Plame affair 2266653 225921235 2008-07-16T00:54:14Z Rjwilmsi 203434 gen fixes + link/fix date fields in cite templates (explanation [[User:Rjwilmsi#My_correction_of_citation_templates|here]]) using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{tooshort|date=July 2008}} {{longish}} {{plamefull}} The phrase '''Plame Affair''' (also known as the '''CIA leak scandal''', the '''CIA leak case''', the '''CIA leak grand jury investigation''', and '''Plamegate''') refers to the identification of [[Valerie Plame|Valerie Plame Wilson]] as a covert<ref name=HaydenInterview>[https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-archive-2007/transcript-of-general-haydens-interview-with-wtop.html "Transcript of General Hayden's Interview with WTOP"], [[June 1]], [[2007]]</ref><ref name=Seidman>Joel Seidman, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18924679/ "Plame Was 'covert' Agent At Time of Name Leak"], ''MSNBC.com'', [[May 29]], [[2007]], accessed [[June 10]], [[2007]].</ref> Central Intelligence Agency officer.<ref name=TheClassifiedInformation>[[Neil A. Lewis]], [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30armitage.html "Source of C.I.A. Leak Said to Admit Role"]</ref> Mrs. Wilson's relationship with the CIA was classified information.<ref name=HaydenInterview>[https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-archive-2007/transcript-of-general-haydens-interview-with-wtop.html "Transcript of General Hayden's Interview with WTOP"], [[June 1]], [[2007]]</ref> The disclosure was made in a newspaper column entitled "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html Mission to Niger]" written by [[Robert Novak]], and published on [[July 14]], [[2003]].<ref name=TheDisclosure>[[Robert Novak]], [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html "Mission to Niger"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[July 14]], [[2003]]</ref> Mrs. Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, stated in various interviews and subsequent writings (as listed in his 2004 memoir ''The Politics of Truth'') that members of President George W. Bush's administration revealed Mrs. Wilson's covert status as retribution for his op-ed entitled "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E3D61E3AF935A35754C0A9659C8B63 What I Didn't Find in Africa]," published in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on [[July 6]], [[2003]].<ref name=wilsonoped>[[Joseph C. Wilson|Joseph C. Wilson 4th]], [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/opinion/06WILS.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5007&en=6c6aeb1ce960dec0&ex=1372824000&partner=USERLAND "What I Didn't Find in Africa"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[July 6]], [[2003]], accessed [[June 10]], [[2007]].</ref> ==Background== Following the disclosure, on [[September 16]], [[2003]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] sent a letter to the [[United States Department of Justice]] (DoJ), requesting a criminal investigation of the matter.<ref name=moskowitzletter>[[Stanley Moskowitz|Stanley M. Moskowitz]], Director of Congressional Affairs for the CIA, [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/plame.cia.letter.pdf Letter] to [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[John Conyers|John Conyers, Jr.]], [[January 30]], [[2004]], online posting, ''[[Talking Points]] Memo Document Collection'', accessed [[June 10]], [[2007]]</ref>. On [[September 29]], [[2003]], the Department of Justice advised the CIA that it had requested an FBI investigation into the matter.<ref name=moskowitzletter>[[Stanley Moskowitz|Stanley M. Moskowitz]], Director of Congressional Affairs for the CIA, [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/plame.cia.letter.pdf Letter] to [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[John Conyers|John Conyers, Jr.]], [[January 30]], [[2004]], online posting, ''[[Talking Points]] Memo Document Collection'', accessed [[June 10]], [[2007]]</ref><ref name=dojinvestigation>[http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/hogan_07_20_04_opinion.pdf Memorandum Opinion], U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia</ref> The investigation resulted in the trial of [[Lewis Libby|Lewis "Scooter" Libby]], former Chief of Staff to [[Vice President]] [[Richard Cheney]], in [[United States v. Libby]] on one count of obstruction of justice, one count of perjury, and three counts of making false statements. The federal trial ''[[United States v. Libby]]'' began on [[January 16]], [[2007]]. On [[March 6]], [[2007]], Libby was convicted on four counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements, and was acquitted of one count of making false statements.<ref name=SniffenApuzzo>Michael J. Sniffen and Matt Apuzzo,[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cia_leak_trial "Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial"], ''[[Associated Press]]'' [[March 6]], [[2007]], accessed [[March 6]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=CNNGuiltyverdict>[http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/cia.leak/index.html "Libby Found Guilty of Perjury, Obstruction"], ''[[CNN]]'' [[March 6]], [[2007]], accessed [[March 6]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=CNNLibbylawyer>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/06/cia.leak/index.html "Libby Lawyer Demands New Trial After Conviction"], ''[[CNN]]'' [[March 6]], [[2007]], accessed [[March 6]], [[2007]].</ref> Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison, a fine of US$250,000, and two years of supervised release after his prison term.<ref name=Apuzzosent>Matt Apuzzo ([[Associated Press]]), [http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/libby-sentenced-to-30-months-in-prison/20070605022009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001 "Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison"], ''[[America Online]]'', [[5 June]], [[2007]], accessed [[5 June]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=Coursonetal>Paul Courson, Brianna Keilar, and Brian Todd, [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/05/cia.leak.trial/index.html "Libby Sentenced to 30 months in Prison"], ''[[CNN|CNN.com]]'' [[5 June]], [[2007]], accessed [[5 June]], [[2007]].</ref> According to testimony given in the [[CIA leak grand jury investigation]] and [[United States v. Libby]], Bush administration officials [[Richard Armitage]], [[Karl Rove]], and [[Lewis Libby]] discussed the employment of a then-classified, covert CIA officer, Valerie E. Wilson (also known as [[Valerie Plame]]) with members of the press. <ref name=ExhibitA>Unclassified official [[United States]] government records,[http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/files/sentencing_memo_exhibits.pdf "Exhibit A"], of "Unclassified Summary of Valerie Wilson's CIA Employment and Cover History", from "Sentencing Memo Exhibits", in [[United States v. Libby]], obtained through the Privacy Act, online posting, ''The Next Hurrah'' (blog), accessed [[May 26]], [[2007]]: 2-3.</ref><ref name=Seidman>Joel Seidman, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18924679/ "Plame Was 'covert' Agent At Time of Name Leak"], ''MSNBC.com'', [[May 29]], [[2007]], accessed [[June 10]], [[2007]].</ref> Attorney General [[John Ashcroft]] referred the matter to the [[U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel]], directed by [[Patrick Fitzgerald]], who convened a grand jury. The [[CIA leak grand jury investigation]] did not result in the indictment or conviction of anyone for any crime in connection with the leak itself. However, [[Lewis Libby|I. Lewis Libby]], Chief of Staff of Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] was indicted on five counts of obstruction of justice, perjury, and false statements to the grand jury and federal investigators on [[October 28]], [[2005]]; Libby resigned hours after the indictment. After the verdict, Special Counsel Fitzgerald stated that he does not expect anyone else to be charged in the case: "We're all going back to our day jobs."<ref name=CNNLibbylawyer/> On July 2, 2007, President Bush commuted Libby's jail sentence, effectively erasing the 30 months he was supposed to spend in jail. The probation and fines still remain. The Wilsons also brought a civil law suit against Libby, [[Dick Cheney]], [[Karl Rove]], and [[Richard Armitage]], in [[Wilson v. Cheney]].<ref name=CBSNewscivil>[[Associated Press]], [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/13/politics/main2006236.shtml "Armitage Added To Plame Lawsuit:] Ex-State Department Official Joins Cheney, Libby, Rove As Target In Suit", [[CBS News]], [[September 13]], [[2006]], accessed [[March 7]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=Wilsonstmt>[[Joseph C. Wilson]], [http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=205 "Statement in Response to Jury's Verdict in U.S. v. I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"], press release, online posting, ''[[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]]'' (CREW) [[March 6]], [[2007]], accessed [[March 6]], [[2007]].</ref> On July 19, 2007, [[Wilson v. Cheney]] was dismissed in [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071901395.html | title=Plame's Suit Against Top Officials Dismissed | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Carol D. Leonnig | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig| date=[[July 20]], [[2007]]}}</ref> On behalf of the Wilsons, [[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]] filed an appeal of the U.S. District Court's decision the following day.<ref name=WilsonsLegalTrust2>[http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust] Home Page, [July 20, 2007], accessed [[July 27]], [[2007]]. Cf. [http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29517 "Statement on Ambassador Joseph and Valerie Wilsons' Appeal Filed on July 20"], ''[[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]]'' (CREW), [[July 20]], [[2007]], accessed [[July 27]], [[2007]].</ref> In March 2008, the [[Government Accountability Office]] revealed that the investigation had cost $2.58 million. The GAO also reported that "this matter is now concluded for all practical purposes."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/03/31/national/w140339D63.DTL&feed=rss.business | title=CIA Leak Inquiry Cost $2.58 Million | publisher=Associated Press | author=PETE YOST | date=[[March 31]], [[2008]]}}</ref> {{Further information|[[Plame affair timeline]]}} In his [[January 28]], [[2003]], [[State of the Union Address]], [[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] said "The [[United Kingdom|British]] government has learned that [[Saddam Hussein]] recently sought significant quantities of [[yellowcake uranium|uranium]] from [[Africa]]."<ref name=stateunion>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html|author=George W. Bush|title=President Delivers "State of the Union"|publisher=White House|date=[[January 28]], [[2003]]}}</ref>{{See main|September Dossier#Uranium from Niger}} In late February 2002, responding to inquiries from the Vice President's office and the Departments of State and Defense about the allegation that Iraq had a sales agreement to buy uranium in the form of [[yellowcake]] from [[Niger]], the CIA had authorized a trip by [[Joseph C. Wilson]] to Niger to investigate the possibility. The former Prime Minister of Niger [[Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki]] reported to Wilson that he was unaware of any contracts for uranium sales to rogue states, though he was approached by a businessman on behalf of an Iraqi delegation about "expanding commercial relations" with Iraq, which Mayaki interpreted to mean uranium sales. Wilson ultimately concluded that there "was nothing to the story," and presented his report in March 2002.<ref name=senatecommittee>{{cite web | url=http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/13jul20041400/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/s108-301/sec2.pdf | title=Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence (PDF) |date=[[July 9]], [[2004]] | pages=39–46, 208-222|format=PDF}}</ref> After the March [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Wilson wrote a series of [[op-ed]]s (opinion-editorials) questioning the war's factual basis (See "Bibliography" in ''The Politics of Truth''). In one of these op-eds published in the ''[[New York Times]]'' on [[July 6]], [[2003]], Wilson argues that, in the State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush misrepresented intelligence leading up to the invasion and thus misleadingly suggested that the [[Sadam Hussein|Iraqi regime]] sought [[uranium]] to manufacture [[nuclear weapons]].<ref name=wilsonoped/> The [[Butler Report]], the [[Iraq Intelligence Commission]] and the [[U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] at various times concluded that Wilson's claims were incorrect. The Senate report stated that Wilson's report actually bolstered, rather than debunked, intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq.<ref name=post>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html | title=Plame's Input Is Cited on Niger Mission | author=Susan Schmidt | publisher=Washington Post |date=[[July 10]], [[2004]]}}</ref><ref name=senatecommittee>{{cite web | url=http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/13jul20041400/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/s108-301/sec2.pdf | title=Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence (PDF) |date=[[July 9]], [[2004]] | pages=39–46|format=PDF}}</ref> Wilson later took strong exception to these conclusions in his 2004 memoir ''The Politics of Truth''. The State Department also remained highly skeptical about the Niger claim.<ref name=post>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html | title=Plame's Input Is Cited on Niger Mission | author=Susan Schmidt | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[July 10]], [[2004]]}}</ref> Former [[Director of Central Intelligence|CIA Director]] [[George Tenet]] said "[while President Bush] had every reason to believe that the text presented to him was sound," because "[f]rom what we know now, Agency officials in the end concurred that the text in the speech was factually correct — i.e. that the British government report said that Iraq sought uranium from Africa," nevertheless "[t]hese 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the President."<ref name=ciastatement>{{cite news | url=https://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/press_release/2003/pr07112003.html | title=Statement by George J. Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence | accessdate=2003-07-11}}</ref> With regard to Wilson's findings, Tenet stated: "Because this report, in our view, did not resolve whether Iraq was or was not seeking uranium from abroad, it was given a normal and wide distribution, but we did not brief it to the President, Vice-President or other senior Administration officials."<ref name=ciastatement>{{cite news | url=https://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/press_release/2003/pr07112003.html | title=George J. Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence | date=[[July 11]], [[2003]]}}</ref> Eight days after Wilson's [[July 6]] op-ed in ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[columnist]] [[Robert Novak]] wrote about Wilson's 2002 trip to Niger and subsequent findings and described Wilson's wife as an "agency operative." Subsequent press accounts reported that "White House officials wanted to know how much of a role she had in selecting him for the assignment."<ref name=armitageny>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30armitage.html | title=First Source of C.I.A. Leak Said to Admit Role | author=Neil A. Lewis | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |date=[[August 30]], [[2006]]}}</ref> [[Joseph C. Wilson|Joe Wilson]] has said: "I felt that... however abominable the decision might be, it was rational that if you were an administration and did not want people talking about the intelligence or talking about what underpinned the decision to go to war, you would discourage them by destroying the credibility of the messenger who brought you the message. And this administration apparently decided the way to do that was to leak the name of my wife."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/07/national/main576877.shtml?source=search_story | title=Envoy Says Leak Endangers CIA Wife | publisher=''[[CBS News]]''|date=[[October 6]], [[2003]]}}</ref> [[Stanley Moskowitz|Stanley M. Moskowitz]], CIA Director of Congressional Affairs, in his [[January 30]], [[2004]] letter to Rep. [[John Conyers|John Conyers, Jr.]], who had queried the [[Director of Central Intelligence]] in an earlier letter of [[September 29]], [[2003]], "regarding any contacts the ... Agency (CIA) has had with the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice (DoJ)]] to request an investigation into the disclosure earlier that year of the identity of an employee operating under cover [Valerie E. Wilson, aka Valerie Plame]," writes that, after an internal inquiry into the matter, the CIA made a referral to the Department of Justice ([[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]]) for investigation of "possible violation of criminal law concerning the unauthorized disclosure of classified information."<ref name=moskowitzletter/> According to a letter of [[December 16]], [[2003]] from Bruce C. Swartz, then Deputy Assistant Attorney General, to [[David Addington]], then Counsel to Vice President [[Dick Cheney]],<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/exhibits/0130/GX06501.PDF | title=Letter from Bruce C. Swartz to David Addington (PDF page 4) | publisher=Department of Justice|format=PDF}}</ref> the Department of Justice's investigation concerned "the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information in the [[July 14]], [[2003]] edition of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and the [[July 22]], [[2003]], edition of ''Newsday''."<ref name=novakcolumn>[[Robert Novak|Robert D. Novak]], [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html "Mission To Niger"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[July 14]], [[2003]]</ref><ref name=newsday>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-phelps0722,0,2044545.story | title=Columnist Blows CIA Agent's Cover | author=Timothy M. Phelps and Knut Royce | publisher=''[[Newsday]]'' |date=[[July 22]], [[2003]]}}</ref> In his book, ''[[At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA]]'', Tenet writes "About two weeks after Novak's column appeared, CIA lawyers sent to the Justice Department a formal notification that classified information may have been inappropriately leaked to the media. CIA lawyers had to make that kind of notification about once a week on average. I was informed after the fact that a 'crimes report' had been submitted. I supported the action but had nothing to do with the decision".<ref name=Tenetbook462>{{cite book | author=[[George Tenet]] | title=''[[At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA]]'' | publisher=New York: [[HarperCollins]] | date=2007 | pages=462}}</ref> A [[U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel|Special counsel]], [[Patrick Fitzgerald]], was appointed to lead the [[CIA leak grand jury investigation|investigation]]. In a [[February 6]], [[2004]], letter from the Justice Department to Fitzgerald, the Justice Department clarified to Fitzgerald that he had the authority to "prosecute violations of any federal criminal laws related to the underlying alleged unauthorized disclosure, as well as federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, your investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/ag_letter_feburary_06_2004.pdf | title=Letter from James B. Comey to Patrick Fitzgerald | publisher=''[[United States Department of Justice]]''|format=PDF}}</ref> On [[September 30]], [[2003]], President Bush said that if there had been "a leak" from his administration about Plame, "I want to know who it is... and if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/politics/18cnd-rove.html?ex=1279339200&en=1a05247deaeaadf8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss | title=Bush Says He'll Fire Any Aide Who 'Committed a Crime' | publisher=New York Times | author=David Stout | date=[[July 18]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Initially, the White House denied that [[Karl Rove]] and [[Lewis Libby|Lewis "Scooter" Libby]] were involved in the leak.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/01/AR2005100101317_pf.html | title=Role of Rove, Libby in CIA Leak Case Clearer | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Jim VandeHei and Walter Pincus |date=[[October 2]], [[2005]]}}</ref> In various legal filings, however, Fitzgerald alleged that both Rove and Libby had told several reporters about Plame's employment at the CIA. Libby was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|(FBI)]] and [[grand jury]].<ref name=indictment>[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] ([[October 28]], [[2005]]). {{PDFlink|[http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf ''Indictment''.]|152&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 156279 bytes -->}} in ''UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. I. LEWIS LIBBY, also known as "SCOOTER LIBBY"''. Accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]]. (Full text of ''[[s:USDOJ OSC Federal indictment of Lewis Libby|Indictment]]'' also accessible in [[Wikisource]].)</ref> On [[June 13]], [[2006]], Rove's lawyer, [[Robert Luskin]], released a statement saying that Fitzgerald had informed him Rove would not be charged with any wrong-doing.