Tim Russert's Death

Was Russert another casualty of WMD damage control and the Plame Game?

Tim Russert

Scott McClellan

Karl Rove

Bush critic, Joe Wilson and CIA wife, Valerie Plame

The Iraq War continues.

Tim Russert's sudden death is one of the most troubling high-profile deaths in recent times. There can be little doubt that Russert had enemies in high places, and they may have feared they would be indicted as war criminals if Russert was not stopped. With Israel's current saber rattling, an Israeli strike against Iran seems eminent, with support from the Bush Administration. When such things are being planned, the plotters must get their propaganda machinery in place prior to the attack. This could be another reason for Mr. Russert's sudden demise.

Background

It's easy to forget that Russert had been pulled in the middle of the controversial debate about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when he testified in the trial of Scooter Libby approximately 16 months ago. Mr. Russert was called to testify by Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, and his testimony on February 7, 2007 ultimately helped convict Irv Lewis "Scooter" Libby on four counts of perjury related to White House harassment of former diplomat Joe Wilson for criticizing President Bush's statements about Saddam Hussein's efforts to obtain weapons of massive destruction. In apparent retaliation for Wilson's criticism, the Bush administration leaked to the press that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, was a covert CIA agent/operative. The reason for leaking this information was to plant terror in the minds of Wilson and his wife. On June 1, 2008, twelve days before Mr. Russert’s sudden death, Russert interviewed former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan on Meet the Press. McClellan had recently created a firestorm with revelations revealed in his new book, What Happened(?) -  Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception. In the interview, McClellan indicated that Bush's former top political aide, Karl Rove, also lied to him about personal involvement in the Wilson/Plame harassment case. Twelve days later, on June 13, 2008, Russert was dead. Scooter Libby was Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs.

Recap of the Plame Game
I never liked the term "Plame Game" which was the press's nickname for the scandal about leaking Valerie Plame's covert CIA activities to the news media. The reason I dislike the words, Plame Game, is because it confuses the issue about who was being harassed, and why. Valerie Plame was not being overtly harassed in the sense that she had committed an offense and someone was trying to get even. The target was her husband, former diplomat Joe Wilson. Ms. Plame was merely collateral damage — similar to a pawn in a real life Chess game. But there is little doubt the true target was Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson. During the first Gulf War, Mr. Wilson was acting ambassador to Iraq.

On July 6, 2003, the New York Times published an op-ed piece written by Mr. Wilson which claimed that the Bush administration had twisted intelligence to "exaggerate the Iraqi threat" prior to the invasion. Eight days later, syndicated columnist Robert Novak published a response article which revealed that Mr. Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, was a covert CIA operative, an assertion that turned out to be true. Mr. Novak’s article quickly turned into a scandal where many people accused the Bush administration of leaking Ms. Plame’s covert CIA employment status to the media as a means of punishing her husband, Mr. Wilson, for writing the stated article. Some have claimed that Mr. Novak's article placed Ms. Plame’s life in danger. A criminal trial ensued and ultimately Scooter Libby was convicted of multiple counts of perjury, but his sentence was commuted by Bush, and Libby never spent a day in jail. Miraculously, Karl Rove escaped indictment and prosecution, but things heated up approximately three weeks ago, on June 1, 2008, when Scott McClellan appeared on Meet the Press and told Tim Russert that Rove was involved in the Wilson/Plame scandal. (To read the full Meet the Press transcript from June 1, 2008, click here.)

Scott McClellan testifies on Capitol Hill. Republicans are incensed.
On June 20, 2008, Scott McClellan testified before the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill. He essentially accused high-level White House officials of leaking Valerie Plame's CIA status to the press as a means of intimidating her husband, Joe Wilson, for publicly criticizing Bush about invading Iraq. McClellan was particularly rough on Karl Rove, stating that Rove had lied to him personally about involvement in the Plame/Wilson incident. It was expected that some Republicans would be upset, but the level of anger expressed by a few GOP members of the House was surprising. The personal insults directed against McClellan revealed a level of chauvinism, fanaticism and rudeness rarely displayed in the cordial quarters of House or Senate hearing rooms.

McClellan's book and sworn testimony on Capitol Hill provide a first-hand account of actions and comments made by Bush and others in the administration's inner circle that led up to the invasion of Iraq. This makes them vulnerable to criminal prosecution when Bush leaves office in January 2009. Naturally they were upset. Nobody wants to go to jail. Impeachment is possible too; however, in my opinion, it is not a serious concern because only four months remain before the November presidential election. After that, Bush will be a lame duck president for another two months when the successor is officially inaugurated in January. So there probably isn't enough time left to impeach anyone, but come the end of January 2009, Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rove and others could definitely be tried as war criminals, and McClellan could be a star witness for the prosecutor. So Republicans who are still loyal to President Bush have plenty of reason to be angry with McClellan. The question to ask is are such people angry enough to commit murder?

