Plamegate Bombshell: Plame's 2002 memo recommended Joe for Niger Trip

Byron York's got a memo she wrote that reads as follows, all ellipsis and brackets in original:

As you may recall, [redacted] of CP/[office 2] recently approached my husband to possibly use his contacts in Niger to investigate [a separate Niger matter]. After many fits and starts, [redacted] finally advised that the station wished to pursue this with liaison. My husband is willing to help, if it makes sense, but no problem if not. End of story.

Now, with this report, it is clear that the IC is still wondering what is going on…my husband has good relations with both the PM and the former minister of mines, not to mention lots of French contacts, both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity. To be frank with you, I was somewhat embarrassed by the agency's sloppy work last go-round, and I am hesitant to suggest anything again. However, [my husband] may be in a position to assist.

Now to be fair, it's kind not a gung-ho slobbery recommendation, and she backs up her story that someone else had the initial idea that he go. That said, the tenor of Plame's memo is clearly "you guys screwed it up last time [whatever that was], so Joe can help." And more importantly, that person proposed Wilson's trip to Niger in the context of what appears in brackets as "a separate Niger matter". This memo is recommending he piggyback the yellowcake mission with whatever that separate matter was on a single trip.

It must have been some really important stuff going down in Niger if investigating a Saddam uranium shopping spree was just tacked on as an afterthought.

Note also that this memo is dated the day before the VP's office contacted the CIA. Joe's trip was already in the works before Cheney asked about Niger.

This is huge. We all knew Plame recommended Joe for the trip, but Joe has been denying it. Here's Valerie's own memo to impeach him. And possibly her.

A big JYB Tailwag to Macsmind.