WHEN, SCOTTIE?

On July 18, 2003, Scott McClellan said this to the WH press reporters:

MR. McCLELLAN: No, well, we always want to share facts with the American people. And this information was just, as of today, officially declassified, and it was an opportunity to share with them some information that showed the clear and compelling case that we had for confronting the threat that Saddam Hussein posed.

The information referred to is the newly unclassified portions of the Oct. 2002 National Intelligence Estimate. Not only did Libby learn of this new information 10 days before, BooMan makes it crystal clear that Judith Miller was told way back in Sept. 2002. (See also here)

Atrios notes what WILLIAM SCHNEIDER of CNN had to say about this sordid political manipulation of both our national intelligence and our national security:

I think is it very damaging for the president to be seen here to have come out after his political enemies by authorizing -- no crime -- by authorizing the leak of classified information from the National Intelligence Estimate. [snip] He was out to get his political enemy, to discredit Joe Wilson. And he did it by authorizing intelligence information to be leaked. I think most Americans would say that's a very dangerous and very foolish thing to do.