<ref name=rovecleared>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/13/rove.cia/ "Lawyer: Rove Won't Be Charged in CIA Leak Case"], ''[[CNN|CNN.com]]'', [[June 13]], [[2006]]</ref><ref> [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/14/MNG8QJDSCL1.DTL "No charges against Rove in CIA leak case"], [[New York Times]], [[June 14]], [[2006]]</ref> On [[July 13]], [[2006]], Joseph and Valerie Wilson filed a [[civil suit]] against Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], his former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, top Presidential advisor Karl Rove and other unnamed senior White House officials, for their alleged roles in the public disclosure of her classified CIA employment.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/pdf/plame_lawsuit.pdf "Plame Lawsuit Brief"], ''[[USA Today]]'', accessed [[July 13]], [[2006]].</ref> The civil suit was dismissed on [[July 19]], [[2007]]. In dismissing the suit, United States District Judge [[John D. Bates]] states: <blockquote>The merits of plaintiffs' claims pose important questions relating to the propriety of actions undertaken by our highest government officials. Defendants' motions, however, raise issues that the Court is obliged to address before it can consider the merits of plaintiffs' claims. As it turns out, the Court will not reach, and therefore expresses no views on, the merits of the constitutional and other tort claims asserted by plaintiffs based on defendants' alleged disclosures because the motions to dismiss will be granted...The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson's comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory. But there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush Administration's handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials. Thus, the alleged tortious conduct, namely the disclosure of Mrs. Wilson's status as a covert operative, was incidental to the kind of conduct that defendants were employed to perform.<ref name=civilsuitruling>[[John D. Bates]], [http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070719_Plame_Dismissal_Opinion.pdf "Memorandum Order"], [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]], "Plame Dismissal Opinion", ''[[MSNBC]]'', [[July 19]], [[2007]], accessed [[December 20]], [[2007]].</ref></blockquote> Judge Bates ruled that the "plaintiffs have not exhausted their administrative remedies under the [[Federal Tort Claims Act]], which is the proper, and exclusive, avenue for relief on such a claim." Bates ruled that the FTCA outlines the appropriate remedy since the FTCA "accords federal employees absolute immunity from common-law tort claims arising out of acts they undertake in the course of their official duties," and the "plaintiffs have not pled sufficient facts that would rebut the [FTCA] certification filed in this action."<ref name=civilsuitruling>[[John D. Bates]], [http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070719_Plame_Dismissal_Opinion.pdf "Memorandum Order"], [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]], "Plame Dismissal Opinion", ''[[MSNBC]]'', [[July 19]], [[2007]], accessed [[December 20]], [[2007]].</ref> The Wilsons appealed that decision the next day.{{main|Plame v. Cheney#Appeal}} ===Wilson appeal=== The Wilsons and CIA memoranda presented in the report by the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]], indicate that Ambassador Wilson's diplomatic experience in Africa, and particularly in [[Niger]], led to his selection for the [[Joseph C. Wilson#The trip to Niger|mission to Niger]]. He is fluent in French, and, during his diplomatic career prior to the trip, he had served as a [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] general services officer in [[Niger]], as an ambassador to [[Gabon]] and [[São Tomé and Príncipe]], as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in both [[Brazzaville]], [[Republic of the Congo]], and [[Iraq]] (taking over as Chief of Mission during the 1990–91 [[Gulf War]]), in other diplomatic postings, and in subsequent national security and military advisory roles concerning U.S.-African affairs under Presidents [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Bill Clinton]].{{See|Joseph C. Wilson#Diplomatic_career}} After being consulted by her superiors at the CIA about whom to send on the mission, [[Valerie Plame|Valerie E. Wilson]], according to the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]], suggested that she ask Ambassador Wilson, her husband, whom she had married in 1998, whether or not he might be interested in making such a trip.<ref name=senatecommittee>{{cite web | url=http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/13jul20041400/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/s108-301/sec2.pdf | title=Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence (PDF) |date=[[July 9]], [[2004]] | pages=39–46|format=PDF}}</ref> In the book ''Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War'' by [[Michael Isikoff]] and [[David Corn]], as Corn observes (before its release on [[September 8]], [[2006]]), they consider the issue of "whether Valerie Wilson had sent her husband to Niger to check out an intelligence report that Iraq had sought uranium there," presenting "new information undermining the charge that she arranged this trip. In an interview with the authors, Douglas Rohn, a State Department officer who wrote a crucial memo related to the trip, acknowledges he may have inadvertently created a misimpression that her involvement was more significant than it had been."<ref name = "TheNation-20061206">[[David Corn]], [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060918/corn "What Valerie Plame Really Did at the CIA"], ''[[The Nation]]'' (Web only) [[September 6]], [[2006]], accessed [[December 6]], [[2006]].</ref> According to a report by the [[Associated Press]] filed during the first week of [[United States v. Libby]], in response to questions from the Vice President's office sent to the CIA regarding alleged attempts by Iraq to acquire uranium from Niger, Ambassador "Wilson claimed Cheney's office sent him on a fact-finding mission that questioned intelligence President George W. Bush later relied on to go to war [in Iraq]."<ref name=APCIAleak>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/AOLNC/world/national/2007/01/25/cia-leak.html | title=Cheney Aide Denies Libby Account of CIA Leak | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[Canadian Broadcasting Company|CBC]]'' | date=[[January 25]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Citing some witnesses, who said that "Wilson's wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame, actually conceived the idea for the trip" (later disputed), the AP report points out that "Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is trying to show that Cheney's office wanted to make that clear to reporters," that "Fitzgerald says Libby learned that fact on several occasions and discussed it with reporters as part of the White House effort to discredit Wilson," and that "When FBI agents began investigating the leak of Plame's identity, Libby lied and said he only learned about Plame from reporters," leading Fitzgerald's grand jury to indict him and his "trial on perjury and obstruction charges."<ref name=APCIAleak/> In his testimony to the grand jury, Libby testified that both he and Vice President Cheney believed that Joseph Wilson was qualified for the mission, though wondered if he would have been selected had his wife not worked at the CIA.<ref name=libbytestimony>{{cite news | url=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070207_Libby_March_5_2004_Grand_Jury.pdf | title=Libby's Grand Jury Testimony (PDF) | date=[[March 5]], [[2004]]|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/exhibits/0207/GX2.pdf | title=Libby's Grand Jury Testimony (PDF) | date=[[March 24]], [[2004]]|format=PDF}}</ref> On [[March 16]], [[2007]], Valerie Plame addressed this question in sworn testimony to Congress: "I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him. There was no nepotism involved. I did not have the authority.... It's been borne out in the testimony during the Libby trial, and I can tell you that it just doesn't square with the facts."<ref name=plametestimony>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Plame_hearing_transcript_0316.html | title=Plame hearing transcript | publisher=Raw Story | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/16/plame.congress.ap/index.html | title=Outed CIA operative blames White House, State officials | publisher=Associated Press | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/sns-ap-cia-leak-congress,0,6672523.story?track=rss | title="Plame Sheds Little Light in Leak Case" | author=Julie Hirschfeld Davis ([[Associated Press]]) | publisher=''[[Newsday]]'' | date=[[March 17]], [[2007]]}}</ref> In his book, Tenet writes "Mid-level officials in CPD decided on their own initiative to [ask Joe Wilson to look into the Niger issue because] he'd helped them on a project once before, and he'd be easy to contact because his wife worked in CPD."<ref name=Tenetbook453>{{cite book | author=[[George Tenet]] | title=[[At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA]] | publisher=New York: [[HarperCollins]] | date=2007 | pages=453-454}}</ref> In response to Plame's testimony, Republican Senators [[Kit Bond]], [[Orin Hatch]], [[Richard Burr]] submitted additional views to the Senate report that stated "Mrs. Wilson told the CIA Inspector General that she suggested her husband for the trip, she told our committee staff that she could not remember whether she did or her boss did, and told the House Committee, emphatically, that she did not suggest him."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://intelligence.senate.gov/prewar.pdf | title=Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence (PDF) |date=[[July 9]], [[2004]] | pages=205-222|format=PDF}}</ref> Also in the additional views is the full text of an e-mail message sent by Plame on February 12, 2002 to the Directorate of Operations at CPD, in which she writes that Joe Wilson "may be in a position to assist" the CIA's inquiries into the Niger reports.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Analysis/2007/05/31/analysis_plame_asked_to_explain_trip_role/9643/ | title=Analysis: Plame Asked to Explain Trip Role | publisher=''[[United Press International]]'' | author=Shaun Waterman | date=[[May 31]], [[2007]]}}</ref> In a review of Plame's memoir, [[Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House]], Alan Cooperman writes for the Washington Post that "by her own account, Valerie Wilson neither came up with the idea [of sending Joe Wilson to Niger] nor approved it. But she did participate in the process and flogged her husband's credentials." Plame writes in her book that Joe Wilson was "too upset to listen" to her explanations after learning years later about the February 12, 2002 email she had sent to outlining his credentials.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101630.html | title=Valerie Plame, Telling the (Edited) Inside Story | publisher=Washington Post | author=Alan Cooperman | date=[[October 22]], [[2007]]}}</ref> After his identification by Corn and Isikoff in advance word of their book, [[Richard Armitage]], a former deputy secretary of state, acknowledged that he was the initial and primary source for Novak's column of [[July 14]], [[2003]], that disclosed the identity of Wilson's wife [[Valerie Plame]] as a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] "operative".<ref name=armitageny>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30armitage.html | title=First Source of C.I.A. Leak Said to Admit Role | author=Neil A. Lewis | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |date=[[August 30]], [[2006]]}}</ref> On [[March 6]], [[2007]], Libby was found guilty on four of the five counts against him. At a press conference after the verdict was read, Fitzgerald told the press "I do not expect to file any further charges. Basically, the investigation was inactive prior to the trial.... I would not expect to see any further charges filed, we are all going back to our day jobs. If new information comes to light, if new information comes to us that would warrant us taking some action, we look forward to doing that. But I would not create the expectation that any of us will be doing further investigation at this point, we see the investigation as inactive."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256965,00.html | title=I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby Guilty on Four of Five Counts in CIA Leak Trial | publisher=''[[Fox News]]'' | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref> ==Robert Novak's column "Mission to Niger"== In his column of [[July 14]], [[2003]], entitled "Mission to Niger," [[Robert Novak]] states that the choice to use Wilson "was made routinely at a low level without [CIA] Director [[George Tenet]]'s knowledge." Novak goes on to identify Plame as Wilson's wife: <blockquote>Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me that Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife to contact him. "I will not answer any question about my wife," Wilson told me.<ref name=novakcolumn>{{cite web|author=[[Robert Novak|Robert D. Novak]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html | title=Mission To Niger | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | date=[[July 14]], [[2003]]}}</ref></blockquote> ===Response to Novak's column "Mission to Niger"=== The suggestion that naming Plame as an agent is a serious crime first appeared in an article by [[David Corn]] published by ''[[The Nation]]'' on [[July 16]], [[2003]], two days after Novak's column.<ref>[[David Corn]], [http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=823 "A White House Smear"], ''Capital Games'' (blog), ''[[The Nation]]''. [[July 16]], [[2003]].</ref> In that article Corn quotes Joe Wilson: "&nbsp;'Naming her this way would have compromised every operation, every relationship, every network with which she had been associated in her entire career. This is the stuff of [[Kim Philby]] and [[Aldrich Ames]].'&nbsp;" In October 2007, regarding his column "A White House Smear", Corn writes: <blockquote>That piece was the first to identify the leak as a possible White House crime and the first to characterize the leak as evidence that within the Bush administration political expedience trumped national security. The column drew about 100,000 visitors to this website in a day or so. And--fairly or not--it's been cited by some as the event that triggered the Plame hullabaloo. I doubt that the column prompted the investigation eventually conducted by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, for I assume that had my column not appeared the CIA still would have asked the Justice Department to investigate the leak as a possible crime."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=245279 | title=Plamegate Finale: We Were Right; They Were Wrong | publisher=The Nation | author=David Corn | date=2007-10-22}}</ref></blockquote> ===Robert Novak's column "The CIA Leak"=== In "The CIA Leak," published on [[October 1]], [[2003]], Novak describes how he had obtained the information for his [[July 14]], [[2003]], column "Mission to Niger": <blockquote>During a long conversation with a senior administration official, I asked why Wilson was assigned the mission to Niger. He said Wilson had been sent by the CIA's counter-proliferation section at the suggestion of one of its employees, his wife. It was an offhand revelation from this official, who is no partisan gunslinger. When I called another official for confirmation, he said: "Oh, you know about it." The published report that somebody in the White House failed to plant this story with six reporters and finally found me as a willing pawn is simply untrue. At the CIA, the official designated to talk to me denied that Wilson's wife had inspired his selection but said she was delegated to request his help. He asked me not to use her name, saying she probably never again will be given a foreign assignment but that exposure of her name might cause "difficulties" if she travels abroad. He never suggested to me that Wilson's wife or anybody else would be endangered. If he had, I would not have used her name. I used it in the sixth paragraph of my column because it looked like the missing explanation of an otherwise incredible choice by the CIA for its mission.<ref name=cialeak>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/column.novak.opinion.leak/index.html | author=[[Robert Novak]] | title=The CIA Leak | publisher=''[[CNN]]'' |date=[[October 1]], [[2003]]}} See also: [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/ "Novak: 'No great crime' with Leak"], ''[[CNN]]'', [[October 1]], [[2003]], accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]].</ref></blockquote> ===Novak defends his column "Mission to Niger"=== In his column of [[October 1]], [[2003]], 'The CIA Leak," Novak states that he included the paragraph about Wilson's wife "because it looked like the missing explanation of an otherwise incredible choice by the CIA for its mission." He writes: <blockquote>I was curious why a high-ranking official in President [[Bill Clinton]]'s National Security Council (NSC) was given this assignment. Wilson had become a vocal opponent of President Bush's policies in Iraq after contributing to [[Al Gore]] in the last election cycle and [[John Kerry]] in this one''...&nbsp;''During a long conversation with a senior administration official, I asked why Wilson was assigned the mission to Niger. He said Wilson had been sent by the CIA's counter-proliferation section at the suggestion of one of its employees, his wife.<ref name=cialeaktownhall>Robert D. Novak, [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2003/10/01/the_cia_leak "The CIA Leak"], ''TownHall.com'', [[October 1]], [[2003]], accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]].</ref><ref name=cialeak>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/column.novak.opinion.leak/index.html | author=[[Robert Novak]] | title=The CIA Leak | publisher=''[[CNN]].com'' | date=[[October 1]], [[2003]]}} See also: [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/ "Novak: 'No great crime' with Leak"], ''[[CNN]].com'' [[October 1]], [[2003]], accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]].</ref></blockquote> In that column Novak also claims to have learned Mrs. Wilson's maiden name "Valerie Plame" from Joe Wilson's entry in ''[[Marquis Who's Who|Who's Who In America]]'',<ref>[http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/wilson.whoswho.pdf Joe Wilson Who's Who in America entry]</ref> though it was her CIA status rather than her maiden name which was a secret. A day after the publication of the October 1 column, Novak announced on his TV program ''[[Crossfire (TV series)|Crossfire]]'' on [[CNN]] that although "Ms. Valerie E. Wilson" had donated $1,000 to the Gore campaign in 1999, according to the website ''Newsmeat,'' listing [[Brewster Jennings & Associates]] as her employer, he was "convinced" that "[t]here is no such firm."<ref name=jenn>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40012-2003Oct3 | title=Leak of Agent's Name Causes Exposure of CIA Front Firm | author=[[Walter Pincus]] and Mike Allen | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | date=[[October 4]], [[2003]]}}</ref><ref name=money>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Valerie_Plame.php | title=Plame campaign contribution search}}</ref> Novak argued further that "CIA people are not supposed to list themselves with fictitious firms if they're under a deep cover — they're supposed to be real firms, or so I'm told. Sort of adds to the little mystery."<ref name=jenn>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40012-2003Oct3 | title=Leak of Agent's Name Causes Exposure of CIA Front Firm | author=Walter Pincus and Mike Allen | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[October 4]], [[2003]]}}</ref> Novak wrote in his column "It was well known around Washington that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA,"<ref name=cialeaktownhall>[[Robert Novak|Robert D. Novak]], [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2003/10/01/the_cia_leak "The CIA Leak"], ''TownHall.com'', [[October 1]], [[2003]], accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]].</ref> though this assertion has been disputed. According to [[Murray S. Waas]] in the ''[[American Prospect]]'' of [[February 12]], [[2004]], the CIA source warned Novak several times against the publication: two "administration officials" spoke to the [[FBI]] and challenged Novak's account about not receiving warnings not to publish Plame's name; according to one of the officials, "At best, he is parsing words ... At worst, he is lying to his readers and the public. Journalists should not lie, I would think."<ref>[[Murray S. Waas]] [http://foi.missouri.edu/iipa/plamegate.html "Plame Gate,"] ''[[American Prospect]]'' (web exclusive), [[December 2]], [[2004]].</ref><ref name=warning>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/26/AR2005072602069.html | title=Prosecutor In CIA Leak Case Casting A Wide Net | author=[[Walter Pincus]] and Jim VandeHei | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[July 27]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Novak's critics argue that after decades as a [[Washington DC|Washington]] reporter, Novak was well aware of Plame's CIA status due to the wording he used in his column. A search of the ''[[LexisNexis]]'' database for the terms "CIA operative" and "agency operative" showed Novak had accurately used the terms to describe ''[[Non-official cover|covert]]'' CIA employees, every time they appear in his articles.