Ousting of the CIA Operative's Identity

**The An-Jel** · 03-06-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic leaders urged President Bush not to pardon former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was convicted on federal charges Tuesday.

Libby's attorneys, meanwhile, vowed to seek a new trial, or, failing that, to appeal the jury's verdict.

Libby was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the Bush administration's actions leading into the Iraq war. (Watch how the conviction played out )

He resigned after being indicted in October 2005.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in a written statement, said he was "disappointed with the verdict."

"I am saddened for Scooter and his family," Cheney said. "As I have said before, Scooter has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction through many years of public service."

Federal officials began an investigation in December 2003 into how the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame was divulged to reporters in the weeks before Robert Novak named her in a July 14, 2003, column. Libby was not charged with the actual leak.

Novak attributed his information to "two senior administration officials" -- later identified as President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Neither testified in Libby's trial.

Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had openly questioned part of Bush's basis for invading Iraq. He wrote a controversial New York Times op-ed piece that was published July 6, 2003.

Prosecutors argued Libby lied about how he learned of Plame's CIA role to protect his job. Her role, they said, was deliberately released in retribution for her husband's report.

Democrats seize chance to criticize administration
"It's about time someone in the Bush administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"Lewis Libby has been convicted of perjury, but his trial revealed deeper truths about Vice President Cheney's role in this sordid affair. Now President Bush must pledge not to pardon Libby for his criminal conduct."

Added House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, "This trial provided a troubling picture of the inner workings of the Bush administration. The testimony unmistakably revealed -- at the highest levels of the Bush administration -- a callous disregard in handling sensitive national security information and a disposition to smear critics of the war in Iraq."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said the investigation should go deeper.

"There's a lot more going on here than just this," Dean said on CNN's "The Situation Room."

"We know that the president was not truthful with the American people when he sent us to war," he said. "... We don't know if the president committed a crime or not; it would be interesting to find that out." (Watch Dean tar Bush and Cheney )

However, Dean did not recommend appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Bush.

The leading Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, weighed in as well.

"While justice has been served in the Libby case, the real lesson to come from it is that we must be vigilant in ensuring that the intelligence on burgeoning threats to our nation is beyond reproach," read a statement on Clinton's Web site.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer read a statement from Obama on "The Situation Room" that said:

"The conviction today underscores what happens when our foreign and national security policies are subverted by politics and ideology. Leaks and innuendo in pursuit of a flawed policy lead to shameful episodes such as this."

Defense blames memory lapses
During 14 days of evidence and testimony, Libby's lawyers argued that Libby's heavy workload caused memory lapses when he spoke with investigators.

Jurors who found Libby guilty also found him worthy of sympathy, one juror said. (Full story)

"We're not saying we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of, but it seemed like ... he was the fall guy," Denis Collins said. (Watch a juror explain how there was sympathy for 'fall guy' Libby )

Wilson and Plame have filed a lawsuit against Libby, Cheney, Bush political adviser Karl Rove and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Wilson told reporters in a teleconference call that the verdict won't stop that legal action.

"The vice president was quoted as saying he was sorry for Mr. Libby and his family," Wilson said. "I wish that he would express his sorrow for what has happened to my wife, whose career was destroyed as a result of this, and to the [military] service people for a war that was justified by lies and disinformation."

Libby appears 'somewhat surprised'
As the verdicts were read, Libby blinked and "it seemed as if he was somewhat surprised," CNN's Brianna Keilar reported. (Watch Keilar describe Libby's wife weeping )

Libby was fingerprinted and released on his own recognizance.

"We are very disappointed in the verdict of the jurors," lead defense attorney Ted Wells said. "Despite our disappointment in the jurors' verdict, we believe in the American justice system, and we believe in the jury system.

"We intend to file a motion for a new trial and, if that is denied, we will appeal the conviction, and we have every confidence that ultimately Mr. Libby will be vindicated."

He took no questions.

"The jury worked very long and hard and deliberated at length," said Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor who led the leak probe. "The jury was obviously convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had lied and obstructed justice in a serious manner."

"I do not expect to file any further charges," Fitzgerald said. "We're all going back to our day jobs."

Libby, 56, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. A hearing on a presentencing report is scheduled for June 5.

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, "He is virtually certain to go to prison if this conviction is upheld." (Watch Toobin assess Libby's chances of being pardoned )

Libby initially told investigators he learned about Plame from NBC's Tim Russert. He later said he got the information from Cheney a month before the telephone conversation with Russert, but forgot about it.

Russert testified that there was no discussion of Plame in that conversation.

If anyone is interested in a few more details about the case I guess Wilson has a site.

I personally see this as an attack and they do have a civil suit going on. People were saying that Wilson was bragging about his wife's CIA status at party's but if that were the situation why did this case continue on?

Faydwyn · 03-07-2007, 02:54 AM

Attack on what? Officials in the top levels of government disclosing the identity of a covert agent who’s husband just happens to be a vocal critic of that government and has the credentials and knowledge to back up his claims?