Representative Lamar Smith of Texas was particularly obnoxious with unending cheap shots to Mr. McClellan. "Welcome to the Judiciary Committee's first book of the month club meeting," Smith said scathingly in his opening statement. "Who is the real Scott McClellan?" Smith asked. "While we may never know the answers, Scott McClellan alone will have to wrestle with whether it was worth selling out the president and his friends for a few pieces of silver."

Chauvinism is probably the best word to describe Smith’s attitude towards McClellan. Most US Senators and House members are intelligent people, but on the topic of the Iraq War, the war on terrorism, and America’s unyielding support of Israel, it is not unusual to see normally reasonable politicians act as though they have taken drugs, causing them to temporarily lose touch with reality and common sense. Unfortunately, chauvinism on these topics occasionally goes beyond mere temper tantrums in a House hearing room.

Russert hinted on Meet the Press that 9/11 was an inside job.

On the June 1st, 2008 airing of Meet the Press, Tim Russert subtly opened the discussion of 9-11 being an inside job. He did this by reading a passage from guest Scott McClellan's book, What Happened(?) - Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception. He read the passage, then he pressed McClellan to say when the Bush Administration first made the decision to invade Iraq. Here is the exchange between Russert and McClellan:

(To read the full Meet the Press transcript from June 1, 2008, click here.)

Anomalies in Russert's death:

Clearly people within the Bush administration had motive for killing Tim Russert. But motive alone does not equate to guilt. Nevertheless, the following list is a summary of anomalies I have found in Russert's death, followed by additional comments on each anomaly. At this point, the anomalies are based on cursory information obtained from newspaper articles, magazine articles, TV coverage, and Google searches related to Tim Russert's death.

[1] It is unclear who performed Russert’s rush autopsy.

[2] There are conflicting accounts about the cause of death.

[3] Dr. Michael Newman is the only known physician to describe Russert’s heart condition; however, it appears that Dr. Newman does not work at Sibley Hospital, where Russert was pronounced dead.

[4] Sibley Hospital officials have not issued a public statement about Russert’s death at that medical facility.

[5] The news media hyped up the topic of sudden heart attacks immediately after Russert’s death.

[6] There is a disparity regarding the time that Russert went to his son's Georgetown apartment on the day he died to meet a Comcast cable technician. There are also conflicting accounts as to whether Russert died in the morning or the afternoon.

[7] Few eye-witnesses have come forward to describe Russert’s collapse/heart attack, which reportedly occurred during working hours at an NBC studio in Washington, DC. People Magazine reported that Wall Street Journal bureau chief Jerry Seib was a guest on The Tim Russert Show that day, but it is unclear from the People article if Mr. Seib actually witnessed the collapse.

[8] There is a disparity regarding what Russert was actually doing at the studio when he collapsed. Most accounts claim he was doing voice overs for Meet the Press. People Magazine indicates he was video taping The Tim Russert Show.

[9] Mr. Russert was an enemy of the Bush Administration because his testimony helped convict Scooter Libby.

[10] Karl Rove and President Bush were certainly angry about Russert’s June 1st, 2008 Meet the Press interview where former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan indicated that Bush should have fired Rove for his involvement in the Joseph Wilson harassment case.

[11] John McCain and the Bush Administration must certainly resent an ardent liberal, like Tim Russert, constantly haranguing them about the Iraq War on his weekly show, Meet the Press, which shaped the opinions of millions of viewers.

[12] It is not difficult to fake a heart attack.

Discussion of Anomalies:

The following comments are restatements of the previously mentioned anomalies, with additional comments provided for each.

[1] It is unclear who performed Russert’s autopsy. An autopsy was reportedly performed on Russert within a few hours after his death, but we do not know who performed it or where it was performed. One would think it was performed at Sibley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, but we simply do not know the details of what happened at Sibley as far the identities of the doctors who pronounced Russert dead and who performed the autopsy soon afterwards.