<ref name=hill>{{cite news | url=http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Comment/JoshMarshall/071405.html | title=It's Clear the Leakers Knew What They Were Doing | author=Josh Marshall | publisher=''[[The Hill]]'' | date=[[July 14]], [[2005]]}}</ref> On [[March 17]], [[2007]], Plame testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She was asked how she learned of Novak's reference to her in his column. Plame told the committee "I found out very early in the morning when my husband came in and dropped the newspaper on the bed and said, 'He did it'.... We had indications in the week prior that Mr. Novak knew my identity and my true employer. And I of course alerted my superiors at the agency, and I was told, don't worry; we'll take care of it. And it was much to our surprise that we read about this July 14th.... I believe, and this is what I've read, that the then-spokesman, Mr. Harlow, spoke directly with Mr. Novak and said something along the lines of, don't go with this; don't do this. I don't know exactly what he said, but he clearly communicated the message that Mr. Novak should not publish my name."<ref name=plametestimony>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Plame_hearing_transcript_0316.html | title=Plame hearing transcript | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Novak has written that "the CIA never warned me that the disclosure of Wilson's wife working at the agency would endanger her or anybody else."<ref name=cialeak>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/column.novak.opinion.leak/index.html | author=[[Robert Novak]] | title=The CIA Leak | publisher=[[CNN]] |date=[[October 1]], [[2003]]}} See also: [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/ "Novak: 'No great crime' with Leak"], ''[[CNN]].com'', [[October 1]], [[2003]], accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]].</ref> According to the ''Washington Post'', Harlow conveyed in an interview that "he warned Novak, in the strongest terms he was permitted to use without revealing classified information, that Wilson's wife had not authorized the mission and that if he did write about it, her name should not be revealed."<ref name=warning/> Novak published a column refuting Harlow's claim.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Ex-CIA+official%E2%80%99s+comment+about++Plame+story+is+inaccurate&articleId=e6428304-3591-4522-8177-a4655a25ee79| title=Ex-CIA official’s comment about Plame story is inaccurate | author=[[Robert Novak]] | date=[[August 2]], [[2005]]}}</ref> In his book, George Tenet wrote "Bill [Harlow] struggled to convince Novak that he had been misinformed [about Wilson's wife being responsible for sending her husband to Niger]-and that it would be unwise to report Mrs. Wilson's name. He couldn't tell Novak that Valerie Wilson was undercover. Saying so over an open phone line itself would have been a security breach. Bill danced around the subject and asked Novak not to include her in the story. Several years and many court dates later, we know that the message apparently didn't get through, but Novak never told Bill that he was going to ignore his advice to leave Valerie's name out of his article."<ref name=Tenetbook462> ===Novak's sources for his column "Mission to Niger"=== In their article entitled "Columnist Blows CIA Agent's Cover," published in [[Newsday]], on [[July 22]], [[2003]], Timothy M. Phelps and Knut Royce report: "Novak, in an interview, said his sources had come to him with the information. 'I didn't dig it out, it was given to me,' he said. 'They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it."<ref name=newsday>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-phelps0722,0,2044545.story | title="Columnist Blows CIA Agent's Cover" | author=Timothy M. Phelps and Knut Royce | publisher=Newsday |date=[[July 22]], [[2003]]}}</ref> In response, although Phelps stands by the report, Novak has argued that he was "badly misquoted."<ref name=misquote>{{cite news | url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0525nj1.htm | title=Rove-Novak Call Was Concern To Leak Investigators | author=Murray Waas | publisher=National Journal |date=[[May 25]], [[2006]]}}</ref> In September 2003, on [[CNN]]'s [[Crossfire (TV series)|Crossfire]], Novak asserted: "Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this. There is no great crime here," adding that while he learned from two administration officials that Plame was a CIA employee, "They asked me not to use her name, but never indicated it would endanger her or anybody else. According to a confidential source at the CIA, Mrs. Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert operative and not in charge of undercover operators."<ref name=nocrime>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/ | title=Novak: 'No great crime' with Leak | publisher=CNN | date=[[October 1]], [[2003]]}}</ref> In July 2005, it was revealed that Rove was Novak's second Bush administration source. Novak told Rove about Plame, using her maiden name, and Rove responded by saying "I heard that, too", or "Oh, you know about it."<ref name=too>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/07/15/BL2005071500978_pf.html | title=The Second Source | author=[[Dan Froomkin]] | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' (column) |date=[[July 15]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Through his personal attorney, [[Robert Luskin]], Rove has stated that other media sources told him about Plame, although he's not sure which journalist first told him. ===Robert Novak's "primary source": Richard Armitage=== <!-- If this section is about Robert Novak and Richard Armitage, the public statements and sworn testimony of both men should be cited here --> After the indictment of [[Lewis Libby]] and the expiration of the term of the initial Grand Jury, [[Michael Isikoff]] revealed portions of his new book entitled ''Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War'', co-authored with [[David Corn]], in the [[August 28]], [[2006]], issue of ''[[Newsweek]]''. Isikoff reports that then [[United States Deputy Secretary of State|Deputy Secretary of State]] [[Richard Armitage]] had a central role in the Plame affair.<ref name=armitage>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14533384/site/newsweek/ | title=The Man Who Said Too Much | author=Isikoff, Michael | publisher=''[[Newsweek]]'' |date=[[August 28]], [[2006]]}}</ref> In their book ''Hubris'' Isikoff and Corn reveal — as both Armitage and syndicated columnist Robert Novak acknowledged publicly later — that Armitage was Novak's "initial" and "primary source" for Novak's July 2003 column that revealed Plame's identity as a CIA operative and that after Novak revealed his "primary source" (Novak's phrase) was a "senior administration official" who was "not a partisan gunslinger," Armitage phoned Colin Powell that morning and was "in deep distress." Reportedly, Armitage told Powell: "I'm sure [Novak is] talking about me." In his ''[[Newsweek]]'' article, Isikoff states: <blockquote>The next day, a team of FBI agents and Justice prosecutors investigating the leak questioned the deputy secretary. Armitage acknowledged that he had passed along to Novak information contained in a classified State Department memo: that Wilson's wife worked on weapons-of-mass-destruction issues at the CIA... [William Howard Taft IV, the State Department's legal adviser] felt obligated to inform White House counsel Alberto Gonzales. But Powell and his aides feared the White House would then leak that Armitage had been Novak's source — possibly to embarrass State Department officials who had been unenthusiastic about Bush's Iraq policy. So Taft told Gonzales the bare minimum: that the State Department had passed some information about the case to Justice. He didn't mention Armitage. Taft asked if Gonzales wanted to know the details. The president's lawyer, playing the case by the book, said no, and Taft told him nothing more. Armitage's role thus remained that rarest of Washington phenomena: a hot secret that never leaked.<ref name=armitage/></blockquote> According to Isikoff, as based on his sources, Armitage told [[Bob Woodward]] Plame's identity three weeks before talking to Novak, and Armitage himself was aggressively investigated by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, but was never charged because Fitzgerald found no evidence that Armitage knew of Plame's covert CIA status when he talked to Novak and Woodward.<ref name=armitage/> In an [[August 27]], [[2006]], appearance on ''[[Meet the Press]]'', Novak is asked if indeed Armitage was his source of Mrs. Wilson's identity as a CIA operative. Novak responds: "I told Mr. Isikoff... that I do not identify my sources on any subject if they’re on a confidential basis until they identify themselves... I’m going to say one thing, though, I haven’t said before. And that is that I believe that the time has way passed for my source to identify himself."<ref name=mtp>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14452115/page/7/ Transcript], ''[[Meet the Press]]'', broadcast on [[MSNBC]], [[August 27]], [[2006]].</ref> On [[August 30]], [[2006]], the [[New York Times]] reports that the lawyer and other associates of Mr. Armitage confirmed he was Novak's "initial and primary source" for Plame's identity.<ref name=armitageny>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30armitage.html | title=First Source of C.I.A. Leak Said to Admit Role | author=Neil A. Lewis | publisher=New York Times |date=[[August 30]], [[2006]]}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' also reports "Mr. Armitage cooperated voluntarily in the case, never hired a lawyer and testified several times to the grand jury, according to people who are familiar with his role and actions in the case. He turned over his calendars, datebooks and even his wife’s computer in the course of the inquiry, those associates said. But Mr. Armitage kept his actions secret, not even telling President Bush because the prosecutor asked him not to divulge it, the people said... Mr. Armitage had prepared a resignation letter, his associates said. But he stayed on the job because State Department officials advised that his sudden departure could lead to the disclosure of his role in the leak, the people aware of his actions said.... He resigned in November 2004, but remained a subject of the inquiry until [February 2006] when the prosecutor advised him in a letter that he would not be charged."<ref name=FitzgeraldNYT>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/washington/02leak.html?ei=5065&en=1939cd793ece790a&ex=1157774400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print | title=New Questions About Inquiry in C.I.A. Leak | author=David Johnson | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |date=[[September 2]], [[2006]]}}</ref> In an interview with [[CBS News]] first broadcast on [[September 7]], [[2006]], Armitage admits that he was Novak's "initial" and "primary source" (Novak's words). In the interview he describes his conversation with Novak: "At the end of a wide-ranging interview he asked me, "Why did the CIA send Ambassador (Wilson) to Africa?" I said I didn't know, but that she worked out at the agency, adding it was "just an offhand question.... I didn't put any big import on it and I just answered and it was the last question we had." After acknowledging that he was indeed Robert Novak's initial and primary source for the column outing Plame, Richard Armitage refers to what has been termed "a classified State Department memorandum" which purportedly refers to Valerie Wilson. While the document is "classified," Armitage states, "it doesn't mean that every sentence in the document is classified.... I had never seen a covered agent's name in any memo in, I think, 28 years of government.... I didn't know the woman's name was Plame. I didn't know she was an operative.... I didn't try to out anybody."<ref name=cbsinterview>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/07/eveningnews/main1981433.shtml | title=Armitage on CIA Leak — 'I Screwed Up' | author=Interview with David Martin | publisher=''[[CBS News]].com'' |date=[[September 7]], [[2006]]}}</ref> In a phone interview with ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Armitage reiterates his claim, stating that in 40 years of reading classified materials "I have never seen in a memo... a covert agent's name."<ref name=postarmitage>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR2006090701781.html?nav=rss_politics/fedpage | title=Armitage Says He Was Source of CIA Leak | author=R. Jeffrey Smith | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[September 8]], [[2006]]}}</ref> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Armitage attributes his not being charged in the investigation to his candor in speaking with investigators about his action; he says that he turned over his computers and never hired an attorney: "'I did not need an attorney to tell me to tell the truth.'"<ref name=postarmitage/> Novak disputes Armitage's claim that the disclosure was "inadvertent." In a column titled ''The real story behind the Armitage story'', Novak states: "First, Armitage did not, as he now indicates, merely pass on something he had heard and that he 'thought' might be so. Rather, he identified to me the CIA division where Mrs. Wilson worked, and said flatly that she recommended the mission to Niger by her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Second, Armitage did not slip me this information as idle chitchat, as he now suggests. He made clear he considered it especially suited for my column... he noted that the story of Mrs. Wilson's role fit the style of the old Evans-Novak column — implying to me it continued reporting Washington inside information." Novak also disputes Armitage's claim that he learned he was Novak's "primary source" (Novak's phrase) only after reading Novak's October 1 column: "I believed [Washington lobbyist Kenneth Duberstein, Armitage's close friend and political adviser] contacted me October 1 because of news the weekend of September 27–28 that the Justice Department was investigating the leak."<ref name=RealStory>{{cite news | url=http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2006/09/14/armitages_leak | title=The Real Story behind the Armitage Story | author=[[Robert Novak]] | publisher=''[[The Chicago Sun Times]]'' |date=[[September 14]], [[2006]]}}</ref> In a review of Corn's and Isikoff's book, ''Hubris'', Novak writes: "I don't know precisely how Isikoff flushed out Armitage [as Novak's "primary source"], but ''Hubris'' clearly points to two sources: Washington lobbyist [[Kenneth Duberstein]], Armitage's political adviser, and [[William Howard Taft IV|William Taft IV]], who was the State Department legal adviser when Armitage was deputy secretary."<ref name=rnovak>[[Robert Novak]], [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=12785&R=EE501DF13 "Who Said What When: The Rise and fall of the Valerie Plame 'scandal'"], ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'', [[October 16]], [[2006]], book review of "Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War," by [[Michael Isikoff]] and [[David Corn]], accessed [[October 8]], [[2008]].</ref> Armitage also acknowledges that he was Woodward's source. At the end of a lengthy interview conducted in the first week of September 2006, he describes his June 2003 conversation with Woodward as an afterthought: "He said, 'Hey, what's the deal with Wilson?' and I said, 'I think his wife works out there.'"<ref name=abcarmitage>{{cite news | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2409329&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 | title=Armitage Says He Was Source on Plame | author=Matt Apuzzo ([[The Associated Press]]) | publisher=''[[ABC News]]'' | date=[[September 8]], [[2006]]}}</ref> On [[February 12]], [[2007]], Novak testified in Libby's trial. As Michael J. Sniffen of the [[Associated Press]] reports: <blockquote>Novak described trying to get an interview with Armitage in 2001 and being told the deputy secretary was "not too busy. He just didn't want to talk to me." Novak said he was rebuffed again after the [[September 11]], [[2001]], terrorist attacks. Then in the last week of June 2003, Armitage's office called to set up an interview. "I had not pressed my request for one in two years," Novak said. Once he asked about the Wilson trip, Armitage said "it was suggested by his wife, Valerie, who is employed in the counter-proliferation division at CIA," Novak testified."<ref name=testimony>Michael J. Sniffen ([[The Associated Press]]), [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/12/national/w151426S06.DTL "Journalists Name Additional Leak Sources"], ''[[The San Francisco Chronicle]]'', [[February 12]], [[2007]], accessed [[February 15]], [[2007]].</ref></blockquote> In his memoir, titled "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years of Reporting In Washington," Novak writes that after Armitage revealed to him that Joe Wilson's wife worked at the CIA, "Armitage smiled and said: 'That's real Evans and Novak, isn't it?.' I believe he meant that was the kind of inside information that my late partner, [[Rowland Evans]], and I had featured in our column for so long. I interpreted that as meaning Armitage expected to see the item published in my column."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003608657&imw=Y | title=Novak Memoir: Armitage Wanted Plame Named | publisher=''[[Editor and Publisher]]'' | date=[[July 8]], [[2007]]}}</ref> On [[November 11]], [[2007]], Armitage appeared on [[Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer]] and was asked to respond to Valerie Wilson's assertion that Armitage "did a very foolish thing" in revealing her identity to Novak. Armitage and Blitzer had the following exchange: <blockquote>ARMITAGE: They're not words on which I disagree. I think it was extraordinarily foolish of me. There was no ill-intent on my part and I had never seen ever, in 43 years of having a security clearance, a covert operative's name in a memo. The only reason I knew a "Mrs. Wilson," not "Mrs. Plame," worked at the agency was because I saw it in a memo. But I don't disagree with her words to a large measure.<br> BLITZER: Normally in memos they don't name covert operatives?<br> ARMITAGE: I have never seen one named.<br> BLITZER: And so you assumed she was, what, just an analyst over at the CIA?<br> ARMITAGE: Not only assumed it, that's what the message said, that she was publicly chairing a meeting.<br> BLITZER: So, when you told Robert Novak that Joe Wilson, the former U.S. ambassador's wife, worked at the CIA, and she was involved somehow in getting him this trip to Africa to look for the enriched uranium, if there were enriched uranium going to Iraq, you simply assumed that she was not a clandestine officer of the CIA.<br> ARMITAGE: Well, even Mr. Novak has said that he used the word "operative" and misused it. No one ever said "operative." And I not only assumed it, as I say, I've never seen a covered agent's name in a memo. However, that doesn't take away from what Mrs. Plame said, it was foolish, yeah. Sure it was.<br> BLITZER: So you agree with her on that.<br> ARMITAGE: Yeah. Absolutely.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0711/11/le.01.html | title=CNN LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER transcript for November 11, 2007 | publisher=CNN | date=[[November 11]], [[2007]]}}</ref></blockquote> ==Justice Department investigation pertaining to Novak's column== {{Main|CIA leak grand jury investigation}} The matter of the leak of Valerie Wilson's classified CIA covert identity as Valerie Plame was investigated by the [[U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel]]. The [[redaction]]s in a [[March 1]], [[2006]], affidavit by Special Counsel [[Patrick Fitzgerald]] suggest that he was aware then of the identity of Novak's original source. According to the affidavit, <blockquote>Mr. Novak has published a brief description of how he learned the information, albeit declining to name his sources (REDACTED). Mr. Libby indisputably knows at least one of Mr. Novak’s sources:(REDACTED). Mr. Libby testified in the grand jury that Rove told Libby that Novak was publishing a column about Wilson’s wife before it was ever published.... The one significant piece of information that Libby is not being told is the identity of (REDACTED) as a source for (REDACTED). Moreover, Libby has been given a redacted transcript of the conversation between Woodward and (REDACTED) and Novak has published an account briefly describing the conversation with his first confidential source (REDACTED).<ref name=affidavit>{{cite news | url=http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/files/fitz_response.pdf | title=Affadavit of Patrick Fitzgerald | publisher=''The Next Hurrah'' (blog) |date=[[March 1]], [[2006]] |format=PDF}} .</ref></blockquote> In May 2006, it was reported that on [[September 29]], [[2003]], the same day on which Novak made a statement on the ''[[Crossfire (TV series)|Crossfire]]'' television program about the investigation, and three days after it became known that the CIA had asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation, Novak and Rove had a telephone conversation in which Novak told Rove he would protect him from being harmed by the investigation. According to the ''[[National Journal]]'', "Rove testified to the grand jury that during his telephone call with Novak, the columnist said words to the effect: 'You are not going to get burned' and 'I don't give up my sources.'" When "asked during his grand jury appearance his reaction to the telephone call," the ''[[National Journal]]'' continues, "Rove characterized it as a 'curious conversation' and didn't know what to make of it."