Text of a Conversation between Woodward and Armitage Recorded June 13, 2003

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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WOODWARD: What’s Scowcroft up to?

ARMITAGE: [expletive deleted] Scowcroft is looking into the yellowcake thing.

W: Oh yeah?

A: As the PFIAB.

W: Yeah. What happened there?

A: They’re back together. [coughs] They knew with yellowcake, the CIA is not going to be hurt by this one —

W: I know, that’s —

A: — Hadley and Bob Joseph know. It’s documented. We’ve got our documents on it. We’re clean as a whistle. And George personally got it out of the Cincinnati speech of the president.

W: Oh, he did?

A: Oh, yeah.

W: Oh, really?

A: Yeah.

W: It was taken out?

A: Taken out. George said you can’t do this.

W: How come it wasn’t taken out of the State of the Union then?

A: Because I think it was overruled by the types down at the White House. Condi doesn’t like being in the hot spot. But she —

W: But it was Joe Wilson who was sent by the agency. I mean that’s just —

A: His wife works in the agency.

W: — Why doesn’t that come out? Why does —

A: Everyone knows it.

W: — that have to be a big secret? Everyone knows.

A: Yeah. And I know [e.d.] Joe Wilson’s been calling everybody. He’s pissed off because he was designated as a low-level guy, went out to look at it. So, he’s all pissed off.

W: But why would they send him?

A: Because his wife’s a [e.d.] analyst at the agency.

W: It’s still weird.

A: It — It’s perfect. This is what she does. She is a WMD analyst out there.

W: Oh, she is.

A: Yeah.

W: Oh, I see.

A: [e.d.] look at it.

W: Oh, I see. I didn’t [e.d.].

A: Yeah. See?

W: Oh, she’s the chief WMD?

A: No, she isn’t the chief, no.

W: But high enough up that she can say, “Oh yeah, hubby will go.”

A: Yeah, he knows Africa.

W:: Was she out there with him?

A: No.

W: When he was ambassador?

A: Not to my knowledge. I don’t know. I don’t know if she was out there or not. But his wife is in the agency and is a WMD analyst. How about that [e.d.]?

The New York Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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