting out of those allegations.

But interviews and documents also portray the White House - in the persons of Bush aide Karl Rove, Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and others - as furiously trying to get information about Wilson and Plame, then discussing it with reporters.

Fitzgerald, whose probe hasn't concluded, indicted Libby last October on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements. Libby is contesting the charges, and Armitage said he would testify at the trial if called.

Good luck. Mind the mercury.