October 15, 2001:

US intelligence agencies receive reports from the Italian intelligence service SISMI of a supposed agreement between Iraq and Niger for the sale of yellowcake uranium. The State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research considers the report "highly suspect" because the French control Niger's uranium industry. The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Energy consider a uranium deal "possible."

October 18, 2001:

The State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research issues a report stating that there is no corroborative evidence that there was any agreement on uranium transfer between Iraq and Niger, or that any uranium was actually transferred.

February 5, 2002:

The CIA's Directorate of Operations "the clandestine branch that employed Valerie Wilson"issues a second report including "verbatim text" of an agreement for the sale of 500 tons of uranium yellowcake per year that was supposedly signed July 5-6, 2000.

February 12, 2002:

The Defense Intelligence Agency writes a report concluding that "Iraq is probably searching abroad for natural uranium to assist in its nuclear weapons program." Vice President Cheney reads this report and asks for the CIA's analysis.

February 19, 2002 :

Joseph Wilson meets with officials from CIA and the State Department. According to a State Department intelligence analyst's notes, the meeting was apparently convened by Valerie Wilson. She later testifies that she left the meeting after introducing her husband.

February 26, 2002:

Wilson arrives in Niger. After meeting with the former Nigerien Prime Minister, the former Minister of Mines and Energy, and other business contacts, Wilson concludes that "it was highly unlikely that anything was going on."

March 5, 2002:

Wilson reports back to two CIA officers at his home. According to a reports officer, Valerie Wilson is present at the debriefing but does not participate.

March 8-9, 2002:

An intelligence report of Wilson's trip is sent through routine channels. Wilson is identified only as "a contact with excellent access who does not have an established reporting record." The CIA gives Wilson's information a grade of "good," the middle of five possible grades. Cheney is not directly briefed about the report.

September 24, 2002:

The British government issues a public dossier saying, "[T]here is intelligence that Iraq has sought the supply of significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

October 1, 2002:

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) "a summary of intelligence assessments for policymakers" says "a foreign government service" reported that Niger planned to send several tons of "pure uranium" to Iraq, possibly up to 500 tons a year.

October 4, 2002:

A much shorter declassified version, scrubbed of all dissenting opinions that were contained in the original version, is released. "It represented an unqualified case that Hussein possessed [WMDs], avoided a discussion of whether he had the will to use them and omitted the dissenting opinions contained in the classified version." Sen. Graham demands that the administration release the dissenting portions.

October 7, 2002:

In response, CIA Director George Tenet writes a letter to Graham declassifying a statement in the NIE that there was a "low" likelihood of Iraq launching an unprovoked attack on the United States. Graham demands that Tenet declassify more of the dissenting opinions in the report, but the White House orders Tenet not to. (The New Republic, 6/30/03)

President Bush gives a speech at the Cincinnati Museum Center in which he outlines the threat of Iraq. Following advice from CIA Director George Tenet, a reference to Saddam Hussein seeking uranium in Niger was removed from the speech.

November 10, 2002:

The Washington Post reports that "any amounts of uranium oxide, called 'yellow cake,' will be one of the first items the United Nations inspection team will look for in Iraq's declaration, due Dec. 8, of its programs to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons."

January 28, 2003 :

President Bush delivers State of the Union uttering his now famous "16 words."

February 5, 2003:

Secretary of State Colin Powell makes his now famous WMD presentation to the UN. References to the uranium claims are not included.

February 13, 2003:

Joseph Wilson writes an editorial published in The Nation. that states, "This war is not about weapons of mass destruction... The underlying objective of this war is the imposition of a Pax Americana on the region and installation of vassal regimes that will control restive populations....There is a huge risk of overreach in this tack."

March 7, 2003:

IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei tells the UN Security Council that the documents allegedly detailing uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger are "not authentic" and "these specific allegations are unfounded."

March 9, 2003:

Powell acknowledges that the documents concerning the alleged Iraq-Niger uranium deal might be false.

March 19, 2003:

The invasion of Iraq begins.

May 1, 2003:

President Bush announces Mission accomplished!

May 6, 2003:

Nicholas Kristof publishes the opinion column entitled "Missing in Action: Truth" in which he writes of a "a former U.S. ambassador to Africa" sent to Niger to verify the information in the documents and reporting to the C.I.A. and State Department that "the information was unequivocally wrong and that the documents had been forged."

June 8, 2003:

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says that none of the top level administration leaders knew the Niger documents were bogus at the time they put them in the president's speech.

June 20, 2003:

The New Republic reports that there is circumstantial evidence suggesting that Dick Cheney knew the Niger uranium sale story was false even before it went into the State of the Union address. The story adds that the administration relied on a British document on the alleged uranium sale even though Joseph Wilson had already reported to them that such a sale never occurred.

June 25, 2003:

Judith Miller has a conversation with Scooter Libby pertinent to the Plame case. The conversation and the existence of notes relating to it are only reported through a leak to the press on October 8th, 2005 in a The New York Times article.

Late June/Early July, 2003:

President Bush authorizes the disclosure of selected parts of the the intelligence estimate. These parts were intended to support Bush's claim that Iraq had attempted to buy nuclear material in Niger. White House officials have claimed that Bush did not select anyone specifically to reveal the information to reporters.

July 6, 2003:

Joseph Wilson publishes the op-ed, "What I Didn't Find in Afria," in the New York Times.