[2] There are conflicting accounts about the cause of death. Jill Lawrence (USA Today) described it as follows: "Michael Newman, Russert's doctor, told MSNBC that Russert had asymptomatic coronary artery disease that was controlled with medication and exercise. He said Russert performed well on a stress test in late April. He died, Newman said, when cholesterol plaque ruptured in an artery, causing sudden coronary thrombosis. Newman said an autopsy showed he also had an enlarged heart."(1)

Ms. Lawrence mentions an autopsy, but who performed it? One would assume it was Dr. Newman because he supplied the information about the autopsy to Ms. Lawrence. If he was Russert's personal physician, then he most likely did not. Did Dr. Newman even work at Sibley? My research indicates that the answers are negative to both questions; however, it is not certain. (Dr. Newman's background is discussed in Point # 3.)

Assuming that Dr. Newman did not perform the autopsy, and assuming the person who did was a Sibley doctor (which seems more likely), then why didn't that doctor, or someone from Sibley, explain the autopsy results to the public instead of passing the information to another doctor (Dr. Newman)? Perhaps people were rushed and did the best they could. On the other hand, if the doctor who performed the autopsy report would lie about his/her findings because of foul play, then that doctor becomes legally compromised and could be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. By having another doctor lie about the autopsy findings, both doctors are immune.

Nevertheless, "sudden coronary thrombosis" was the initial cause of death, per Dr. Newman. It was repeated by many reporters besides Jill Lawrence.

On June 20, 2008, People Magazine offered a similar, but slightly different explanation. Jill Smolowe wrote the following explanation, with assistance from Molly Lopez and Nicole Weisensee:

Dr. Newman's "sudden coronary thrombosis" seems similar to Smolowe, Lopez and Weisensee's "heart attack and an arrhythmia known as ventricular fibrillation." I'm not a doctor, but it seems like doctors and journalists should use verbiage from the autopsy report to describe the cause of death of a well-known person like Tim Russert. That would mean they should be using the same medical terminology, but for some reason, different terms are being used.

[3] Dr. Michael Newman is the only known physician to describe Russert’s heart condition; however, it appears that Dr. Newman does not work at Sibley Hospital, where Russert was pronounced dead. My research reveals that Dr. Newman works at George Washington Hospital, not Sibley. My research also shows that Dr. Newman does medical consulting with the State Department, which is often used as a euphemism for CIA. By law, CIA employees cannot reveal the identity of their employer, so many say they work for the State Department. Dr. Newman was reportedly a Peace Corp worker as a younger man. Many people firmly believe that the Peace Corp is a CIA front; however, it has never been established as fact.

[4] Sibley Hospital officials have not issued a public statement about Russert’s death at that medical facility. Russert reportedly died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC, but there are no known statements about his death by anyone who works at Sibley. As previously stated, the main medical spokes person to describe Russert's death was a Dr. Michael Newman, who was reportedly Russert’s personal physician, but apparently not affiliated with Sibley. Why are the people at Sibley being so sheepish about commenting on Russert's death? All we know is someone from Sibley Hospital pronounced Russert dead at approximately 2:23 pm on June 13, 2008, according to Jill Lawrence with USA Today.

[5] The news media hyped up the topic of sudden heart attacks immediately after Russert’s death. It wasn’t as though Russert had a rare medical condition that needed explanation. Most Americans certainly realize that people frequently die suddenly from heart attacks. Perhaps a diversion was needed because Russert did well on a stress test in late April.

[6] There is a disparity regarding the time that Russert went to his son's Georgetown apartment on the day he died to meet a Comcast cable technician. There are also conflicting accounts as to whether Russert died in the morning or the afternoon. Russert was reportedly at his son’s Georgetown apartment on the morning he died, according to a Washington Post article by Howard Kurtz. Russert reportedly went there to oversee his son Luke’s setup of cable service by Comcast. The name of the Comcast technician was Michael Hart, from Waldorf, Maryland. Russert and Hart reportedly knew each other casually and exchanged pleasantries. Hart said "they were laughing and joking as he [Hart] set up cable service for Russert's son." Hart reportedly said that Russert touched both of his hands as they left and rode the elevator together. Russert reportedly thanked Hart for taking care of his family and wished him a happy Father’s Day. Hart claims he hugged Russert in return.(3) (This is odd behavior for two adult men. It seems like part of the story was left out for some reason.)

