Was it Armitage after all?

The AP says the former deputy secretary of state met with Bob Woodward on the same day Woodward first learned of Valerie Plame's identity.

Published August 22, 2006 1:13PM (EDT)

We've been skeptical of the suggestion that Richard Armitage was the source who first leaked Valerie Plame's identity to reporters, but the Associated Press has just uncovered a small bit of evidence that lends some credence to the theory: State Department calendars show that Armitage had a one-hour "private meeting" with Bob Woodward on June 13, 2003 -- the same day that Woodward apparently first learned of Plame's identity.

Ben Bradlee, Woodward's former editor, has said that it's reasonable to assume that Armitage was Woodward's source. Woodward and Armitage both refused to comment for the AP report.

The identity of Woodward's source is something of a tangent in Plamegate, except for this: Robert Novak, who, unlike Woodward, actually outed Plame in print, has said that whoever told Woodward of Plame's identity is probably the same person who first told him.


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

MORE FROM Tim Grieve


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

War Room