Updates at End

Time has the story on the events that brought Woodward forward and his source to Fitzgerald.

In his press conference announcing Libby’s indictment, Fitzgerald noted that, “Mr. Libby was the first official known to have told a reporter when he talked to Judith Miller in June of 2003 about Valerie Wilson.” Woodward realized, given that the indictment stated Libby disclosed the information to New York Times reporter Miller on June 23, that Libby was not the first official to talk about Wilson’s wife to a reporter. Woodward himself had received the information earlier.

According to Woodward, that triggered a call to his source. “I said it was clear to me that the source had told me [about Wilson’s wife] in mid-June,” says Woodward, “and this person could check his or her records and see that it was mid-June. My source said he or she had no alternative but to go to the prosecutor. I said, ‘If you do, am I released?'”, referring to the confidentiality agreement between the two. The source said yes, but only for purposes of discussing it with Fitzgerald, not for publication.

Which is nearly exactly what I guessed it was when I wrote this earlier today:

It appears Woodward’s source had told Woodward he was going to alert Fitzgerald, giving Woodward time to tell Downie before Fitzgerald was brought in. It is also interesting the Woodward was doing a story on the Plame Game – hopefully this story will still come out! And Fitzgerald has himself to blame for Woodward not seeing the import of his discussion with his source. Until Fitzgerald came out with his version of reality (verses the much better and detailed on that exist with bloggers like Tom Maguire), Woodward would not realize his discussion was possibly the first with a government source. I say “possibly” because Fitzgerald never looked into two other government sources: Valerie and Joe Wilson.

And no, I did not see the Time story first! One interesting tidbit:

Asked if this was the first time his source had spoken with Fitzgerald in the investigation, Woodward said “I’m not sure. It’s quite possibly not the first time.”

Well, can’t be someone in the news associated with Fitzgerald’s case. One of our readers (Maid Marion) thinks it’s Randy Beers. Here is a cached copy of a June 16, 2003 article in the Washington Post:

Five days before the war began in Iraq, as President Bush prepared to raise the terrorism threat level to orange, a top White House counterterrorism adviser unlocked the steel door to his office, an intelligence vault secured by an electronic keypad, a combination lock and an alarm. He sat down and turned to his inbox.

“Things were dicey,” said Rand Beers, recalling the stack of classified reports about plots to shoot, bomb, burn and poison Americans. He stared at the color-coded threats for five minutes. Then he called his wife: I’m quitting.

Beers’s resignation surprised Washington, but what he did next was even more astounding. Eight weeks after leaving the Bush White House, he volunteered as national security adviser for Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), a Democratic candidate for president, in a campaign to oust his former boss. All of which points to a question: What does this intelligence insider know?

Hmmm…. Why is this Beers article running at the same time Wilson is letting out his story??

“The administration wasn’t matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They’re making us less secure, not more secure,” said Beers, who until now has remained largely silent about leaving his National Security Council job as special assistant to the president for combating terrorism.

The guy is a bit strange, as is the reporter who added this personal note

Beers, a lifelong bureaucrat, unassuming and tight-lipped until now. He is an unlikely insurgent. He served on the NSC under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and the current Bush. The oath of office hangs on the wall by his bed; he tears up when he watches “The West Wing.”

At least Beers didn’t try to pretend he was a Republican like Wilson did:

Although Beers has worked in three Republican administrations, he is a registered Democrat.

In his position at on the NSC Beer probably knew Valerie and Joe Wilson. The intel and state dept world is not very big. And then there is this:

The first thing Beers noticed when he walked into his new office was the pile of intelligence reports. The “threat stuff,” as Beers calls it, was 10 times thicker than it had been before the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

Which means he worked with Richard Clarke and Sandy Berger at one time. Yep, reading a little further that is confirmed big time:

Clarke, his old counterterrorism pal, took one look at the haggard man on his stoop and opened a bottle of Russian River Pinot Noir. Then he opened another bottle. Clarke toasted Beers, saying: You can still fight the fight.

The comment is on this post (yes, we are looking into permalinks to comments) and refers to Rand Beers -which if I had remembered correctly would have helped me miss the above article in the Post. So we have two Kerry people out in the news that month: Wilson and Beers. And Beers was in Vietnam – of course.

UPDATE:

Reader Mary Mapes, in the comments, reminds is Rand Beers not only worked with Wilson on the Kerry campaign – he too knew of Valerie’s CIA job (and more) – Jackpot! And from a source we linked to before regarding all the people who knew about Valerie!

Kerry’s advisers acknowledged yesterday that Wilson, who has also donated $2,000 to Kerry this year, told them about his allegations against the White House involving his wife before going public with them this summer. But Rand Beers, Kerry’s top adviser on foreign affairs, said the campaign has not played a role in coordinating Wilson’s charges.

That’s a two-fer!

Plus, as I predicted, Sandy Berger knew Beers too:

Berger, the former Clinton national security adviser, said one key to Beers’ success is that he doesn’t mind sharing credit.

“Randy’s someone who is high value, low maintenance,” said Berger. “I’ve discovered in Washington that when you’re prepared to give other people the credit, you can get an awful lot done.”

And this shocker, where Beers is involved with China money scandals and Clinton-Gore. This comes from a Washington Times review of Louis Freeh’s Book, ‘My FBI’

Worse was to come. In November 1997, Mr. Freeh sent Attorney General Janet Reno a 27-page memo about allegations of illicit fund-raising during the 1996 campaign. Much “soft money” came into the Clinton-Gore camp “from alarming sources, including the People’s Republic of China.” Miss Reno refused Mr. Freeh’s recommendation that an independent counsel run the case.

Then the president made a mistake. In an offhand remark to the press, he claimed that had the FBI briefed the White House, he would have ensured that there was no “undue influence” involved. But as Mr. Freeh writes, two FBI agents had briefed Rand Beers, a senior National Security Council staff member. To Mr. Freeh, it was “inconceivable” that such explosive material would not have reached the president. He writes, “It’s not in my character to lose my temper.” So he vented his anger by helping to “draft a press statement that said, in effect, the White House was lying.”

Wild. Anyway, Rand Beers is the kind of witness Fitzgerald might treat as a whistle blower. And he might be the source for more than Woodward (if he is the source of course). I do not see how will know for sure unless someone, ….yep, leaks.

UPDATE II:

Check out the people on this leftwing propoganda hit piece! Lots and lots of familiar names joined forces. Can we call it a vast leftwing conspiracy yet?