<ref name=protect>{{cite news | url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0525nj1.htm | title=Rove-Novak Call Was Concern to Leak Investigators | author=[[Murray Waas]] | publisher=''[[The National Journal]]'' |date=[[May 25]], [[2006]]}}</ref> On [[July 11]], [[2006]], Robert Novak posted a column entitled "My Role in the Valerie Plame Leak Story": "Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has informed my attorneys that, after two and one-half years, his investigation of the CIA leak case concerning matters directly relating to me has been concluded. That frees me to reveal my role in the federal inquiry that, at the request of Fitzgerald, I have kept secret." Novak dispels rumors that he asserted his Fifth Amendment right and made a plea bargain, stating: "I have cooperated in the investigation." He continues: <blockquote>For nearly the entire time of his investigation, Fitzgerald knew — independent of me — the identity of the sources I used in my column of [[July 14]], [[2003]]. That Fitzgerald did not indict any of these sources may indicate his conclusion that none of them violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.... In my sworn testimony, I said what I have contended in my columns and on television: Joe Wilson's wife's role in instituting her husband's mission was revealed to me in the middle of a long interview with an official who I have previously said was not a political gunslinger. After the federal investigation was announced, he told me through a third party that the disclosure was inadvertent on his part. Following my interview with the ''primary source'', I sought out the second administration official and the CIA spokesman for confirmation. I learned Valerie Plame's name from Joe Wilson's entry in "Who's Who in America." (Italics added.)</blockquote> Novak says that he did not reveal his "primary source" in the column because that source "has not come forward to identify himself," and he also states that Karl Rove's and Bill Harlow's recollections of their conversations with Novak about Plame differed from his.<ref name=myrole>{{cite news | url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15988 | title=My Role in the Valerie Plame Leak Story | author=[[Robert Novak]] | publisher=''[[Human Events]]'' |date=[[July 12]], [[2006]]}}</ref> Harlow is the person whom Novak refers to as his "CIA source" for his column "Mission to Niger".<ref name=myrole/> ==Bush administration officials subpoenaed to testify in Fitzgerald's Grand Jury Investigation== ===I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby=== {{See main|United States v. Libby}} On [[October 28]], [[2005]], Special Counsel [[Patrick Fitzgerald]] issued a five-count [[indictment]] of [[Lewis Libby|"Scooter" Libby]], Vice President Cheney's former Chief of Staff, leading Libby to resign his post hours later, to his trial [[United States v. Libby]], and to his conviction in that trial on four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying during the leak investigation on [[March 6]], [[2007]].<ref name=SniffenApuzzo/> It is the only indictment brought by the grand jury, and Fitzgerald has stated that he does not expect to be indicting anyone else, citing repeatedly Libby's obstruction of justice as a main impediment to finding out what happened in investigating the leak of Valerie Wilson's classified, covert CIA identity. The Grand Jury Investigation indictment of Libby states: <blockquote>Beginning in or about January 2004, and continuing until the date of this indictment, Grand Jury 03-3 sitting in the District of Columbia conducted an investigation ("the Grand Jury Investigation") into possible violations of federal criminal laws, including: Title 50, United States Code, Section 421 (disclosure of the identity of covert intelligence personnel); and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 793 (improper disclosure of national defense information), 1001 (false statements), 1503 (obstruction of justice), and 1623 (perjury). A major focus of the Grand Jury Investigation was to determine which government officials had disclosed to the media prior to [[July 14]], [[2003]], information concerning the affiliation of Valerie Wilson with the CIA, and the nature, timing, extent, and purpose of such disclosures, as well as whether any official making such a disclosure did so knowing that the employment of Valerie Wilson by the CIA was classified information.<ref name=indictment>{{cite news | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf#search='libby%20indictment' | title="Libby Indictment" | format=PDF}}</ref></blockquote> According to Special Counsel [[Patrick Fitzgerald]], Libby first learned of [[Valerie Plame|Valerie Wilson]]'s employment at the CIA in early June 2003 from [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Dick Cheney]] and proceeded to discuss her with six other government officials in the following days and months before disclosing her name to reporters [[Judith Miller (journalist)|Judith Miller]] and [[Matthew Cooper (American journalist)|Matthew Cooper]] in early July 2003. Fitzgerald asserts that Vice President Cheney told Libby about Mrs. Wilson's CIA employment as the two crafted a response to an inquiry about Wilson's trip from reporter Walter Pincus. While her name was not disclosed to Pincus, Fitzgerald asserts that Pincus's inquiry "further motivated [Libby] to counter Mr. Wilson’s assertions, making it more likely that [Libby's] disclosures to the press concerning Mr. Wilson's wife were not casual disclosures that he had forgotten by the time he was asked about them by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and before the grand jury."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/files/news_article_response.pdf | title=Government's Response to Court's Inquiry regarding News Articles the Government Intends to Offer As Evidence At Trial (PDF) | publisher=''The Next Hurrah'' (blog) | date=[[May 12]], [[2006]]|format=PDF}}</ref> Libby does not dispute that he initially heard about Mrs. Wilson from Cheney, but he claims that he had no recollection of that fact when he told the FBI in October 2003 and the grand jury in March 2004 that he remembered first learning about Mrs. Wilson in a conversation with NBC’s [[Tim Russert]] on [[July 10]], [[2003]]. Libby told the grand jury that only after he was shown his calendar and notes by investigators did he remember that he actually learned the information about Mrs. Wilson from Cheney in June 2003. During Libby's trial, Libby's lawyers argued that Libby’s testimony to the grand jury and his interviews with the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have contained inaccuracies but that they were the result of innocent memory lapses explained by his pressing schedule of national security issues. Libby's defense lawyers also challenged the memory and recollections of each prosecution witness. According to press accounts Cheney told investigators that he had learned of Mrs. Wilson's employment by the CIA and her potential role in her husband being sent to Niger by then-CIA director George Tenet, though it's unclear whether Cheney was made aware of her classified status. Tenet has told investigators that he had no specific recollection of discussing Plame or her role in her husband's trip with Cheney. Tenet did recall, however, that he made inquiries regarding the veracity of the Niger intelligence information as a result of inquires from both Cheney and Libby. According to press accounts, Libby told investigators that on July 12, 2003, while aboard [[Air Force Two]], he and Cheney may have discussed leaking information about Plame to reporters. Libby told investigators he believed at the time that the information about Plame had come from Russert. After arriving back in Washington, according to Cooper's and Miller's testimony at Libby's trial, Libby spoke to both of them by telephone and confirmed to them that Plame worked for the CIA and may have played a role in sending her husband to Niger. FBI agent Deborah Bond testified at Libby's trial that during Libby's second FBI interview in his office on November 23, 2003, Libby was asked about the July 12 flight. Bond testified Libby told the FBI "there was a discussion whether to report to the press that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA." She added that Mr. Libby expressed some doubt, however, adding "Mr. Libby told us he believed they may have talked about it, but he wasn't sure." She testified that Libby did say he had discussed Wilson's wife with Cheney sometime after allegedly discussing her with Russert. Libby reportedly told investigators that neither the president nor the vice president specifically directed him or other administration officials to disclose Plame's CIA employment to the press.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nysun.com/article/47932?page_no=1 | title=FBI Agent: Libby, Cheney May Have Discussed Plame | publisher=Associated Press | author=Michael J. Sniffen | date=[[February 2]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/politics/24cnd-leak.html?ex=1182916800&en=468f623545297817&ei=5070 | title=Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer, Notes Show | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | author=David Johnston, Richard W. Stevenson, and Doublas Jehl | date=[[October 24]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/021907nj1.htm | title=The Libby-Cheney Connection | publisher=''[[The National Journal]]'' | author=[[Murray Waas]] | date=[[February 19]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0406nj1.htm | title=Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks | publisher=National Journal | author=Murray Waas | date=[[April 6]], [[2006]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0703nj1.htm | title=Bush Directed Cheney To Counter War Critic | publisher=''[[The National Journal]]'' | author=[[Murray Waas]] | date=[[July 3]], [[2006]]}}</ref> According to court documents, by December 2004 Fitzgerald lacked evidence to prove Libby had violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and was pursuing charges related to "perjury, false statements and the improper disclosure of national defense information."<ref name=perjury>{{cite news | url=http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200502/04-3138a.pdf | title=Appeals from the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] IN RE: GRAND JURY SUBPOENA, JUDITH MILLER | date=Reissued [[June 29]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref> During Libby's trial, the prosecution focused the jury on a sequence of events occurring between May and July 2003. According to prosecutors, given the level of interest coming from the Vice President's office regarding Joe Wilson, it was impossible for Libby to have forgotten during his FBI interviews and grand jury testimony that he already knew that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1170077832190 | title=First Witnesses May Bolster Libby Defense | publisher=LegalTimes.com | author=Emma Schwartz | date=[[January 29]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-06-libby-trial_x.htm?csp=34 | title=Libby Describes Forgetting, Relearning CIA Operative's Identity | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[USA Today]]'' | date=[[February 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/LIBBYDIARY.html | title=Diary of the Leak Trial (Timeline)| publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/washington/21libby.html?ex=1329714000&en=0d8a8d3bf484a3da&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss | title=In Closing Pleas, Clashing Views on Libby’s Role | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | author=Neil A. Lewis |date=[[February 21]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/02/21/BL2007022101033_pf.html | title=The Cloud Over Cheney | publisher=Washington Post | author=Dan Froomkin |date=[[February 21]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500831.html | title=Court Hears Libby Describe Cheney as 'Upset' at Critic | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Amy Goldstein and Carol D. Leonnig | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig| date=[[February 7]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=175333&Disp=4 | title=FBI Agent Testifies Libby Learned About Plame from Cheney | author=[[The Associated Press]] and ''[[Editor and Publisher]]'' | publisher=''libertypost.org'' (blog) | date=[[February 1]], [[2007]]}}</ref> On [[March 6]], [[2007]], Libby was found guilty on four of the five counts against him.<ref name=SniffenApuzzo/> After the verdict was read to the court, [[Denis Collins]], a member of the jury and a journalist who has written for ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and other newspapers, spoke to the press. According to Collins, some in the jury felt sympathy for Libby and believed he was only the "fall guy." Collins said that "a number of times" the jurors asked themselves, "what is [Libby] doing here? Where is Rove and all these other guys. I’m not saying we didn’t think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. It seemed like he was, as Mr. Wells [Ted Wells, Libby’s attorney] put it, he was the fall guy." According to Collins, "What we’re in court deciding seems to be a level or two down from what, before we went into the jury, we supposed the trial was about, or had been initially about, which was who leaked [Plame’s identity]. Some jurors commented at some point: ‘I wish we weren’t judging Libby. You know, this sucks. We don’t like being here.’ But that wasn’t our choice." Collins described how after 10 days of deliberations, "What we came up with from that was that Libby was told about Mrs. Wilson nine times...We believed he did have a bad memory, but it seemed very unlikely he would not remember about being told about Mrs. Wilson so many times....Hard to believe he would remember on Tuesday and forget on Thursday."<ref name=juror>{{cite news | url=http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=179327 | title=Juror Explains Libby Verdict: They Felt He Was 'Fall Guy' | publisher=''libertypost.org'' (blog) | author=Greg Mitchell (''[[Editor and Publisher]]'') | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=jurormsnbc>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17485067/ | title='Where’s Rove? Where are these other guys?': Juror Says Libby Was Guilty But Was Set Up to Take the Fall in Plame Probe | publisher=''[[MSNBC]]'' | author=Alex Johnson | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Collins told the press "Well, as I said before, I felt like it was a long, you know, haul to get this jury done. And if Mr. Libby is pardoned, I would have no problem with that."<ref name=HardballMarch8>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17535880/ | title=Transcript of ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews]]'' | publisher=MSNBC.com | date=[[March 8]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Another member of the jury, [[Ann Redington]], who broke down and cried as the verdict was being read, also told [[Hardball with Chris Matthews|Chris Matthews]], in a [[March 7]], [[2007]], appearance on ''Hardball'', that she hoped Libby would eventually be [[pardon]]ed by President Bush; she told Matthews that she believed Libby "got caught in a difficult situation where he got caught in the initial lie, and it just snowballed" and added: "It kind of bothers me that there was this whole big crime being investigated and he got caught up in the investigation as opposed to in the actual crime that was supposedly committed."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17506701/ | title=Juror Calls On Bush to Pardon Libby | publisher=MSNBC | date=[[March 7]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=HardballMarch8/> On [[May 25]], [[2007]], in a court filing, Fitzgerald asked Judge [[Reggie Walton|Reggie B. Walton]] to sentence Libby to 30 to 37 months in jail, because Libby had "expressed no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility and no recognition that there is anything he should have done differently." Fitzgerald stated "Mr. Libby was a high-ranking government official whose falsehoods were central to issues in a significant criminal investigation, it is important that this court impose a sentence that accurately reflects the value the judicial system places on truth-telling in criminal investigations."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/washington/26libby.html | title=Libby Prosecutor Asks for No Leniency in Sentence | publisher=''[[New York Times]]'' | author=Neil A. Lewis | date=[[May 26]], [[2007]]}}</ref> The defense sought leniency based on Libby's record of public service.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053102209.html | title=Libby's Lawyers Argue Against Prison as Fitzgerald Seeks 30 Months | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Carol D. Leonnig | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig| date=[[June 1]], [[2007]]}}</ref> The Probation Office's recommended sentence to Judge Walton was cited in court documents to be no more than 15 to 21 months of incarceration. According to court documents, the Probation Office states its opinion that the more serious sentencing standards should not apply to Libby since "the criminal offense would have to be established by a preponderance of the evidence,...[and] the defendant was neither charged nor convicted of any crime involving the leaking of Ms. Plame’s ‘covert’ status."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19666021/ | title=Was Libby’s Prison Sentence 'excessive'? | publisher=''[[NBC News]]'' | author=Joel Seidman | date=[[July 8]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/files/sentencing_memo.pdf | title="Government's Memorandum Of Law In Support Of Its Proposed Sentencing Guidelines Calculations" | publisher=''The Next Hurrah'' (blog) | date=[[May 25]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref> On June 5, 2007, Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison, a fine of US$250,000, and two years of probation (supervised release) after the expiration of his prison term.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19039377/ | title=Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[MSNBC]]'' | date=[[June 5]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=Apuzzosent/><ref name=Coursonetal/> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Judge Walton expressed his belief that the trial did not prove Libby knew that Plame worked in an undercover capacity when he disclosed her identity to several reporters. He added, however, that "anybody at that high-level position had a unique and special obligation before they said anything about anything associated with a national security agency [to] ... make every conceivable effort" to verify their status before releasing information about them. Walton stated "While there is no evidence that Mr. Libby knew what the situation was, he surely did not take any efforts to find out,...I think public officials need to know if they are going to step over the line, there are going to be consequences... . [What Libby did] causes people to think our government does not work for them."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060500150.html | title=Libby Given 21/2-Year Prison Term | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Carol D. Leonnig and Amy Goldstein | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig|date=[[June 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref>{{See main|United States v. Libby#Sentencing of Libby}} On July 2, 2007, President Bush commuted the sentence. No pardon was given, and the fine and probation, as well as the felony conviction remain. The statement said: "Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation. I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison. My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/washington/03libby.html?hp | title=Bush Commutes Libby Sentence, Saying 30 Months 'Is Excessive' | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | author=Scott Shane and Neil A. Lewis | date=[[July 3]], [[2007]]}}</ref> {{See main|Lewis Libby clemency controversy}} On July 5, 2007, it was reported that Libby had sent a cashier’s check dated July 2 in the amount of $250,400 to the [[court clerk]] of the [[District of Columbia]]. [[NBC News]] reported that Libby paid the fine through his personal funds and not through a defense fund set up in his name.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19617734/ | title=Libby Pays $250,000 Fine | author=Joel Seidman | publisher=''[[NBC News]]'' | date=[[July 5]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/washington/06libby.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1183842075-V4c09NeIIsTpZS++OAgK1w&oref=slogin | title=Libby Pays Fine: Judge Poses Probation Query | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | author=Jim Rutenberg and Scott Shane | date=[[July 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref> On [[July 12]], [[2007]], President Bush held a press conference and was asked about his commutation of Libby's prison sentence. Bush told reporters: <blockquote>First of all, the Scooter Libby decision was, I thought, a fair and balanced decision. Secondly, I haven't spent a lot of time talking about the testimony that people throughout my administration were forced to give as a result of the special prosecutor. I didn't ask them during the time and I haven't asked them since. I'm aware of the fact that perhaps somebody in the administration did disclose the name of that person, and I've often thought about what would have happened had that person come forth and said, I did it. Would we have had this, you know, endless hours of investigation and a lot of money being spent on this matter? But it's been a tough issue for a lot of people in the White House, and it's run its course and now we're going to move on."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070712-5.html | title=Press Conference by the President | publisher=''whitehouse.gov'' | date=[[July 12]], [[2007]]}}</ref></blockquote> In December 2007, Libby, through his attorney Theodore Wells, announced he had dropped his appeal of his conviction. A statement released by Wells read "We remain firmly convinced of Mr. Libby's innocence. However, the realities were, that after five years of government service by Mr. Libby and several years of defending against this case, the burden on Mr. Libby and his young family of continuing to pursue his complete vindication are too great to ask them to bear." Wells also stated that an appeal "would lead only to a retrial, a process that would last even beyond the two years of supervised release, cost millions of dollars more than the fine he has already paid, and entail many more hundreds of hours preparing for an all-consuming appeal and retrial."