<< GX52301 >> ) GOVERNMENT EXHIBIT 15231 Talking Points re Joe Wilson (ID) I. It is not clear who authorized Joe Wilson’s trip to Niger. 2. He did not travel to Niger at the request of the Vice President. • The Vice President’s office did not request the mission to Niger. • The Vice President’s office was not informed of Joe Wilson’s mission. • The Vice President’s office did not receive a briefing about Mr. Wilson’s mission after he returned. 3. According to Mr. Wilson’s own account, he was unpaid for his services. 4. Mr. Wilson never saw the documents he was allegedly trying to verifyon his trip to Niger. 5. Mr. Wilson provided no written report of his trip to Niger when he returned. 6. Mr. Wilson has said hewas convinced that Niger could not have provided uranium to Iraq but, in fact, Niger did provide uranium to Iraq in the 1980’s — which is currently under IAEA seal. 7. The Vice President was unaware of Joe Wilson, his trip or any conclusions he may have reached until this spring when it was reported in the press — over a year after Mr. Wilson’s trip. 8. Six months after the Joe Wilson trip, the considered judgment of the intelligence community was that Saddam Hussein had indeed undertaken a vigorous effort to acquire uranium from Africa according to the National Intelligence Estimate. ~OiO94 LLOO2-0 1689