On Friday, June 20, 2008, People Magazine published an article, by Alex Tresniowski, about Russert's life and death. The article indicates that Russert was at the NBC studio in Washington, DC at 9 am to video tape The Tim Russert Show. The following is an excerpt from Mr. Alex Tresniowski's article:

Oddly, Mr. Tresniowski contradicts himself about the cable man because he also wrote, in the same article, that Russert went to his son's apartment in the morning to "wait for the cable man." The following is an excerpt from Mr. Alex Tresniowski's article:

[7] Few eye-witnesses have come forward to describe Russert’s collapse/heart attack, which reportedly occurred during working hours at an NBC studio in Washington, DC. People Magazine reported that Wall Street Journal bureau chief Jerry Seib was a guest on The Tim Russert Show that day, but it is unclear from the People article if Mr. Seib actually witnessed the collapse. Russert reportedly collapsed while "recording voice overs" for Meet the Press, but no eye-witnesses (studio staff/engineers) to the event were quoted in the press initially; however, they began to emerge over time. Still, very little information has been provided by people at the studio where Russert collapsed. My research indicates that Alan Etter was one of the first people to see Russert unconscious at the studio, but Mr. Etter was not an eye-witness to the collapse. Mr. Etter works for D.C. Fire and Rescue and reportedly responded to an emergency call at the offices of WRC-TV where the Washington, D.C. bureau of NBC News is housed, where Russert was bureau chief. According to Jill Lawrence with USA Today, Mr. Etter found Russert "in a small office, so small he almost spilled out of the room. A person with him was trying to breathe for him, using a rescue breathing mask, but wasn't doing chest compressions which are now known to be vital for saving lives." Ms. Lawrence did not identify the person with the breathing mask. Russert reportedly collapsed at 1:40 pm, according to Lawrence, was treated by paramedics approximately four minutes later, was taken to Sibley Hospital at 2:07, arrived at 2:23 pm, and was immediately pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Lawrence. Ms. Lawrence also wrote: "The paramedics on the scene shocked Russert's heart three times to try to restart it, but he did not respond."(1)

The previously cited People Magazine article by Alex Tresniowski is less credible than others because it identifies 13 people as authors of the three-page article; however, Mr. Tresniowski appears to be the lead writer. The article cites two additional people as eye-witnesses to Russert's collapse. They are Wall Street Journal bureau chief Jerry Seib and Betsy Fischer, whom Mr. Tresniowski identified as executive producer of Meet the Press. It is unclear from Mr. Tresniowski's description if Mr. Seib actually witnessed the collapse, but Ms. Fischer was definitely there, according to Tresniowski, who described Russert's death as follows:

There are some serious logistic problems with Mr. Tresniowski's description of Russert's death. First, Mr. Tresniowski indicates that Russert collapsed in the morning, but most accounts claim he collapsed in the afternoon and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. As previously stated, Jill Lawrence, of USA Today, wrote that Russert collapsed at 1:40 pm and was pronounced dead at Sibley Hospital shortly arriving there by ambulance at 2:23 pm. Mr. Tresniowski claims Russert arrived at "9 am...entered a recording booth," then collapsed. Perhaps Mr. Tresniowski was in a hurry when he wrote the article and neglected to state that four hours and 40 minutes elapsed from the time Russert entered the studio at 9 am and the time he entered the recording booth and collapsed at 1:40 pm. Regardless of what Mr. Tresniowski intended to write, his actual statements give the definite impression that Russert died in the morning.

I have already mentioned a second problem with Mr. Tresniowski's description of Russert's death where Tresniowski claims that Russert went to his son Luke's Georgetown apartment in the morning to meet a cable technician, but Tresniowski also says Russert was video taping a show in the morning. (See Point 6 for a description of Russert's meeting with the cable technician, according to Washington Post writer Howard Kurtz and Mr. Tresniowski.)

A third problem is Mr. Tresniowski indicated that a guest had arrived for The Tim Russert Show. That guest, according to Mr. Tresniowski, was Wall Street Journal bureau chief Jerry Seib. Virtually every news account I have read indicates that Russert was doing voice overs for Meet the Press when he collapsed. Had he been video taping a video segment, as Mr. Tresniowski indicates, there would have been all kinds of witnesses when he collapsed. Besides guest(s), there would have been camera people, audio people, lighting people, a director, the list goes on. If we are to believe Mr. Tresniowski's version of events, where are these people?

Normally eye-witnesses, doctors, nurses, and the general public are quite willing to tell reporters what they observed when a famous person dies, and reporters are usually anxious to get a tip on any big story. When reporters clam up, or give explanations that make little sense, it's usually a red flag signaling a cover-up. This is not an absolute rule, but when a major celebrity dies in the middle of the day, at his office, it is quite unusual to have as few eye-witnesses as we have with Russert's death. So far we have two eye-witness accounts, but they conflict with other reports. Mr. Alan Etter of D.C. Fire and Rescue was a third witness, but he arrived after the fact and did not see the actual collapse.