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/10/AR2007121000719.html | title=Libby Decides To Drop Appeal | publisher=Washington Post | author=Michael Abramowitz | date=[[December 11]], [[2007]]}}</ref> ===Karl Rove=== In his grand jury testimony, [[Karl Rove]] testified he learned of Plame's CIA affiliation from journalists and not from government officials. Rove testified that Novak called him in July 2003 to discuss a story unrelated to Plame or Wilson. Eventually, according to Rove, Novak told him he planned to report in an upcoming column that Plame worked for the CIA. Rove told the grand jury that by the time Novak had called him, he had already learned of Plame from other reporters, but that he could not recall which reporters had told him. When Novak inquired about Wilson's wife working for the CIA, Rove indicated he had heard something like that, according to the source's recounting of the grand jury testimony for the Associated Press. Rove told the grand jury that three days later, he had a phone conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper and, in an effort to discredit some of Wilson's allegations, informally told Cooper that he believed Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, though he never used her name. Rove also testified to the grand jury that he had heard from Libby that Plame worked for the CIA. Rove testified that Libby told him that he heard the information from journalists.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000979758 | title=Source Tells AP About Rove's Grand Jury Testimony on Plame Leak | publisher=Associated Press | author=John Solomon | date=[[July 15]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=rovenationaljournal>{{cite news | url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0428nj1.htm | title=Why Rove Testified for a Fifth Time | publisher=''[[The National Journal]]'' | author=[[Murray Waas]] |date=[[April 28]], [[2006]]}}</ref> The indictment of Libby states: "On or about July 10 or [[July 11]], [[2003]], LIBBY spoke to a senior official in the White House ("Official A") who advised LIBBY of a conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson’s wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson’s trip. LIBBY was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson’s wife." Though never confirmed by Fitzgerald, it has been reported that Rove was "Official A."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/103105X.shtml | title=Mysterious 'Official A' Is Karl Rove | author=Pete Yost]] ([[The Associated Press]]) | publisher=''TruthOut.org'' (blog) | date=[[October 28]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=indictment>{{cite news | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf#search='libby%20indictment' | title="Libby Indictment" |format=PDF}}</ref> On [[July 2]], [[2005]], [[Karl Rove]]'s lawyer, [[Robert Luskin]], confirmed that Rove spoke to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reporter [[Matthew Cooper (American journalist)|Matt Cooper]] "three or four days" before Plame's identity was first revealed in print by commentator [[Robert Novak]]. Cooper's article in ''Time'', citing unnamed and anonymous "government officials," confirmed Plame to be a "CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." Cooper's article appeared three days after Novak's column was published. Rove's lawyer asserted that Rove "never knowingly disclosed classified information" and that "he did not tell any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA."<ref name=msnrove>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/84[[45696/site/newsweek/| title=The Rove Factor? | author=[[Michael Isikoff]] | publisher=''Newsweek]]'' | date=[[July 11]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=timerove>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1079464,00.html | title=When to Give Up a Source | author=Bill Saporito | publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' | date=[[July 3]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=postrove>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/02/AR2005070201043.html | title=Lawyer Says Rove Talked to Reporter, Did Not Leak Name | author=Carol D. Leonnig | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig| publisher=Washington Post |date=[[July 3]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Luskin also has said that his client did not initiate conversations with reporters about Plame and did not encourage reporters to write about her.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news | url=http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/pressclip-print.php?view=3206 | title=Obvious Question in Plame Case Had Early Answer | author=Tom Hamburger and Richard T. Cooper | publisher=''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' | date=[[September 9]], [[2006]]}}</ref> Initially, Rove failed to tell the grand jury about his conversations with Cooper. According to Rove, he only remembered he had spoken to Cooper after discovering a [[July 11]], [[2003]], White House e-mail that Rove had written to then-deputy National Security advisor Stephen J. Hadley in which Rove said he had spoken to Cooper about the Niger controversy. Luskin also testified before the grand jury. He told prosecutors that ''Time'' reporter [[Viveca Novak]] had told him prior to Rove's first grand jury appearance that she had heard from colleagues at Time that Rove was one of the sources for Cooper's story about Plame. Luskin in turn said that he told Rove about this, though Rove still did not disclose to the grand jury that he had ever spoken to Cooper about Plame. Viveca Novak testified she couldn't recall when she spoke to Luskin. Rove testified a total of five times before the federal grand jury investigating the leak. After Rove's last appearance, Luskin released a statement that read in part: "In connection with this appearance, the special counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he is not a target of the investigation. Mr. Fitzgerald has affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042600849.html | title=Rove Testifies 5th Time on Leak | publisher=Washington Post | author=Jim VandeHei |date=[[April 27]], [[2006]]}}</ref><ref name=rovenationaljournal/> On [[July 11]], [[2006]], [[Robert Novak]] confirmed that Rove was his second source for his article that revealed the identity of [[Valerie Plame]] as a CIA agent, the source who confirmed what Armitage had told him.<ref name=cnnrove>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/11/cia.leak/index.html "Novak: Rove Confirmed Plame's Identity:] Columnist Reveals Cooperation in Probe, Won't Name First Source", [[CNN]] [[July 11]], [[2006]], accessed [[February 19]], [[2007]].</ref> On [[February 12]], [[2007]], Novak testified in Libby's trial. As Michael J. Sniffen of the [[Associated Press]] reports: "Novak testified he got confirmation from White House political adviser Karl Rove, who replied to him: 'Oh, you've heard that, too.'&nbsp;"<ref name=testimony>Michael J. Sniffen ([[The Associated Press]]), [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/12/national/w151426S06.DTL "Journalists Name Additional Leak Sources"], ''[[The San Francisco Chronicle]]'', [[February 12]], [[2007]], accessed [[February 15]], [[2007]].</ref> Shortly after the publication of Novak's article, Rove also reportedly called [[Chris Matthews]] and told him off the record that "Wilson's wife is fair game."<ref name=civilsuitruling>{{cite news | url=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070719_Plame_Dismissal_Opinion.pdf | title="[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] Memorandum Opinion" | author=John D. Bates (United States District Judge) | date=[[July 19]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref><ref name=WilsonPolitics>Russ Hoyle, "The [[Niger uranium forgeries|Niger Affair]]: The Investigation That Won't Go Away," "Foreword" (xiii-xlix) in Joseph C. Wilson, IV, ''[[The Politics of Truth|The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Put the White House on Trial and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir]]'', rev. ed. (2004; New York: [[Carroll & Graf]] Publishers, 2005) xl: "[[Karl Rove|Rove]] reportedly told [[MSNBC]]'s [[Chris Matthews]], the host of the political talk show ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews|Hardball]]'', that the White House considered Wilson and his wife fair game for political payback." Cf. Joseph C. Wilson, "The Sixteen Words", chap. 1 in ''The Politics of Truth'':<blockquote>"'WILSON'S WIFE IS FAIR GAME.'" Those are fighting words for any man, and I'd just had them quoted to me by MSNBC's [[Chris Matthews]]. It was [[July 21]], [[2003]], barely a week since a column by [[Robert Novak]] in the ''[[Washington Post]]'' had named my wife, Valerie, as a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] officer, and now the host of ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews|Hardball]]'' was calling to tell me that as far as the [[The White House|White House]] was concerned, they had declared open season on my family. ... In his signature staccato, Matthews was blunt: "I just got off the phone with [[Karl Rove]]. He says, and I quote, 'Wilson's wife is fair game.'" (1; cf. 4-5, 351, 373)</ref></blockquote> On August 19, 2007, Rove was asked by David Gregory on ''Meet the Press'' about whether Rove considered Plame to be "fair game." Rove replied "No. And you know what? Fair game, that wasn’t my phrase. That’s a phrase of a journalist. In fact, a colleague of yours."<ref name=rovemeetthepress>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20302351/page/3/ | title="Meet the Press transcript for August 19, 2007" | publisher=msnbc.com | date=[[August 19]], [[2007]]}}</ref></blockquote> Rove has not denied he had a conversation with Matthews. [[Newsweek]] reported in October 2003 that a source familiar with Rove's side of the conversation told ''Newsweek'' that Rove told Matthews it was "reasonable to discuss who sent [Joe] Wilson to Niger."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/14/opinion/lynch/main708980.shtml | title=Plamegate Turns D.C. Upside Down | publisher=CBS News | author=Dotty Lynch | date=[[July 14]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Court documents reveal that in December 2004, Fitzgerald was pursuing perjury charges against Rove.<ref name=perjury>{{cite news | url=http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200502/04-3138a.pdf | title=Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia IN RE: GRAND JURY SUBPOENA, JUDITH MILLER | date=Reissued June 29, 2007|format=PDF}}</ref> Like Armitage, who was Novak's first source of the leak, Rove was not indicted as a result of Fitzgerald's Grand Jury Investigation.<ref>Jim VandeHei, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300267.html "Rove Will Not Be Charged in CIA Leak Case, Lawyer Says"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[June 14]], [[2006]], accessed [[November 20]], [[2006]].</ref> On July 8, 2007, Rove spoke publicly about the investigation at the [[Aspen, Colorado|Aspen]] Ideas Festival question-and-answer session. Rove told the audience "My contribution to this was to say to a reporter, which is a lesson about talking to reporters, the words 'I heard that too,'...Remember, the underlying offense of Armitage talking to Novak was no violation. There was no indictment."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6328941?source=rss | title=Rove Faces Cynics in Aspen | publisher=''[[The Denver Post]]'' | author=Troy Hooper | date=[[July 9]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070709/NEWS/107090070/-1/rss02 | title=Rove, Powell Engage in CIA Leak Case | author=Rick Carroll | publisher=''[[The Aspen Times]]'' | date=[[July 9]], [[2007]]}}</ref> After announcing his resignation from the Bush Administration, Rove appeared on [[Fox News Sunday]] and [[Meet the Press]], and discussed his role in the Plame affair. According to Rove, he didn't believe he was a confirming source for Robert Novak and Matt Cooper with regard to Plame. Rove also reiterated that he first learned of Plame from another reporter, though would not disclose which reporter. Rove told Gregory "I acted in an appropriate manner, made all the appropriate individuals aware of, of, of my contact. I met with the FBI right at the beginning of this, told them everything. You’re right, the special prosecutor declined to take any action at all. I was never a target." Rove told Chris Wallace on ''Fox News Sunday'' "I didn't know her name, didn't know her status at the CIA."<ref name=rovemeetthepress>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20302351/page/3/ | title=‘Meet the Press’ transcript for August 19, 2007 | publisher=msnbc.com | date=[[August 19]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293795,00.html | title=Transcript: Karl Rove on 'FOX News Sunday' | publisher=foxnews.com | date=[[August 20]], [[2007]]}}</ref> {{See|Karl Rove#Plame affair}} ===Ari Fleischer=== In January 2007, during the first week of Scooter Libby's trial, it was revealed in court proceedings that former [[White House Press Secretary]] [[Ari Fleischer]] was granted [[Immunity (legal)|immunity from prosecution]] by Patrick Fitzgerald in February 2004.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/jan29/GX05101.PDF | title=Government Exhibit GX51: Order of Use Immunity Before the Grand Jury |date=[[February 13]], [[2004]]|format=PDF}}</ref> Fleischer reportedly acknowledged discussing Valerie Plame with reporters, but promised to cooperate with Fitzgerald's investigation only if granted immunity. Once the deal was struck, Fleischer told Fitzgerald that he had discussed Plame with [[David Gregory (journalist)|David Gregory]] of ''NBC News'' and [[John Dickerson]] of ''Time'' in July 2003, days before leaving his job at the White House. Fleischer testified that he first learned about Plame and her CIA affiliation during a [[July 7]], [[2003]], lunch with Libby. Fleischer also testified that four days later, while aboard [[Air Force One]] and during a five-day trip to several African nations, he overheard [[Dan Bartlett]] reference Plame. According to Fleischer, Bartlett stated to no one in particular "His wife sent him...She works at the CIA." Shortly after overhearing Bartlett, Fleischer proceeded to discuss Plame with Gregory and Dickerson. According to Fleischer, neither Gregory nor Dickerson showed much interest in the information. Dickerson has denied Fleischer's account.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2158157/entry/2158492/ | title=My Surreal Day at the Libby Trial | author=John Dickerson | publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] | date=[[January 29]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Gregory has declined to comment on the matter.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=159887 | title=Libby Trial Opens with Simple Tales and Complex Plots | publisher=''Capital Games'' (blog), ''[[The Nation]]'' | author=[[David Corn]] | date=2007-01-23}}</ref> With regards to the immunity deal, Fitzgerald told the court "I didn't want to give [Fleischer] immunity. I did so reluctantly." Libby's attorney, William Jeffress, sought to learn more about the deal, telling the court "I'm not sure we're getting the full story here." According to Matt Apuzzo of the [[Associated Press]], "Prosecutors normally insist on an informal account of what a witness will say before agreeing to such a deal. It's known in legal circles as a proffer, and Fitzgerald said [in court] he never got one from Fleischer."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0701270055jan27,1,3559583.story?track=rss | title=Libby Lawyers Seek Facts on Immunity Deal | author=Matt Apuzzo ([[The Associated Press]]) | publisher=''[[The Chicago Tribune]]'' | date=[[January 27]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/29/AR2007012900504.html | title="Former Press Secretary Says Libby Told Him of Plame" | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Amy Goldstein and Carol D. Leonnig | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig| date=[[January 30]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-29-libby-trial_x.htm?csp=34 | title=Former White House Spokesman Fleischer Contradicts Libby's Claims in Perjury Trial | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[USA Today]]'' | date=[[January 29]], [[2007]]}}</ref> ==Journalists subpoenaed to testify in Fitzgerald's Grand Jury Investigation== In a [[January 23]], [[2006]], letter to Scooter Libby's defense team, Patrick Fitzgerald states: "...&nbsp;[W]e advised you during the January 18 conference call that we were not aware of any reporters who knew prior to [[July 14]], [[2003]], that Valerie Plame, Ambassador Wilson's wife, worked at the CIA, other than: [[Bob Woodward]], [[Judith Miller]], [[Robert Novak|Bob Novak]], [[Walter Pincus]] and [[Matthew Cooper (American journalist)|Matthew Cooper]]."<ref name=fitzreporters>{{cite news | url=http://justoneminute.typepad.com/plame/files/show_case_doc-2.pdf | title=January 23, 2006, Letter from Fitzgerald to Libby's Lawyers | format=PDF | publisher=''Just One Minute'' (blog)}}</ref> ===Bob Woodward=== On [[November 16]], [[2005]], in an article entitled "Woodward Was Told of Plame More Than Two Years Ago," published in ''[[The Washington Post]],'' Jim VandeHei and [[Carol D. Leonnig]] revealed that [[Bob Woodward]] was told of Valerie Wilson's CIA affiliation a month before it was reported in Robert Novak's column and before Wilson's [[July 6]], [[2003]] editorial in the [[New York Times]].<ref name=woodwardpost>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111501857.html | title=Woodward Was Told of Plame More Than Two Years Ago | author=Jim VandeHei and Carol D. Leonnig | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig| date=[[November 16]], [[2005]]}}</ref> At an on-the-record dinner at a [[Harvard University]] Institute of Politics forum in December 2005, according to the ''[[Harvard Crimson]]'', Woodward discussed the matter with fellow [[Watergate]] reporter [[Carl Bernstein]], responding to Bernstein’s claim that the release of Plame’s identity was a "calculated leak" by the Bush administration with "I know a lot about this, and you’re wrong." The ''Crimson'' also states that "when asked at the dinner whether his readers should worry that he has been 'manipulated' by the Bush administration, Woodward replied, 'I think you should worry. I mean, I worry.'"<ref name=Harvard>{{cite news | url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510719 | title=Woodward Said Novak's Source 'Was Not in the White House' | author=Zachary M. Seward | publisher=''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'' | date=[[December 19]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Although it had been reported in mid-November 2005 that Novak's source was [[National Security]] Advisor [[Stephen Hadley]],<ref name=rawstory>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2005/National_Security_Adviser_was_Woodwards_source_1116.html | title=National Security Adviser Was Woodward's Source, Attorneys Say | author=Larisa Alexandrovna and Jason Leopold | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) | date=[[November 16]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=timeshadley>{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1880016,00.html | title=Security Adviser Named As Source in CIA Scandal | author=Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter | publisher=''[[The Sunday Times]]'' |date=[[November 20]], [[2005]]}}</ref> almost a year later media reports revealed that the source of this information was [[Richard Armitage]],which Armitage himself also confirmed.<ref name=armitage>[[Michael Isikoff]], [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14533384/site/newsweek/ "The Man Who Said Too Much,"] ''[[Newsweek]]'', [[August 28]], [[2006]].</ref> On [[February 12]], [[2007]], Woodward testified in "Scooter" Libby's trial as a defense witness. While on the witness stand, an audiotape was played for the jury that contained the interview between Armitage and Woodward in which Plame was discussed. The following exchange is heard on the tape: <blockquote><blockquote>WOODWARD: But it was Joe Wilson who was sent by the agency. I mean that's just —<br> ARMITAGE: His wife works in the agency.<br> WOODWARD: Why doesn't that come out? Why does —<br> ARMITAGE: Everyone knows it.<br> WOODWARD: — that have to be a big secret? Everyone knows.<br> ARMITAGE: Yeah. And I know Joe Wilson's been calling everybody. He's pissed off because he was designated as a low-level guy, went out to look at it. So, he's all pissed off.<br> WOODWARD: But why would they send him?<br> ARMITAGE: Because his wife's a [expletive] analyst at the agency.<br> WOODWARD: It's still weird.<br> ARMITAGE: It — It's perfect. This is what she does she is a WMD analyst out there.<br> WOODWARD: Oh she is.<br> ARMITAGE: Yeah.<br> WOODWARD: Oh, I see.<br> ARMITAGE: Yeah. See?<br> WOODWARD: Oh, she's the chief WMD?<br> ARMITAGE: No she isn't the chief, no.<br> WOODWARD: But high enough up that she can say, "Oh yeah, hubby will go."<br> ARMITAGE: Yeah, he knows Africa.<br> WOODWARD: Was she out there with him?<br> ARMITAGE: No.<br> WOODWARD: When he was ambassador?<br> ARMITAGE: Not to my knowledge. I don't know. I don't know if she was out there or not. But his wife is in the agency and is a WMD analyst. How about that [expletive].