Mark Kleiman, who has been ferociously on the story of Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife being "outed" as a CIA agent by the 1600 Crew as an act of revenge for Wilsons "dis-loyalty", has the goods on the 1600 Crew. This is not just a technical violation of the law folks, this is a for-real, bad thing. There are penalties for playing this game, and someone both ordered this and someone else did it. The term "smoking gun" actually means something now.
VALERIE PLAME STORY CONFIRMED
It's official: the Bush Administration deliberately blew the cover of a secret agent who had been gathering information on weapons of mass destruction, endangering the lives of her sources and damaging our ability to collect crucial intelligence. (And, not incidentally, committing a very serious crime.) The apparent motive: revenge on Joseph Wilson, her husband, for going public with the story of his mission to Niger, which blew a hole in the Yellowcake Road story.
Joseph Wilson, who had previously been slightly cagy about the role of his wife, Valerie Plame, has now publicly charged on NBC that the Administration deliberately blew his wife's cover as an a act of intimidation. In doing so, he implicitly confirms that she was in fact a covert agent.
...
Note that NBC ignores, and Newsday buries, the question about the potential legal liability of the two senior administration officials.
One of Kevin Drum's commenters provides the relevant text from the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, 50 U.S.C. 421:
"Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
So who knew? Shut up or we'll tell the world your wife is a CIA agent? Wow.
I wonder if anyone will soon be wishing it was "just a third-rate burglary" again?
And I wonder if the phrase "Pardon Me" will soon be popular among the 1600 Crew?
posted by Jo Fish on 07.23.03 at 12:41 AM
Comments:
It will be interesting to see whether the chihuahuas of the presstitutes will continue to bark like they got a pair. If this story has legs, it's going to be another annoying distraction from the main business of lotting Iraq and the US Treasury.
I guess eventually we'll learn that some second level apparatchik, like Tenet or the latest sacrificial victim, Hadley, passed the word on this.
After all we've seen a number of times now that the buck stops before the door of the Oval Office.
posted by: Lurch on 07.23.03 at 04:05 AM [permalink]
look...over there....its kobe having sex with private jessica!
posted by: tim on 07.23.03 at 11:48 AM [permalink]
i read some where whether she was just an official and not an undercover staff. i am not sure appologist are trying to find "technicality " or she actually does not fit the "undercover" criteria. it will be really helpful if some can thoroughly go over this. newsday article did seem to suggest that she indeed was undercover. i saw a durbin( sentor from illinois ) remark ( second hand ) that senate intelligence committee chair roberts and ranking member rockefeller have agreed to call whitehouse staff . it is really shocking ( or is it ?) and disgusting that these rightwingers have made a carreer out of accusing all critics as less than patriotic / dupes of enimy / u name it . and one of their leading star novak does this shameful thing egged on by this whitehouse . there is really no limit to the hypocisy with these people.
posted by: badri on 07.23.03 at 12:16 PM [permalink]
Chris Matthews gave this story a quick mention last night on Hardball, so hopefully it will start to grow legs.
cia? agent? betrayed? whaaaat?
SADDAMS SONS ARE DEAD
posted by: RatingsWar on 07.23.03 at 10:53 PM [permalink]
Yet another example of the administration showing a callous attitude toward American and others' lives for political expediency. Anyone who ever thought breaking into an office to do opposition research or having extramarital sex was a presidential scandal ought to be screaming for heads to roll right now.
