“Before the war, it could have been a firing offense–if not a federal crime–for a government official to disclose any of the contents of the National Intelligence Estimate [NIE]. But now, with the administration under fierce attack for having manipulated intelligence, Bush was directing the vice president [Dick Cheney] to leak parts of the NIE to protect the White House. …On the afternoon of June 27, 2003, [journalist Bob] Woodward showed up in [vice presidential Chief of Staff Scooter] Libby’s office for an interview for Plan of Attack. …Libby shared with Woodward some of the NIE…But Libby wasn’t exactly revealing the full truth; he was marshaling evidence to defend his client, the vice president.”
– Michael Isikoff and David Corn, Hubris, Pages 250-251