<ref name=testimony/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/armitage20070212.pdf | title=Transcript of Woodward and Armitage interview (PDF) | publisher=''[[The Wall Street Journal]] Online'' |date=[[February 12]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref></blockquote></blockquote> ===Judith Miller=== [[New York Times]] reporter [[Judith Miller (journalist)|Judith Miller]] also claims to have learned Plame's CIA affiliation from [[Scooter Libby]]. Though she never published an article on the topic, Miller spent twelve weeks in jail when she was found in contempt of court for refusing to divulge the identity of her source to Fitzgerald's Grand Jury after he subpoenaed her testimony. Miller told the court, before being ordered to jail, "If journalists cannot be trusted to keep confidences, then journalists cannot function and there cannot be a free press." Miller was released from jail on [[September 29]], [[2005]], after Libby assured her in a telephone call that a waiver he gave prosecutors authorizing them to question reporters about their conversations with him was not coerced. Libby also wrote Miller a letter while she was in jail urging her to cooperate with the special prosecutor.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/nat_MILLER_051001.pdf | title=Letter from Libby to Miller (PDF) | publisher=New York Times |date=[[September 15]], [[2005]]|format=PDF}}</ref> The letter has come under scrutiny, and Fitzgerald asked Miller about it during her grand jury testimony.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001306736 | title=Libby's Letter to Miller Raises 'Troubling' Issues | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[Editor and Publisher]]'' | date=[[October 16]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Fitzgerald attempted to enter the letter into evidence at Libby's trial, arguing it showed Libby tried to influence her prospective testimony to the grand jury. Judge Walton ruled it inadmissible.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/31/libby-live-judy-five/ | title=Libby Live: Judy Five ("live-blogging" transcript of court proceedings) | publisher=''[[Jane Hamsher|Firedoglake]]'' (blog) | author=[[Marcy Wheeler]] ("emptywheel") | date=[[January 31]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Miller testified twice before the grand jury and wrote an account of her testimony for the ''New York Times''.<ref name=millerjail>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/07/06/reporters.contempt/index.html | title=New York Times Reporter Jailed | publisher=''[[CNN]].com'' |date=[[July 6]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=millerfree>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/30/cia.leak/index.html | title=Jailed Reporter Reaches Deal in CIA Leak Probe | author=''[[CNN]].com'' |date=[[September 30]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=fourhours>{{cite news | url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1016-01.htm | title=My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room | author=Judith Miller | publisher=New York Times |date=[[October 16]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref name=sourceprotect>{{cite news | url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000974332 | title=Cooper Agrees to Testify to Plame Grand Jury, Avoids Jail | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[Editor and Publisher]]'' | date=[[July 6]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/19/AR2005101900795.html | title=N.Y. Times Reporter Released From Jail | publisher=[[''The Washington Post]]'' | author=Susan Schmidt and Jim VandeHei |date=[[September 30]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/12/AR2005101202499.html | title=Times Reporter Testifies Again in CIA Leak Probe | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Jim VandeHei |date=[[October 13]], [[2005]]}}</ref> In her testimony at Libby's trial, Miller reiterated that she learned of Plame from Libby on [[June 23]], [[2003]], during an interview at the [[Old Executive Office Building]], and on [[July 8]], [[2003]], during a breakfast meeting at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington D.C. At the July 8 meeting, which occurred two days after Joe Wilson's op-ed in the ''New York Times'', Libby told the grand jury "that he was specifically authorized in advance... to disclose the key judgments of the classified [October 2002] [[National Intelligence Estimate|NIE]] to Miller" to rebut Wilson's charges. Libby "further testified that he at first advised the Vice President that he could not have this conversation with reporter Miller because of the classified nature of the NIE", but testified "that the Vice President had advised [Libby] that the President had authorized [Libby] to disclose relevant portions of the NIE."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0406nj1.htm | title=Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks | publisher=''[[The National Journal]]'' | author=[[Murray Waas]] |date=[[April 6]], [[2006]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.dni.gov/nic/special_keyjudgements.html | title=Iraq’s Continuing Program for Weapons of Mass Destruction: Key Judgments from October 2002 NIE | publisher=[[National Intelligence Council]], ''dni.gov''}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/021907nj1.htm | title=The Libby-Cheney Connection | publisher=''[[The National Journal]]'' | author=[[Murray Waas]] |date=[[February 20]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Miller was pressed by the defense at Libby's trial about conversations she may have had with other officials regarding the Wilsons. Miller also testified that after her conversation with Libby, she went to New York Times managing editor Jill Abramson and suggested the ''Times'' look into Wilson's wife. Abramson, however, testified at the trial that she had "no recollection of such a conversation."<ref name=millertestimony>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/washington/01libby.html?ex=1327986000&en=0ae213df97e5d6e4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss | title=Former Times Reporter Testimony Is Challenged | publisher=New York Times | author=Neil A. Lewis |date=[[February 1]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-13-libby_x.htm | title=Lawyer: Neither Cheney nor Libby will testify in CIA leak case | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[USA Today]]'' | date=[[February 19]], [[2007]]}}</ref> According to [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] criminal defense attorney [[Jeralyn Merritt]], a press-accredited blogger who attended the trial, "After Judith Miller's testimony, Libby lawyer Ted Wells told the judge he would be moving for a judgment of acquittal on a count pertaining to her."<ref name=MerrittMiller>{{cite news | url=http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/2/10/131847/078 | title=Libby: One Part of Judith Miller Count May Be Dropped | author=[[Jeralyn Merritt]] | publisher=''TalkLeft'' (press-accredited blog) | date=[[February 10]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Neil A. Lewis reported in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on [[February 9]], [[2007]], that "The Libby defense won a victory of sorts when Judge Reggie B. Walton agreed to exclude part of one of the five felony counts against Mr. Libby. But it remained unclear whether the change, which was not contested by the prosecutors, would matter in jury deliberations," and some speculated that Libby's conversation with Miller would be dropped from count 1 of the indictment.<ref name=russertnytimes>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/washington/09libby.html?ex=1328677200&en=347310060372fd46&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss | title=NBC’s Russert Wraps Up Prosecution Case in Libby Trial | publisher=New York Times | author=Neil A. Lewis |date=[[February 9]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=MerrittMiller/> At Libby's sentencing hearing, Libby's lawyers filed a response to the Government's sentencing request. Libby's filing read, in part, "At the close of the government’s case, the defense moved to dismiss from the indictment the allegation that Mr. Libby had lied about his July 12 conversation with Ms. Miller, because the evidence did not support this allegation. The government did not oppose this motion, and the Court granted it."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://salonmedia.vo.llnwd.net/o1/pdf/libby_response.pdf | title=Defendant I. Lewis Libby's Opposition to the Government's Memorandum of Law in Support of Its Proposed Sentencing Guidelines Calculations | publisher=''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon Media]]'' | date=[[May 31]], [[2007]] | page=4|format=PDF}}</ref> After the verdict was read, a juror told the press that while Miller's memory may have been bad, many on the jury felt sympathy for her due to the nature of her cross-examination. The juror also stated that Miller was deemed credible during deliberations due to the fact that she had made notes of her meeting with Libby.<ref name=juror>{{cite news | url=http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003554231&imw=Y | title=Juror Explains Libby Verdict: They Felt He Was 'Fall Guy' | publisher=''[[Editor and Publisher]]'' | author=Greg Mitchell | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=jurormsnbc>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17485067/ | title='Where's Rove? Where are these other guys?': Juror Says Libby Was Guilty But Was Set Up to Take the Fall in Plame Probe | author=Alex Johnson | publisher=''[[MSNBC]]'' | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref> ===Walter Pincus=== [[Walter Pincus]], a [[Washington Post]] columnist, has reported that he was told in confidence by an unnamed Bush administration official on [[July 12]], [[2003]], two days before Novak's column appeared, that "the White House had not paid attention to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s CIA-sponsored February 2002 trip to Niger because it was set up as a [[boondoggle (project)|boondoggle]] by his wife, an analyst with the agency working on weapons of mass destruction." Because he did not believe it to be true, Pincus claims, he did not report the story in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' until [[October 12]], [[2003]]: "I wrote my October story because I did not think the person who spoke to me was committing a criminal act, but only practicing damage control by trying to get me to stop writing about Wilson. Because of that article, The Washington Post and I received subpoenas last summer from Patrick J. Fitzgerald."<ref name=pincus>{{cite news | url=http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Showcase.view&showcaseid=0019 | title=Anonymous Sources: Their Use in a Time of Prosecutorial Interest | author=[[Walter Pincus]] | publisher=''[[Nieman Reports]]'' |date=[[July 6]], [[2005]]}}</ref> On [[February 12]], [[2007]], Pincus testified during Libby's trial that he learned Wilson's wife worked at the CIA from [[Ari Fleischer]]. According to Pincus, Fleischer "suddenly swerved off" topic during an interview to tell him of her employment. Fleischer, who was called to testify by the prosecution, had earlier testified he told two reporters about Valerie Plame, but on cross-examination testified that he did not recall telling Pincus about Plame.<ref name=testimony/> ===Matthew Cooper=== Days after Novak's initial column appeared, [[Matthew Cooper (American journalist)|Matthew Cooper]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine published Plame's name citing unnamed government officials as sources. In his article, entitled "A War on Wilson?", Cooper raises the possibility that the White House has "declared war" on Wilson for speaking out against the Bush Administration.<ref name=warwilson>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,465270,00.html | title="A War on Wilson?" | author=Matthew Cooper, Massimo Calabresi, and John F. Dickerson |date=[[July 17]], [[2003]]}}</ref> Cooper initially refused to testify before the grand jury, and was prepared to defy a court order and spend time in jail to protect his sources. At a court hearing, where Cooper was expected to be ordered to jail, Cooper told U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan: "I am prepared to testify. I will comply. Last night I hugged my son good-bye and told him it might be a long time before I see him again. I went to bed ready to accept the sanctions." Cooper explained that before his court appearance, he had received "in somewhat dramatic fashion" a direct personal communication from his source freeing him from his commitment to keep the source's identity secret. In an interview with ''[[National Review Online]]'', Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, stated: "Cooper's lawyer called us and said, 'Can you confirm that the waiver [Rove originally signed in December 2003 or in January 2004] encompasses Cooper?' I was amazed...So I said, 'Look, I understand that you want reassurances. If Fitzgerald would like Karl to provide you with some other assurances, we will.'" Cooper testified before the grand jury and wrote an account of his testimony for ''Time''. Cooper told the grand jury his sources for his article, "A War on Wilson?", were [[Karl Rove]] and [[Scooter Libby]].<ref name=rovelibby>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1083870,00.html | title=What I Told The Grand Jury | author=[[Matt Cooper]] | publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' | date=[[July 25]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000974332 | title=Cooper Agrees to Testify to Plame Grand Jury, Avoids Jail | author=[[The Associated Press]] | publisher=''[[Editor and Publisher]]'' | date=[[July 6]], [[2005]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200507121626.asp | title=Lawyer: Cooper 'Burned' Karl Rove | publisher=''[[The National Review]] Online'' (blog) | author=[[Byron York]] | date=[[July 12]], [[2005]]}}</ref> During his appearance at Libby's trial, Cooper recounted how he first learned about Valerie Wilson on [[July 11]], [[2003]], from Karl Rove. Cooper testified that Rove told him to be wary of Joe Wilson’s criticisms in ''The New York Times''. "Don’t go too far out on Wilson," Cooper recalled Rove saying, adding that Wilson's wife worked at "the agency." Rove reportedly ended the call by saying, "I've already said too much."<ref name=civilsuitruling>{{cite news | url=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070719_Plame_Dismissal_Opinion.pdf | title=[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] Memorandum Opinion | author=John D. Bates (United States District Judge) | date=[[July 19]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref> Cooper testified that when he spoke to Libby, he told Libby that he had heard that Joe Wilson’s wife worked at the C.I.A. According to Cooper, Libby responded, "I heard that too."<ref name=millertestimony>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/washington/01libby.html?ex=1327986000&en=0ae213df97e5d6e4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss | title=Former Times Reporter Testimony Is Challenged | author=Neil A. Lewis | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | date=[[February 1]], [[2007]]}}</ref> In Libby's grand jury testimony, Libby recalled telling Cooper that he'd heard something to that effect but that he didn't know for sure if it were true. In Libby's trial, Cooper's notes became the subject of intense scrutiny by the defense.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-23-libby-notes_x.htm?csp=34 | title=Leak Trial Reveals Flaws in Note-taking | author=Matt Apuzzo ([[The Associated Press]]) | publisher=''[[USA Today]]'' | date=[[February 23]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/01/31/cooper/index.html | title=What Scooter Libby Said, What Matt Cooper Wrote | publisher=''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]'' | author=Tim Grieve | date=[[January 31]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2158157/entry/2158819/ | author=[[John Dickerson]] | title=Matt Cooper's Unmagical Notes | publisher=''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' | date=[[February 1]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Libby was acquitted on one count involving Cooper. A juror told the press that count three of the indictment came down to Libby's word versus Cooper's word, and thus provided enough reasonable doubt.<ref name=juror>{{cite news | url=http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003554231&imw=Y | title=Juror Explains Libby Verdict: They Felt He Was 'Fall Guy' | publisher=Editor and Publisher | author=Greg Mitchell | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=jurormsnbc/> ===Tim Russert=== According to Patrick Fitzgerald and the Grand Jury Investigation indictment, in his sworn testimony, Libby claimed to have heard of Plame's CIA status from [[Tim Russert]]. Both Russert and Libby testified that Libby called Russert on [[July 10]], [[2003]] to complain about the MSNBC program [[Hardball with Chris Matthews|Hardball]] and comments that were made on that show about Libby and Cheney with regard to Wilson's Niger trip and subsequent op-ed. Libby contends, however, that at the end of that conversation, Russert asked him: "Did you know that Ambassador Wilson's wife works at the CIA? All the reporters know it."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2857506&page=1 | author=Jason Ryan and Jennifer Duck | title=Russert Contradicts Libby | publisher=''[[ABC News]]'' | date=[[February 7]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=libbytestimony>{{cite news | url=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070207_Libby_March_5_2004_Grand_Jury.pdf | title=Libby's Grand Jury Testimony | publisher=''[[MSNBC|MSNBC Media]]'' | date=[[March 5]], [[2004]]|format=PDF}}</ref> At Libby's trial, Russert was questioned by prosecutors for only 12 minutes, but underwent more than five hours of pointed cross-examination over two days from defense attorney Theodore Wells Jr. Russert told prosecutors that he could not have told Libby about Plame because he had not heard of her until she was publicly revealed by Novak on [[July 14]], [[2003]], four days after Russert spoke with Libby by phone. Wells challenged Russert's memory and his version of the events that lead to his crucial grand jury testimony. Wells also questioned Russert about his reaction to the announcement of Libby's grand jury indictment.<ref name=libbytestimony/> Wells also focused on a [[November 24]], [[2003]], report by [[John Eckenrode|John C. Eckenrode]], the FBI Special Agent who interviewed Russert as part of the [[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]] investigation. In that report Eckenrode writes: <blockquote>Russert does not recall stating to Libby, in this conversation, anything about the wife of former ambassador Joe Wilson. Although he could not completely rule out the possibility that he had such an exchange, Russert was at a loss to remember it, and moreover, he believes that this would be the type of conversation that he would or should remember. Russert acknowledged that he speaks to many people on a daily basis and it is difficult to reconstruct some specific conversations, particularly one which occurred several months ago.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/feb14/dx1809.pdf | title=Defense Exhibit 1809.1: Stipulation Regarding Former FBI Inspector in Charge John C. Eckenrode (PDF) | publisher=''[[The Associated Press]]''| date=[[February 14]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref></blockquote> Russert testified, however, that he does not believe that he said what Eckenrode reports; while he acknowledged on cross examination that he was not asked about any conversations he may have had with [[David Gregory (journalist)|David Gregory]] or [[Andrea Mitchell]] regarding Plame during his deposition with Fitzgerald, he also told the jury that "they never came forward" to share with him anything they were learning about Joe Wilson or Valerie Plame from administration officials, and he testified that after Novak's column was published, the NBC Washington bureau (which he heads) debated whether pursuing Plame's role in the story would compromise her job at the CIA and ultimately decided to pursue the story.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17020411/ | title=Russert Testifies in Libby Perjury Trial | publisher=''[[NBC News]]'' |date=[[February 12]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-07-russert-libby-trial_x.htm | title=NBC's Russert Back on the Stand to Challenge Libby's Version of CIA Talk | author=Richard Willing | publisher=''[[USA Today]]'' | date=[[February 28]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020800865.html | title=Prosecution Rests Case in Libby's Perjury Trial | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=Amy Goldstein and Carol D. Leonnig | authorlink = Carol D. Leonnig|date=[[February 9]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref name=russertnytimes>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/washington/09libby.html?ex=1328677200&en=347310060372fd46&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss | title=NBC’s Russert Wraps Up Prosecution Case in Libby Trial | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | author=Neil A. Lewis |date=[[February 9]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/08/national/w073853S42.DTL | title=Russert on the Hot Seat in Libby Trial | author=Matt Apuzzo ([[The Associated Press]]) | publisher=''[[The San Francisco Chronicle]]'' | date=[[February 8]], [[2007]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2858869 | title=Lawyers to Question Russert Credibility | author=Matt Apuzzo ([[The Associated Press]]) | publisher=''[[ABC News]]'' | date=[[February 8]], [[2007]]}}</ref> According to multiple news accounts of the trial, Russert's testimony was key to Libby's conviction or acquittal, and on the day that the defense rested, [[February 14]], [[2007]], the judge refused to allow the defense to call Russert back to the stand.