Abu Wabu

Via NRO's Media Blog, one of the most impeccably informative blog entries I have ever read.

Seixon's work connecting the dots between the VIPS, Joe Wilson, David Shuster, Jason Leopold et al is bearing robust fruit:

Truthout is whoring itself for VIPS and Wilson, with Leopold acting as a mouthpiece, William Rivers Pitt backing him up, and Richard Sale chiming in with his UPI-credibility. They’ve all been running numerous rumors and outright falsehoods fabricated by VIPS to influence public opinion and perhaps even Fitzgerald’s investigation. The Fitzgerald Niger forgeries story was invented by Vincent Cannistraro and Larry Johnson of VIPS; it was peddled to Justin Raimondo then Richard Sale and Martin Walker of UPI. Leopold carries the gig by repeating all of these stories in Truthout, while Larry Johnson conducts damage control when things get out of hand.

There can no longer be any doubt that most of these explosive and uncorroborated “news” stories are being manufactured by the tight-knit group of former intelligence officials in tandem with Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, and most likely backers in the Democratic Party. It is also probably no coincidence that David Shuster and Chris Matthews of MSNBC have carried many of the same rumors and false stories, such as the one claiming that outing Plame damaged efforts on Iran. Shuster has been hyping a Rove indictment as imminent for over a month, something only one other source has been doing: Jason Leopold.

VIPS was started to compel intelligence officials to illegally leak classified information to damage the Bush administration, and is apparently now in the business of manufacturing false news and rumor-mongering to do the same. It should come as no surprise that a group of veteran intelligence officials would have the clout to pull off such an enterprise, and that they would cut any corner necessary to fulfill their agenda.

Media Blog points out,

Referring to these VIPS guys as "former intelligence officials" and nothing more is highly deceitful. They are activists, and granting them anonymity serves no purpose other than to conceal that fact from news consumers. How often have we seen this happen in major news stories about this case?

Drip, drip, drip.

DRIP.