And “people say” isn’t really hard evidence.

**The An-Jel** · 03-07-2007, 01:54 PM

A Government "Of the People, By the People, and For the People" and these people are the ones we either voted in or trusted by the people we voted in to be authorities. Thats the type of "people say" I was referring to... trusted members in the government. While I agree it is really relative this is the type of stuff that can make or break a case and also place bills in Congress. So it is relevant unfortunately.

**The An-Jel** · 03-16-2007, 12:34 PM

Quote:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA operative at the heart of a political scandal, told Congress Friday that senior officials at the White House and State Department "carelessly and recklessly" blew her cover to discredit her diplomat-husband.

Plame Wilson, whose 2003 outing triggered a federal investigation, said she always knew her identity could be discovered by foreign governments.

"It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover," she told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. (Watch Plame Wilson describe how she felt like she'd been "hit in the gut" )

"If our government cannot even protect my identity, future foreign agents who might consider working with the Central Intelligence Agency and providing needed intelligence would think twice," Plame Wilson said in response to a question.

The hearing was the first time Plame Wilson has publicly answered questions about the case, which led to the recent perjury and obstruction of justice conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. (Key players)

Her appearance was a moment of gripping political theater as Democrats questioned whether the Bush administration mishandled classified information by leaking her identity to reporters. No one has been charged with leaking her identity.

"It's not our job to determine criminal culpability, but it is our job to determine what went wrong and insist on accountability," Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-California, said at the outset of the hearing.

The man who led the criminal investigation, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, was not on the witness list. He told lawmakers Wednesday that federal law prohibited him from offering his thoughts on the case.

Nobody from the White House involved in the leak was scheduled to testify. Neither were officials from the State Department, where the first leak of Plame Wilson's identity occurred, or the CIA.

Plame Wilson: I didn't send my husband to Niger
Plame Wilson sat alone at a witness table and fielded questions about her CIA career and the disclosure of her name in July 2003 in a story by syndicated columnist Robert Novak. Novak has said that former Deputy State Department Secretary Richard Armitage first revealed Plame Wilson's job and President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, and CIA spokesman Bill Harlow confirmed it.

"My name and identity were carelessly and recklessly abused by senior officials in the White House and State Department," Plame Wilson testified. "I could no longer perform the work for which I had been highly trained." (Read how Plame Wilson said she worked on secret missions during her time as an operative)

Plame Wilson said she had no role in sending her husband on a CIA fact-finding trip to Niger. Wilson said in a newspaper column that his trip debunked the administration's prewar intelligence that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium from Africa.

"I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him. There was no nepotism involved. I did not have the authority," she said.

That conflicts with senior officials at the CIA and State Department, who testified during Libby's trial that Plame Wilson recommended Wilson for the trip.

Plame Wilson also repeatedly described herself as a covert operative, a term that has multiple meanings. Plame Wilson said she worked undercover and traveled abroad on secret missions for the CIA.

But the word "covert" also has a legal definition requiring recent foreign service and active efforts to keep someone's identity secret. Critics of Fitzgerald's investigation said Plame Wilson did not meet that definition for several reasons and said that's why nobody was charged with the leak.

Also, none of the witnesses who testified at Libby's trial said it was clear that Plame Wilson's job was classified.

However, Fitzgerald said flatly at the courthouse after the verdict that Plame Wilson's job was classified.

Republican: This looks like CIA problem, not White House problem
The issue was not clarified during the trial because the defense persuaded U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to keep that information out of testimony because Libby wasn't charged with leaking classified information.

Rep. Tom Davis, the ranking Republican on the committee, said, "No process can be adopted to protect classified information that no one knows is classified. This looks to me more like a CIA problem than a White House problem."

Plame Wilson said she wasn't a lawyer and didn't know what her legal status was but said it shouldn't have mattered to the officials who learned her identity.

"They all knew that I worked with the CIA," Plame Wilson said. "They might not have known what my status was but that alone -- the fact that I worked for the CIA -- should have put up a red flag."

Wilson has written a book, and Plame Wilson is working on one, "Fair Game," although it has had a troubled history. In May 2006, the Crown Publishing Group announced it would publish her book, a deal reportedly worth seven figures. But the two sides could not agree on a final contract, and two months later an agreement was announced with Simon & Schuster.

Plame Wilson's book is subject to a mandatory review by the CIA. On Thursday, Simon & Schuster spokesman Adam Rothberg would say only that the book was "in progress," and that publication was expected soon.

Scheduled to testify Friday were attorney Mark Zaid, who has represented whistle-blowers; attorney Victoria Toensing, who said early on that no law was broken and has criticized the CIA's handling of the case, and J. William Leonard, security director of the National Archives, who was to discuss general procedures for handling sensitive information.

James Knodell, director of the White House security office, also could attend to discuss general security procedures, committee officials said.

Outed CIA operative*blames White House, State officials - CNN.com