<ref name=MerrittDefRests>[[Jeralyn Merritt]], [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/2/14/22576/9691 "The Defense Rests"], ''TalkLeft'' (accredited press blog), [[February 14]], [[2007]], accessed [[February 15]], [[2007]].</ref> A juror told the press that the members of the jury found Russert to be very credible in his testimony. "The primary thing that convinced us on most of the counts was the conversation, alleged conversation with Russert," the juror told the press.<ref name=juror/><ref name=jurormsnbc/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/07/america/web.0306JURY.php | title=For Jurors, Libby Might Be 'fall guy,' But He Was Guilty | publisher=''[[The International Herald Tribune]]'' | author=David Stout | date=[[March 6]], [[2007]]}}</ref> ==Legal issues relating to the CIA leak scandal== There are some major legal issues surrounding the allegations of illegality by administration officials in the CIA leak scandal, including [[Executive Order 12958]], the [[Intelligence Identities Protection Act]], the [[Espionage Act]], Title 18 Section 641, conspiracy to impede or injure officers, the Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement, other laws and precedents, [[perjury]], [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy]], [[obstruction of justice]], and compelling the media to testify. {{See also|Valerie Plame#The Wilsons' Civil Suit}} ==Congressional hearings== On [[March 8]], [[2007]], two days after the verdict in the [[United States v. Libby|Libby trial]], Congressman [[Henry Waxman]], chair of the [[U.S. House Committee on Government Reform]], announced that his committee would ask Plame to testify on March 16, in an effort by his committee to look into "whether White House officials followed appropriate procedures for safeguarding Plame's identity."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900549.html | title=Plame to Testify to Congress on Leak | author=[[Reuters]] | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'']] | date=[[March 9]], [[2007]]}}</ref> ===Valerie Wilson's testimony=== On [[March 16]], [[2007]], Valerie E. Wilson testified before the committee. [[Henry Waxman]] read a prepared statement that was cleared by [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency|CIA director]] [[Michael Hayden]], which, in part, states: <blockquote>"During her employment at the CIA, Ms. Wilson was undercover. Her employment status with the CIA was classified information, prohibited from disclosure under Executive Order 12958. At the time of the publication of Robert Novak's column on [[July 14]], [[2003]], Ms. Wilson's CIA employment status was covert. This was classified information. Ms. Wilson served in senior management positions at the CIA in which she oversaw the work for other CIA employees and she attained the level of GS-14 — Step Six under the federal pay scale. Ms. Wilson worked on some of the most sensitive and highly secretive matters handled by the CIA. Ms. Wilson served at various times overseas for the CIA."</blockquote> Mrs. Wilson's opening statement summarizes her employment with the CIA: <blockquote>"In the run-up to the war with Iraq, I worked in the Counterproliferation Division of the CIA, still as a covert officer whose affiliation with the CIA was classified. I raced to discover solid intelligence for senior policy makers on Iraq's presumed weapons of mass destruction program. While I helped to manage and run secret worldwide operations against this WMD target from CIA headquarters in Washington, I also traveled to foreign countries on secret missions to find vital intelligence."<ref name=plametestimony>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Plame_hearing_transcript_0316.html | title=Plame hearing transcript | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref></blockquote> In reply to the committee's request that she define the term "covert", she replied: "I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that the CIA is taking affirmative steps to ensure that there is no links between the operations officer and the Central Intelligence Agency." When asked if she was ever told whether her status fit the definition under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, Mrs. Wilson replied: "No," adding: "I'm not a lawyer, but I was covert. I did travel overseas on secret missions within the last five years...[but] no, no one told me that [I fit the definition under the IIPA]."<ref name=plametestimony/> Valerie Wilson also told the committee: "For those of us that were undercover in the CIA, we tended to use 'covert' or 'undercover' interchangeably. I'm not — we typically would not say of ourselves we were in a 'classified' position. You're kind of undercover or overt employees."<ref name=plametestimony/> She told the committee that she believed that her "name and identity were carelessly and recklessly abused by senior officials in the White House and State Department." She testified that "I could count on one hand the number of people who knew where my true employer was the day that I was — my name was — and true affiliation was exposed in July 2003." As a result of her exposure as a CIA operative, Mrs. Wilson testified: "I could no longer perform the work for which I had been highly trained." In reply to a question about whether or not she had any evidence government officials knew she was covert when disclosing her identity to reporters, Mrs. Wilson responded: "That, I think, is a question better put to the special prosecutor, Congressman."<ref name=plametestimony/> ===Knodell's testimony=== Dr. James Knodell, Director of the Office of Security at the White House, testified before the committee as well. He was asked whether the White House conducted any internal investigation, as is required by [[Executive Order 12958]]. Knodell said that he had started at the White House in August 2004, a year after the leak, but his records showed no evidence of a probe or report: "I have no knowledge of any investigation in my office," he said.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0316-06.htm | title=White House Security Chief Reveals — No Probe of Plame Leak There | publisher=Editor and Publisher | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref> When asked why no internal investigation was conducted or disciplinary actions taken after he took office, Knodell replied "there was already an outside investigation that was taking place, a criminal investigation. So that's why we took no action."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/White_House_official_No_probe_launched_0316.html | title=White House official: No probe launched into Plame leak (transcript) | publisher=Raw Story | author=Andrew Bielak | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref> In response to Knodell's testimony, Waxman sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff [[Joshua Bolton]] asking for clarification as to the "steps that the White House took following the disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity."<ref name=waxmanletter>{{cite news | url=http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070316154127-11403.pdf | title=Letter from Henry Waxman to Joshua Bolton | publisher=Committee on Oversight and Government Reform | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref> According to Waxman: "Mr. Knodell could not explain, however, why the White House did not initiate an investigation after the security breach. It took months before a criminal investigation was initiated, yet according to Mr. Knodell, there was no White House investigation initiated during this period."<ref name=waxmanletter/> Citing [[Executive Order 12958]], Waxman observes that the "White House is required to 'take appropriate and prompt corrective action' whenever there is a release of classified information."<ref name=waxmanletter/> On [[September 29]], [[2003]], approximately two and a half months after the disclosure of Plame's identity and subsequent filing of a crimes report by the CIA with the Justice Department, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters: "The president believes leaking classified information is a very serious matter and it should be pursued to the fullest extent by the appropriate agency and the appropriate agency is the Department of Justice." McClellan also stated that the White House would not launch an internal probe and would not ask for an independent investigation into the matter.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/wilson.cia/index.html | title="White House Vows Help in CIA Leak Probe" | publisher=''[[CNN]]'' |date=[[September 29]], [[2003]]}}</ref> ===Other testimony=== Attorneys [[Mark Zaid]] and [[Victoria Toensing]] also testified before the committee. Each testified that Plame may not have been covert under the IIPA, and that the legal definition is more narrow than the general CIA designation. Zaid told the committee, "Mrs. Toensing is absolutely correct with many of her questions with respect to the Intelligence Identities Act, which has a very exacting standard. Mrs. Plame, as she indicated, was covert. That's a distinction between possibly under the Intelligence Identities Act, and that classified information was leaked. And the question then is it of a criminal magnitude versus something less than that and these could be any number of penalties."<ref name=oversight16>{{cite news | url=http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1205 | title=Hearing Examines Exposure of Covert CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson's Identity | publisher=''Committee on Oversight and Government Reform'' | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Special Counsel [[Patrick Fitzgerald]] was also asked to testify. In a letter to Waxman, Fitzgerald responded to Waxman's request, in part stating: <blockquote>I also do not believe it would be appropriate for me to offer opinions, as your letter suggests the committee may seek, about the ultimate responsibility of senior White House officials for the disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity, or the sufficiency of the remedial measures that White House officials took after the leak. Prosecutors traditionally refrain from commenting outside of the judicial process on the actions of persons not charged with criminal offenses. Such individuals have significant privacy and due process interests that deserve protection as do the intemal deliberations of prosecutors relating to their conduct.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070314180406-55978.pdf | title=Letter from Office of Special Counsel to [[Henry Waxman]] | publisher=''Committee on Oversight and Government Reform'' | date=[[March 14]], [[2007]]|format=PDF}}</ref></blockquote> ===Reaction to hearing=== According to [[Robert Novak]], Rep. [[Peter Hoekstra]] and Hayden were in a conference together five days after the committee hearing. Novak reported that Hayden "did not answer whether Plame was covert under the terms of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act" when pressed by Hoekstra.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032101788_pf.html | title=Was She Covert? | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' | author=[[Robert Novak]] | date=[[March 22]], [[2007]]}}</ref> Novak reported on [[April 12]], [[2007]] that: <blockquote>Hayden indicated to me he had not authorized Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman to say Plame had been a "covert" CIA employee, as he claimed Hayden did, but only that she was "undercover" ... I obtained Waxman's talking points for the hearing. The draft typed after the Hayden-Waxman conversation said, "Ms. Wilson had a career as an undercover agent of the CIA." This was crossed out, the hand-printed change saying she 'was a covert employee of the CIA' ... Hayden told me that the talking points were edited by a CIA lawyer after conferring with Waxman's staff. "I am completely comfortable with that," the general assured me. He added he now sees no difference between "covert" and "undercover" ... Mark Mansfield, Hayden's public affairs officer, next e-mailed me: "At CIA, you are either a covert or an overt employee. Ms. Wilson was a covert employee" ... On March 21, Hoekstra again requested that the CIA define Plame's status. A written reply April 5 from Christopher J. Walker, the CIA's director of congressional affairs, said only that 'it is taking longer than expected' to reply because of "the considerable legal complexity required for this tasking."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/337837,CST-EDT-novak12.article | title=CIA chief Plays Plame Game | publisher=''[[The Chicago Sun-Times]]'' | author=[[Robert Novak]] |date=[[April 12]], [[2007]]}}</ref></blockquote> ==Possible consequences of the public disclosure of Wilson's CIA identity== There has been debate over what kinds of damage may have resulted from the public disclosure of Valerie Wilson's identity as a CIA operative in Novak's column and its fallout, how far and into what areas of [[national security]] and foreign [[espionage|intelligence]] that damage might extend, particularly vis-à-vis Plame's work with her cover company, [[Brewster Jennings & Associates]]. Plame has characterized the damage as "serious," noting, "I can tell you, all the intelligence services in the world that morning were running my name through their databases to see, `Did anyone by this name come in the country? When? Do we know anything about it? Where did she stay? Well, who did she see?'"<ref>Katie Couric, "No Ordinary Spy," ''60 Minutes'' transcript (21 October 2007).</ref> On [[October 3]], [[2004]], ''[[The Washington Post]]'' quotes a former diplomat predicting immediate damage: "[E]very foreign intelligence service would run Plame's name through its databases within hours of its publication to determine if she had visited their country and to reconstruct her activities. ... That's why the agency is so sensitive about just publishing her name."<ref>[[Walter Pincus]] and Mike Allen, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40012-2003Oct3?language=printer "Leak of Agent's Name Causes Exposure of CIA Front Firm"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'' [[October 4]], [[2003]]: A3.</ref> In contrast, in an [[October 27]], [[2005]], appearance on ''[[Larry King Live]]'', [[Bob Woodward]] commented: "They did a damage assessment within the CIA, looking at what this did that [former ambassador] Joe Wilson's wife [Plame] was outed. And turned out it was quite minimal damage. They did not have to pull anyone out undercover abroad. They didn't have to resettle anyone. There was no physical danger to anyone, and there was just some embarrassment."<ref name=wooddamage>{{cite news | url=http://mediamatters.org/items/200511010002 | title=Woodward v. Washington Post on CIA assessment of Leak Damage | publisher=''[[Media Matters for America]]'' | date=[[October 31]], [[2005]]}}</ref> In an appearance the next night, [[October 28]], [[2005]], on ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews|Hardball]]'', [[Andrea Mitchell]] was quoted as saying: "I happen to have been told that the actual damage assessment as to whether people were put in jeopardy on this case did not indicate that there was real damage in this specific instance."<ref name=mitchdamage>{{cite news | url=http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/11/29.html#a6111 | title=What CIA investigation? | publisher=crooksandliars.com (blog) |date=[[November 29]], [[2005]]}}</ref> Following Mitchell's appearance on ''Hardball'', on [[October 29]], [[2006]], ''[[The Washington Post]]'''s Dafna Linzer reported that no formal damage assessment had yet been conducted by the CIA "as is routinely done in cases of espionage and after any legal proceedings have been exhausted." Linzer writes: "There is no indication, according to current and former intelligence officials, that the most dire of consequences — the risk of anyone's life — resulted from her outing. But after Plame's name appeared in Robert D. Novak's column, the CIA informed the Justice Department in a simple questionnaire that the damage was serious enough to warrant an investigation, officials said."<ref name=postdamaged>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801988.html | title=CIA Yet to Assess Harm From Plame's Exposure | author=Dafna Linzer | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[October 29]], [[2005]]}}</ref></blockquote> Mark Lowenthal, who retired from a senior management position at the CIA in March 2005 reportedly told Linzer: "You can only speculate that if she had foreign contacts, those contacts might be nervous and their relationships with her put them at risk. It also makes it harder for other CIA officers to recruit sources." Another intelligence official who spoke anonymously to Linzer cited the CIA's interest in protecting the agency and its work: "You'll never get a straight answer [from the Agency] about how valuable she was or how valuable her sources were."<ref name=postdamaged>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801988.html | title=CIA Yet to Assess Harm from Plame's Exposure | author=Dafna Linzer | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[October 29]], [[2005]]}}</ref> On [[October 28]], [[2005]], the Office of Special Counsel issued a press release regarding Libby's indictment. The following is stated regarding Plame: <blockquote>Prior to [[July 14]], [[2003]], Valerie Wilson’s employment status was classified. Prior to that date, her affiliation with the CIA was not common knowledge outside the intelligence community. Disclosure of classified information about an individual’s employment by the CIA has the potential to damage the national security in ways that range from preventing that individual’s future use in a covert capacity, to compromising intelligence-gathering methods and operations, and endangering the safety of CIA employees and those who deal with them, the indictment states.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_pr_28102005.pdf | title=White House Official I. Lewis Libby Indicted on Obstruction of Justice, False Statement and Perjury Charges Relating to Leak of Classified Information Revealing CIA Officer's Identity | publisher=''[[U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel]]'' |date=[[October 28]], [[2005]]}}</ref></blockquote> In a [[November 3]], [[2005]], online live discussion, in response to a question about the Fitzgerald investigation, ''[[The Washington Post]]'''s [[Dana Priest]], a [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning journalist specializing in matters of national security, stated: "I don't actually think the Plame leak compromised national security, from what I've been able to learn about her position."<ref name=live>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/10/28/DI2005102800907.html | title=Live Discussion with Post Reporter [[Dana Priest]] | author=[[Dana Priest]] | publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=[[November 3]], [[2005]]}}</ref></blockquote> In a [[January 9]], [[2006]], letter addressed to "Scooter" Libby's defense team, Patrick Fitzgerald responded to a discovery request by Libby's lawyers for both classified and unclassified documents. In the letter, Fitzgerald writes: "A formal assessment has not been done of the damage caused by the disclosure of Valerie Wilson’s status as a CIA employee, and thus we possess no such document." He continues: "In any event, we would not view an assessment of the damage caused by the disclosure as relevant to the issue of whether or not Mr. Libby intentionally lied when he made the statements and gave the grand jury testimony which the grand jury alleged was false."<ref name=fitzletter>{{cite news | url=http://justoneminute.typepad.com/plame/files/show_case_doc-2.pdf | title=January 9, 2006, Letter from Fitzgerald to Libby's Lawyers |format=PDF}}</ref> On [[March 16]], [[2007]], Valerie Wilson told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: "But I do know the Agency did a damage assessment. They did not share it with me, but I know that certainly puts the people and the contacts I had all in jeopardy, even if they were completely innocent in nature."<ref name=plametestimony>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Plame_hearing_transcript_0316.html | title=Plame hearing transcript | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref> During Libby's trial, Judge [[Reggie Walton]] told the jury: "No evidence will be presented to you with regard to Valerie Plame Wilson’s status. That is because what her actual status was, or whether any damage would result from disclosure of her status, are totally irrelevant to your decision of guilt or innocence. You must not consider these matters in your deliberations or speculate or guess about them." During court proceedings, when the jury was not present, Walton told the court: "I don’t know, based on what has been presented to me in this case, what her status was...It’s totally irrelevant to this case...I to this day don’t know what her actual status was."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTdlMmE3MDkzZTkzZDMzZjgzMWJiNWY4MTk3ZmMzZTU= | title=Libby Judge: Even I Don’t Know Plame’s Status | publisher=''[[The National Review]] Online'' (blog) | author=[[Byron York]] |date=[[February 5]], [[2007]]}}</ref> [[Larisa Alexandrovna]] of [[The Raw Story]] reports that three intelligence officials, who spoke under condition of anonymity, told her that <blockquote>While Director of Central Intelligence Porter Goss has not submitted a formal damage assessment to Congressional oversight committees, the CIA's Directorate of Operations did conduct a serious and aggressive investigation.</blockquote> According to her sources, "the damage assessment ... called a 'counter intelligence assessment to agency operations' was conducted on the orders of the CIA's then-Deputy Director of the Directorate of Operation [[James Pavitt]]... . [and showed] 'significant damage to operational equities.'