[8] There is a disparity regarding what Russert was actually doing at the studio when he collapsed. Most accounts claim he was doing voice overs for Meet the Press. People Magazine indicates he was video taping The Tim Russert Show. This may seem like a small point, but it drives home the issue of apparent secrecy surrounding Russert's death. We really do not know what Mr. Russert was doing in the studio when he collapsed. Some accounts indicate that he collapsed in the morning while video taping The Tim Russert Show. Other accounts claim he collapsed in the afternoon while doing voice overs for Meet the Press.

[9] Mr. Russert was an enemy of the Bush Administration because his testimony helped convict Scooter Libby. Mr. Russert was called to testify against Scooter Libby by Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. His testimony on February 7, 2007 ultimately helped convict Libby on four counts of perjury related to White House harassment of Joe Wilson, which included leaking to the press that Wilson's wife was a CIA agent/operative.

[10] Karl Rove and President Bush were certainly angry about Russert’s June 1st, 2008 Meet the Press interview where former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan indicated that Bush should have fired Rove for his involvement in the Joseph Wilson harassment case. On June 1, 2008, twelve days before Mr. Russert’s sudden death, Russert interviewed former Bush press secretary, Scott McClellan, who indicated that Karl Rove lied and perhaps committed perjury in the Joseph Wilson harassment case, and should have been fired by Bush. McClellan also provided compelling eye-witness testimony that Bush himself harassed Wilson by releasing selective portions of classified intelligence documents as a means of discrediting Wilson. Bush reportedly admitted to McClellan that he had performed this unethical deed, according to McClellan. (To read the full Meet the Press transcript from June 1, 2008, click here.)

[11] John McCain and the Bush Administration must certainly resent an ardent liberal, like Tim Russert, constantly haranguing them about the Iraq War on his weekly show, Meet the Press, which shaped the opinions of millions of viewers. Russert did not wear his liberalism on his sleeve, but he began his career as an aide to New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and New York Governor Mario Cuomo. It was common knowledge that Russert liked Barack Obama and was not a fan of Senator John McCain or his blind support of the Bush's decision to invade Iraq and maintain troops there indefinitely. Russert had publicly reminded McCain of his statement that he intended to keep US troops in Iraq for one-hundred years.

[12] It is not difficult to fake a heart attack. My research indicates that it is very easy, particularly if there are no witnesses. If the victim is in his late 50’s, with known heart problems that are not life-threatening, it is even easier to fake. The simplest way is to smother the victim with a pillow, then put out a fake medical explanation by a real physician. Smothering a person in his/her sleep is a common murder technique employed by professional assassins. No traces of foul play are evident. Russert’s wife and son were in Italy when he died, so he was isolated from loved ones. Since eye-witnesses have not come forward to explain Russert’s final hours in a manner that makes sense, it is plausible that many different scenarios may have occurred. For example, who was the unidentified person seen by paramedic Alan Etter? This person was reportedly using a rescue breathing mask, but was not doing chest compressions. It could have been completely innocent, but why is this individual's name being withheld? Another scenario involves the morning visit to his son's Georgetown apartment to meet a cable technician. I won't give specific details because real people are involved. Let's just say that if he was smothered, the best way to do it would be away from the studio, then the body is returned, paramedics are called, an unidentified person is intentionally seen attempting to resuscitate him, and he is pronounced dead shortly thereafter. A tidy medical explanation is quickly disseminated to the public by the news media.

SOURCE NOTES:

(1) "NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58," by Jill Lawrence, USA Today June 14, 2008.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-06-13-russert-obit_N.htm?csp=34

(2) People Magazine, June 30, 2008 edition, but it was actually released to the public on June 20, 2008. Reference "A Good Life: Behind the TV newsman's bulldog facade was a man of faith who loved his wife and son above all;" pages 46 through 51. (Actual text of article is approximately three pages.) 13 people are credited as authors of the article. They are Alex Tresniowski, Frank Swertlow, Mark Dagostino, Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, Nicole Weisensee Egan, Susan Keating, Diane Herbst, Sharon Cotiar, Kristen Mascia, Kathy Ehrich Dowd, Silvia Sansoni, Diane Clehane, Robin L. Flanigan. Mr. Alex Tresniowski appears to be the lead writer. (The article has his name at the end, followed by "Reported by," then twelve more names are listed.) A preliminary version of the article is show here: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20207591,00.html

(3) "Journalist Revitalized Washington Talk Shows," by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, June 14, 2008; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/13/AR2008061302423_pf.html