Somewhere, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove Are Smiling...

A major revelation in Plamegate comes not with a bang, but a mere whimper-

NY Times: First Source of C.I.A. Leak Admits Role, Lawyer Says

Richard L. Armitage, a former deputy secretary of state, has acknowledged that he was the person whose conversation with a columnist in 2003 prompted a long, politically laden criminal investigation... Mr. Armitage did not return calls for comment. But the lawyer and other associates of Mr. Armitage have said he has confirmed that he was the initial and primary source for the columnist, Robert D. Novak, whose column of July 14, 2003, identified Valerie Wilson as a Central Intelligence Agency officer.

The identification of Mr. Armitage as the original leaker to Mr. Novak ends what has been a tantalizing mystery. In recent months, however, Mr. Armitage’s role had become clear to many, and it was recently reported by Newsweek magazine and The Washington Post...

...The book quotes Carl W. Ford Jr., then head of the intelligence and research bureau at the State Department, as saying that Mr. Armitage had told him, “I may be the guy who caused this whole thing,’’ and that he regretted having told the columnist more than he should have.

Until Scooter Libby's trial begins, this is likely the end of this scandal.

Sad also that apparently everyone knew who the third man was all along (including the prosecutor?) and continued to play dumb for the public for years. The administration insists this was all just 'gossip' and no big deal and yet they have spent the last three years covering it up. It just doesn't add up. More than likely, we won't know the full story until after Bush has left office.