&nbsp;"</blockquote> Alexandrovna also reports that while Plame was undercover she was involved in an operation identifying and tracking [[weapons of mass destruction]] technology to and from Iran, suggesting that her outing "significantly hampered the CIA's ability to monitor nuclear proliferation." Her sources also stated that the outing of Plame also compromised the identity of other covert operatives who had been working, like Plame, under non-official cover status. These anonymous officials said that in their judgement, the CIA's work on WMDs has been set back "ten years" as a result of the compromise.<ref name=plameiran>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Outed_CIA_officer_was_working_on_0213.html | title=Outed CIA Officer Was Working on Iran, Intelligence Sources Say | author=[[Larisa Alexandrovna]] | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) |date=[[February 13]], [[2006]]}}</ref> [[MSNBC]] correspondent [[David Shuster]] reported on ''[[Hardball]]'' later, on [[May 1]], [[2006]], that MSNBC had learned "new information" about the potential consequences of the leaks: "Intelligence sources say Valerie Wilson was part of an operation three years ago tracking the proliferation of nuclear weapons material into Iran. And the sources allege that when Mrs. Wilson's cover was blown, the Administration's ability to track Iran's nuclear ambitions was damaged as well. The White House considers Iran to be one of America's biggest threats."<ref name=confirm>{{cite news | url=http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/MSNBC_confirms_Raw_Story_report_Outed_0501.html | title=MSNBC Confirms: Outed CIA Agent Was Working On Iran | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) |date=[[May 1]], [[2006]]}}</ref> In March 2007 [[Richard Leiby]] and [[Walter Pincus]] reported, in ''[[The Washington Post]]'', that Plame's work "included dealing with personnel as well as issues related to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and Iran."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/AR2007031502448.html | title=Valerie Plame, the Spy Who's Ready to Speak for Herself | publisher=Washington Post | author=Richard Leiby and Walter Pincus | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref> [[CBS news]] would later confirm Plame was "was involved in operations to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons," and may have been involved in [[Operation Merlin]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CBS_confirms_2006_Raw_Story_scoop_1020.html | title=CBS confirms 2006 Raw Story scoop: Plame's job was to keep nukes from Iran | publisher=The Raw Story | author=Muriel Kane and Dave Edwards | date=[[October 20]], [[2007]]}}</ref> On [[September 6]], [[2006]], [[David Corn]] published an article for [[The Nation]] entitled "What Valerie Plame Really Did at the CIA", reporting that Plame was placed in charge of the operations group within the Joint Task Force on Iraq in the spring of 2001 and that, "when the Novak column ran," in July 2003: "Valerie Wilson was in the process of changing her clandestine status from [[Non-official cover|NOC]] to [[official cover]], as she prepared for a new job in personnel management. Her aim, she told colleagues, was to put in time as an administrator — to rise up a notch or two — and then return to secret operations. But with her cover blown, she could never be undercover again.<ref name = "TheNation-20061206"/> According to Vicky Ward, in "Double Exposure", "In fact, in the spring [of 2003], Plame was in the process of moving from NOC status to State Department cover. [Joe] Wilson speculates that "if more people knew than should have, then somebody over at the White House talked earlier than they should have been talking."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2004/01/plame200401?printable=true&currentPage=all | title=Double Exposure | author=Vicky Ward | publisher=''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' | date=January 2004 | accessdate=2007-01-29}}</ref> In testifying before Congress, Mrs. Wilson described the damage done by her exposure in the following way: <blockquote>The CIA goes to great lengths to protect all of its employees, providing at significant taxpayers' expense painstakingly devised and creative covers for its most sensitive staffers. The harm that is done when a CIA cover is blown is grave, but I can't provide details beyond that in this public hearing. But the concept is obvious. Not only have breaches of national security endangered CIA officers, it has jeopardized and even destroyed entire networks of foreign agents, who in turn risk their own lives and those of their families to provide the United States with needed intelligence. Lives are literally at stake.<ref name=plametestimony>{{cite news | url=http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Plame_hearing_transcript_0316.html | title=Plame hearing transcript | publisher=''[[The Raw Story]]'' (blog) | date=[[March 16]], [[2007]]}}</ref></blockquote> In her memoir, ''[[Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House]]'', Valerie Plame Wilson states that after her covert and then-still-classified CIA identity "Valerie Plame" appeared in Novak's column in July 2003, she feared for her children's safety but was denied protection by the Agency.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/arts/22masl.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin | title=Her Identity Revealed, Her Story Expurgated | publisher=New York Times | author=JANET MASLIN | date=[[October 22]], [[2007]]}}</ref> On October 26, 2005, her former CIA colleague [[Larry C. Johnson|Larry Johnson]] told [[Wolf Blitzer]], on the [[CNN]] program ''[[The Situation Room]]'', that she "had received death threats overseas from [[Al-Qaeda]]"; according to Johnson, after the FBI contacted her and told her of the threat made by al-Qaeda, she called the CIA and asked for security protection but was told: "you will have to rely upon [[9-1-1]]."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/26/sitroom.03.html | title=THE SITUATION ROOM transcript for October 26, 2005 | publisher=CNN | date=[[October 26]], [[2005]]}}</ref> {{main|Valerie Plame#Career}} ==See also== *[[CIA leak grand jury investigation]] *[[CIA leak scandal criminal investigation]] *[[CIA leak scandal timeline]] (redirected from "[[Plame affair timeline]]") *[[Plame v. Cheney]] *[[United States Intelligence Community]] *[[United States v. Libby]] *[[U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel]] *[[What Happened]] *[[Yellowcake forgery]] ==Notes== <!--Most entries still need to be checked, corrected, and reformatted in a consistent Notes format.--> {{reflist|2}} {{Wikinewscat| Valerie Plame scandal}} {{wikinews|Sources: State Department official source of Plame leak}} ==Selected references== *[http://mediamatters.org/items/200507150003 "AP falsely reported Wilson 'acknowledged his wife was no longer in an undercover job' when her identity was first publicly leaked"]. ''[[Media Matters for America]]'' [[July 15]], [[2005]]. *[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/opinion/16sun1.html?ex=1302840000&en=ebc509495bf268df&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "A Bad Leak."] ''[[The New York Times]]'' [[April 16]], [[2006]], Editorial. Accessed [[November 18]], [[2006]]. *Ballard, Tanya N., and Kevin Dumouchelle, comps. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102001487.html "Key Players in the Plame Affair.]" ''[[The Washington Post]]'' [[October 20]], [[2005]]. (Incl. link to "Timeline.") Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *[[Juan Cole|Cole, Juan]]. [http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/10/14/neocon/index.html "Judith Miller and the Neocons"]. ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]'', [[October 14]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[December 20]], [[2007]]. *[[David Corn|Corn, David]]. [http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2006/09/toensing_and_ws.php "Toensing and WSJ: Corn Outed Plame (Here We Go Again)."] ''DavidCorn.com'' (journalist's blog) [[September 15]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[November 18]], [[2006]]. (Reply to Toensing's editorial in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''; linked therein.) *–––. [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060918/corn "What Valerie Plame Really Did at the CIA."] ''[[The Nation]]'' (web only) [[September 6]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[December 6]], [[2006]]. *–––. [http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=823 "A White House Smear."] ''[[The Nation]]'' [[July 16]], [[2003]]. Accessed [[November 18]], [[2006]]. (Also linked in above source.) *De la Vega, Elizabeth. [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051114/delavega "The White House Criminal Conspiracy."] Online posting. ''[[The Nation]]'' [[October 26]], [[2005]]. Issue of [[November 14]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]].<!--See talk page for comment and related sources.--> *[[John Dickerson|Dickerson, John]], and [[Viveca Novak]]. [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,581456,00.html "Grand Jury Hears Plame Case in Front of a Grand Jury in the Investigation into Whether the Identity of CIA Operative Valerie Plame Was Improperly Leaked to the Press."] ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' [[January 22]], [[2004]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101460.html End of an Affair] ''[[The Washington Post]]'' [[September 1]], [[2006]], Editorial: A20. Accessed [[December 6]], [[2006]]. *[[Barton Gellman|Gellman, Barton]], and Dafna Linzer. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/08/AR2006040800916_pf.html "A 'Concerted Effort' to Discredit Bush Critic."] ''[[The Washington Post]]'' [[April 9]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *[[Stephen F. Hayes|Hayes, Stephen F.]] [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/217wnmrb.asp "The White House, the CIA, and the Wilsons: The Chain of Events That Gave Rise to a Grand Jury Investigation."] ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' [11.6] [[October 24]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *[[Christopher Hitchens|Hitchens, Christopher]]. [http://slate.msn.com/id/2103795/ "Plame's Lame Game: What Ambassador Joseph Wilson and His Wife Forgot to Tell Us about the Yellow-cake Scandal."] ''[[Slate]]'' [[July 13]], [[2004]]. *[[Michael Isikoff|Isikoff, Michael]]. [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8525978/site/newsweek/ "Matt Cooper's Source."] ''[[Newsweek]]'' [[July 18]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *––, and [[David Corn]]. ''Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War''. New York: Crown, 2006 ([[September 8]]). ISBN 0-307-34681-1. *[[David Johnston|Johnston, David]], and Richard W. Stevenson, with David E. Sanger. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/politics/15rove.htm "Rove Reportedly Held Phone Talk on C.I.A. Officer"]. ''[[New York Times]]'' [[July 15]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. (TimesSelect subscription required.) *[[David Johnston|Johnston, David]], Richard W. Stevenson, and Douglas Jehl. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/politics/25leak.html?ei=5094&en=56e9496be92c9d2a&hp=&ex=1130299200&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1130231688-vCWRMLmVCzJg3tzbKgLxwA "Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer, Lawyers Report."] ''[[The New York Times]]'' [[October 25]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. (TimesSelect subscription required.)<!--checked--> *Kerber, Ross, and Bryan Bender. [http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2003/10/10/apparent_cia_front_didnt_offer_much_cover/ "Apparent CIA Front Didn't Offer Much Cover."] ''[[Boston Globe]]'' [[October 10]], [[2003]]). Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *Kincaid, Cliff. [http://www.aim.org/aim_column/3833_0_3_0_C "Why Judith Miller Should Stay In Jail."] ''[[Accuracy In Media]]'' [[July 11]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *Leonnig, Carol D. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32380-2005Apr6.html "Papers Say Leak Probe Is Over."] ''[[The Washington Post]]'' [[April 7]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *Lewis, Neil A. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30armitage.html "Source of C.I.A. Leak Said to Admit Role"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[August 30]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[January 7]], [[2008]]. *[[Zell Miller|Miller, Zell]].[http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/1105/02edmiller.html "Rule Can Head Off Dirty Tricks at CIA."] ''[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'' [[November 2]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *''[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/ News War]'': ''Secrets, Sources, and Spin'' (Parts 1 and 2). With correspondent [[Lowell Bergman]]. Special four-part series broadcast on ''[[Frontline (US TV series)|Frontline]]''. Prod. of [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] ([[Boston, Massachusetts]]). [[Public Broadcasting Service]]. Part 1 first broadcast [[13 February]], [[2007]]. [[WXXI-TV]] ([[Rochester, New York]]). Part 1 incl. "Prologue: The Plame Affair" (chap. 1) and "Epilogue: 'Plamegate'" (chap. 8). Streaming video accessible online in both [[Windows Media Player]] and [[Quicktime]]. Accessed [[February 14]], [[2007]]. [Full transcripts to be posted online at pbs.org approx. 7 to 10 days following first broadcasts of each part of the series.] *[[Robert Novak|Novak, Robert D.]][http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2003/10/01/the_cia_leak "The CIA Leak."] ''TownHall.com'' (syndicated column) [[October 1]], [[2003]]. Accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]]. *–––. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html "Mission to Niger."] ''[[The Washington Post]]'' [[July 14]], [[2003]]: A21. Accessed [[December 12]], [[2006]]. *–––. [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=12785&R=EE501DF13 "Who Said What Where When: The Rise and Fall of the Valerie Plame 'Scandal.'"] ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' [[October 16]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[December 5]], [[2006]]. *[[Robert Parry|Parry, Robert]]. [http://baltimorechronicle.com/2007/021907Parry-too.shtml "Media Criticism: Shame on the Washington Post, Again."] ''[[The Baltimore Chronicle]]'' [[February 19]], [[2007]]. Accessed [[March 13]], [[2007]]. *Polity Media, Inc. [http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Valerie_Plame.php "Valerie Plame's Campaign Contributions" from 1999 and 2004.] ''Newsmeat.com''. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4298732.stm "Q&A: The CIA Leak Case] [[BBC News]] [[September 9]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[December 6]], [[2006]]. *Scarborough, Rowan. [http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060905-121843-2994r_page2.htm The Flameout of the Plame Game."] ''[[The Washington Times]]'' [[September 5]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *Smyth, Frank. [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/67699/ "U.S. Sends the Wrong Message to the World."] [[International Freedom of Expression Exchange|IFEX]] [[June 30]], [[2005]]. Posted [[July 1]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *Spiegel International Online. [http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,381952,00.html "Was Berlusconi Behind the Pre-Iraq War Yellow Cake Story?" (English translation)]. ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' [[October 27]], [[2005]]. Accessed [[November 17]], [[2006]]. *Suellentrop, Chris. [http://www.slate.com/id/2089196/ "Robert Novak: The hollow center of the Plame Affair."] ''[[Slate]]'' [[October 2]], [[2003]]. *[http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2004/jun/18/061802534.html "White House Counsel Questioned in CIA Leak."] ''[[Las Vegas Sun]]'' [[June 18]], [[2004]]. *[[Victoria Toensing|Toensing, Victoria]]. [http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008948 "The Plame Kerfuffle: What a Load of Armitage! What did Patrick Fitzgerald know, and when did he know it?"]. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' [[September 15]], [[2006]], Editorial. (See reply posted by Corn.) *[[UPI|United Press International]]. [http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031230-020156-4881r "Ashcroft Recuses Himself from Plame Affair Case."] [[UPI]] [[December 30]], [[2003]]. (Defunct link)<!--Unchecked--> *[[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]]. {{PDFlink|[http://intelligence.senate.gov/108301.pdf ''Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence'']|24.1&nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 25338014 bytes -->}} ''On the [[United States Intelligence Community|U.S. Intelligence Community]]'s Pre-War Intelligence Assessments on Iraq, Together with Additional Views''. [[July 9]], [[2004]]. Accessed [[December 5]], [[2006]]. *–––. [http://intelligence.senate.gov/030711.htm "Senator Roberts' Statement on the Niger Documents"]. Press release. [[July 11]], [[2003]]. Accessed [[December 5]], [[2006]]. *[[Murray Waas|Waas, Murray]]. [http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2006/0209nj1.htm "Cheney Authorized Libby to Leak Classified Information"]. ''National Journal'', [[February 9]], [[2006]]. Accessed [[September 10]], [[2007]]. *Ward, Vicki. [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2004/01/plame200401?printable=true&currentPage=all "Double Exposure."] ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' (January 2004). (11 pages.) Accessed [[February 6]], [[2007]]. *[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/tags/plameoutcome.html "What Does the Plame Case Add Up to?"] Online feature of ''News War'' on ''Frontline'' ([[Public Broadcasting Service]]), [[WGBH-TV]]. Posted [[February 13]], [[2007]]. Accessed [[February 14]], [[2007]]. *[[Marcy Wheeler|Wheeler, Marcy]]. ''Anatomy of Deceit: How the Bush Administration Used the Media to Sell the Iraq War and Out a Spy''. Berkeley: Vaster Books (Dist. by [[Publishers Group West]]), 2007. ISBN 0-979-17610-7 (10). ISBN 978-0979-17610-4 (13). *[[Joseph C. Wilson|Wilson, Joseph]]. ''The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Put the White House on Trial and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir''. New York: [[Carroll & Graf]], 2004. Paperback ed., 2005. ISBN 0-7867-1551-0. *[[Valerie Plame|Wilson, Valerie Plame]]. ''[[Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House]]''. New York: [[Simon and Schuster]], 2007. ISBN 1416537619 (10). ISBN 978-1416537618 (13). ==Other related external links== * ''[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3871305692649923733 A Conversation with Ambassador Joseph Wilson, IV]'', [[Google Video]]/[[UC Berkeley]] Educational Technology Services *[http://www.wilsonsupport.org/home Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust]. Accessed [[August 7]], [[2007]]. *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2007/10/newsnight_book_club_fair_game_by_valerie_plame_wil.html "Newsnight Book Club - Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson"]. ''Talk About Newsnight Book Club'', ''[[Newsnight]]'', [[BBC Two]], [[October 25]], [[2007]]. Accessed [[December 21]], [[2007]]. (Includes: excerpt from the book; a hyperlinked [[RealPlayer]] or [[Windows Media Player]] [BBC News Player] ''Newsnight'' clip of interview with [[Joseph C. Wilson]], conducted by [[Jeremy Paxman]], on [[BBC Two]], on [[November 3]], [[2005]]; and a clip of an earlier interview with former Ambassador Wilson, conducted on ''Newsnight'', by [[Martha Kearney]], on [[November 3]], [[2003]].) *''[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/ News War]'': "A special four-part investigation into the future of news." ''[[Frontline (US TV series)|Frontline]]''. Prod. [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] ([[Boston, Massachusetts]]) and a co-production of ''Frontline'' in association with the [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]] Graduate School of Journalism. Broadcast by [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]. Parts 1 and 2: ''Secrets, Sources, and Spin''. Part 1 first broadcast on [[February 13]], [[2007]]. Streaming video in [[Windows Media Player]] and [[Quicktime]] and multiple other online resources, incl. broadcast schedule, full interviews, and full transcripts (within 7 to 10 days of the broadcast of each part). Part 1 incl. "Prologue: The Plame Affair" (chap. 1) and "Epilogue: 'Plamegate'" (chap. 8). *''[http://www.politicsoftruth.com/ The Politics of Truth:] Inside the Lies That Put the White House on Trial and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir,'' by [[Joseph C. Wilson|Joseph Wilson]]: website featuring excerpts from the book, interviews, and reviews, a news archive, and [http://www.politicsoftruth.com/bibliography.html "Bibliography"], with hyperlinks. Copyright © 2004, Carroll & Graf Publishers & Joseph Wilson. *[http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/index.html Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald's official Web site]. *[http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_cia_leak,00.shtml TIME Archives] A Collection of stories and analysis of the entire affair *[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24861380 McCllellan: Plame leak case was turning point] [[Today (NBC program)]] [[May 29]] [[2008]] *http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24918550 [[Category:American political scandals]] [[Category:2003 Iraq conflict]] [[Category:Plame affair]] [[Category:Espionage scandals and incidents]] [[de:Plame-Affäre]] [[fr:Affaire Plame-Wilson]] [[hr:Afera Plame]] [[it:CIA-gate]] [[he:פרשת פליים]] [[nl:Plamegate]] [[ja:プレイム事件]] [[pl:Sprawa Plame]] [[sh:Plamegate]]