July 7, 2003:

Ari Fleischer says that "[Wilson] is saying that surely the Vice President must have known [about bad evidence on Niger uranium], or the White House must have known. And that's not the case, prior to the State of the Union."

July 8, 2003:

Judith Miller meets with I. Scooter Libby. From Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's filing: "Defendant [Libby] testified that he thought he brought a brief abstract of the NIE's key judgments to the meeting with Miller on July 8. Defendant understood that he was to tell Miller, among other things, some of the key judgments of the NIE, and that the NIE stated that Iraq was "vigorously trying to procure" uranium. Defendant testified that this July 8th meeting was the only time he recalled in his government experience when he disclosed a document to a reporter that was effectively declassified by virtue of the President's authorization that it be disclosed.

July 13, 2003:

The Washington Post reports that the CIA has a reference to Iraq seeking uranium from Niger removed from a presidential speech in October, 2002, according to the Washington Post.

July 14, 2003:

Robert Novak outs Valerie Plame as a CIA operative.

Ari Fleisher: "But, look, let me back up a second. Let me back up a second. The issue is, the President said that Iraq was seeking uranium in Africa. That still may be absolute fact. The point is, it just didn't rise to the President's level."

July 16, 2003:

Nation Washington editor David Corn is the first person to publicly report that Novak's Plame outing may have involved a federal crime. Corn writes, "The Wilson smear was a thuggish act. Bush and his crew abused and misused intelligence to make their case for war. Now there is evidence Bushies used classified information and put the nation's counter-proliferation efforts at risk merely to settle a score. It is a sign that with this gang politics trumps national security."

July 17, 2003 :

Time magazine publishes online "A War on Wilson?" by Cooper and others. It is the first time Time names Mrs. Wilson. Cooper quotes, "government officials" as saying "that Wilson 's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. These officials have suggested that she was involved in her husband's being dispatched Niger [sic] to investigate reports that Saddam Hussein's government had sought to purchase large quantities of uranium ore."

July 18, 2003:

The White House releases some declassified selections of the National Intelligence Estimate that cite "unsubstantiated" reports that Iraqis could be trying to buy uranium from Niger.

July 24, 2003:

The CIA reports a possible violation of criminal law with the Justice Department and an investigation begins soon after. US Senator Chuck Schumer asks FBI Director Robert Mueller to open an investigation into reports that two senior members of the Bush Administration illegally disclosed the identity of a CIA operative.

July 30, 2003:

The CIA refers a "crime report" to the Justice Department.

September 16, 2003:

The CIA notifies the DOJ that its investigation is complete and recommends that the FBI undertake a full criminal investigation. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan dismisses the idea that Karl Rove was Novak's anonymous source as "totally ridiculous."

September 29, 2003:

Scott McClellan says he has spoken to Rove, denies that Rove was involved in the leak, and says, "If anyone in this administration was involved in it [the leak], they would no longer be in this administration."

September 30, 2003:

The Justice Department publicly announces an official criminal investigation. While speaking at the University of Chicago, Bush comments on the announcement, saying, "And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of."

December 30, 2003:

Attorney General Ashcroft recuses himself from the investigation and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald takes over as a special prosecutor.

May 21, 2004:

Time's Cooper is subpoenaed for the grand jury investigation. Time says it will fight the subpoenas.

June 10, 2004:

Bush says he'll fire anyone who leaked classified information: Q: Given -- given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name? THE PRESIDENT: That's up to -- Q: And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so? THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.

August 12, 2004:

New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who did not write a story identifying Valerie Wilson, is subpoenaed by the grand jury.

June 27, 2005:

Supreme Court refuses to hear Miller/Cooper case.US District Judge Thomas Hogan's finding-- that a prosecutor determining the truth in a criminal investigation is more important than a reporter's need to maintain confidentiality-- will stand.

June 30, 2005:

Time magazine hands over Cooper's notes. The decision to comply with Fitzgerald, made by Editor-in-Chief Norman Pearlstein, was made against Cooper's wishes in an effort to keep the reporter out of jail.

July 6, 2005:

Judith Miller is jailed for contempt of court for refusing to reveal a source.

Matt Cooper is released from his confidentiality agreement with Rove.

July 13, 2005:

Matt Cooper testifies before the grand jury for over two hours.

July 18, 2005:

Bush says he'll fire anyone who has "committed a crime." "If somebody committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."

July 29, 2005:

Susan Ralston and Israel Hernendez, both aides to Karl Rove, testify before Fitzgerald's grand jury.

September 29, 2005:

Judy Miller released from jail. Miller agreed to testify after she was satisfied that her source, I. Lewis Libby, had released her from a confidentiality agreement.

September 30, 2005:

Miller testifies before the grand jury.

October 12, 2005:

Miller testifies for a second time, providing new details about her conversations with I. Lewis Libby.

October 14, 2005:

Karl Rove testifies for the fourth time in front of Fitzgerald's grand jury. He is warned that there is no guarantee that he won't be indicted.

October 16, 2005:

The New York Times publishes Miller's account of the testimony she gave the grand jury.

October 28, 2005:

Cheney's chief of staff I. Scooter Libby is indicted. Libby promptly resigns and leaves the White House. Later that day Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald holds a widely-watched press conference.

November 3, 2005:

Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Scooter Libby, is arraigned and pleads not-guilty to charges that he lied and obstructed justice in the CIA leak inquiry.