Plame Blame Game

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," July 14, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

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ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Welcome back to "Hannity & Colmes." I'm Alan Colmes.

Coming up next, we are going to have a lot of analysis about the big announcement that came out just a few moments ago. Chief Justice William Rehnquist is not retiring from the Supreme Court. Dick Morris will join us with all the latest political analysis.

First, Valerie Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, lambasted Karl Rove today. He appeared in an interview this morning and at a press conference this afternoon with Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and demanded that Rove be held responsible for divulging his wife's identity.

But a USA Today report this morning that Wilson's own book could clear Karl Rove's name. According to the paper, Wilson claims in his book, "The Politics of Truth," that he and his wife returned from overseas assignments in 1997. But the book doesn't mention any covert actions overseas after that time.

Now, according to federal law, revealing her identity would only be a crime if she were a covert operative within the last five years. Now, seeing as Robert Novak first reported her identity in 2003, there may not be a crime to investigate.

Joining us now with more reaction is former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts. Welcome back, J.C.

J.C. WATTS, FORMER OKLAHOMA CONGRESSMAN: Thank you, Alan.

COLMES: Here's what I'm curious about with this. If that's true, why did Luskin, the attorney — Karl Rove's own attorney — decline to say whether he knew she was a covert operative? Why would he not have then come out and be forthcoming about it?

WATTS: Well, Alan and Sean, I think the critical issue here is, what is the investigatory process revealing? And you know, we have a way in politics — and I think Republicans have been guilty of it. And I think Democrats are guilty of it as well right now — of trying to make someone guilty because they think they're guilty.

And in our system of judicial processes in America, you're not guilty because someone says you're guilty. So Karl is cooperating. And what you say about what his attorney says, or what I say about what his attorney says, really is just speculation.

We need to allow the investigation to take place. The president has said he's ordered all of his people to fully cooperate. Karl is cooperating. And we'll see what's uncovered, but...

COLMES: That was the speculation. His attorney did say that. By the way, the administration for two years said Karl Rove had nothing to do with it. McClellan in a news conference after the news conference said he knew him, had nothing to do with it.

And clearly, they've now changed their tune. And all they can say is "ongoing investigation," which it's been for two years. So they're not consistent. You've got to at least acknowledge that.

WATTS: Well, Alan, I think what has been revealed is that Karl tried to — from my understanding — is Karl tried to keep a reporter from misstating the facts in his story, that President Cheney had sent Ambassador Wilson to look for whatever they were going to look for. And that was not the case.

And so, I think Karl, in that sense, you know — you can't say that he wasn't involved. But he wasn't involved in trying to start a rumor or leak something that was going to reveal that there was some person over there or break any laws in doing that.

HANNITY: The one person who has been consistently not honest here is Joe Wilson, the publicity hound. I mean, not being honest about the vice president's office having sent him. His wife had no role in this. All these facts — everything he's said turned out not to be true, not to be accurate.

I want to just move on here, because this is an important distinction in the law here, because the Democrats are trying to say that a law is broken. We actually went back, and we know that the person helped draft the law, Victoria Toensing, has pointed out that, for this to be any broken law at all, her status as an undercover agent must be classified. That was not the case.

She must have been assigned duty outside the U.S. currently or in the past five years. That's not the case. There is no broken law here. There is no revelation here.

Then the question remains, why are Democrats doing this if not for politics, Congressman?

WATTS: Well, Sean, when you —- and that's the issue. I think, when Republicans or Democrats — as badly as we like to jump the gun and convict someone because we want them to be guilty — you have nailed the real issue here.

What do the rules of the game — what do they say? What does the law say? What does the Constitution say? And we've got people investigating there — investigating this issue that would take the rules and the law and apply them.

And until that happens, you know, as I said to Alan earlier, it's just speculation about what I think or what we all think.

HANNITY: Well, here we are in Washington, where Howard Dean is as shrill as any Democratic chairman I've ever seen, "Republicans are evil, brain dead." I can go through the whole litany. Dick Durbin's ridiculous comments about Gitmo. Senator Kennedy's comments — the whole bunch of them.

The attacks — if we go down the list — against the president himself, constantly calling him "liar." The vice president, Condi Rice attacked, Gonzalez attacked, Ashcroft attacked, Rummy attacked. This is all the Democratic Party now represents, as a party that attacks Republicans without any ideas for important issues like national security or the economy, no?

WATTS: Well, you know, Sean, I think the unfortunate thing is, is that I've got to come on "Hannity & Colmes" tonight and talk about this, talk about speculation when I would much rather talk about the chairman of the Republican Party going to the NAACP convention in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, today, and talking about a real agenda, talking about the president's agenda, what Republicans are planning.

I'd love for Howard Dean to come on "Hannity & Colmes" and talk about what the Democrats are planning. But the fact is...

(CROSSTALK)

WATTS: ... they're not planning anything. They have no agenda.

COLMES: There is an ongoing investigation, says the CIA. And that means, you know, they're looking at something. They haven't decided to wrap it up yet. Thank you very much.

WATTS: But, because it's ongoing doesn't mean there's something there.

COLMES: Well, we'll find out.

WATTS: Let it take its course.

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