The Valerie Plame Affair Cliff Notes

[corplinx]

Alright, here is what happened in a nutshell.

Richard Armitage told Bob Novak that Plame worked the CIA.

Then Slate comes to the crux of the matter here:
Novak also suggests that Plame couldn't have been covert because before he published his 2003 column naming Plame, CIA spokesman Bill Harlow told him Plame "never would be given another foreign assignment." It isn't clear why Harlow might have said that, but Harlow told the Washington Post that he told Novak not to identify Plame, and that's essentially how Novak remembers the conversation. (Novak told Fox News that Harlow "asked me not to write it," but not as firmly as Harlow says he did.) Both men agree that Harlow failed to tell Novak that Plame was undercover, and that was obviously a dumb mistake on Harlow's part. Apparently Harlow was going by the book: Plame's undercover status, he told the Post, was itself classified information. (Would that book be Catch-22?)

http://www.slate.com/id/2162463/fr/flyout





Does this encapsulate the gist of what happened?

 

[Freddy]

Pretty much. Novak says he asked if printing Plame's name would endanger lives, and that he was told "no," but was asked to refrain from printing it anyway. So he printed it (as any journalist would).

 

[Darth Rotor]

Alright, here is what happened in a nutshell.

Richard Armitage told Bob Novak that Plame worked the CIA.

Then Slate comes to the crux of the matter here:
Novak also suggests that Plame couldn't have been covert because before he published his 2003 column naming Plame, CIA spokesman Bill Harlow told him Plame "never would be given another foreign assignment." It isn't clear why Harlow might have said that, but Harlow told the Washington Post that he told Novak not to identify Plame, and that's essentially how Novak remembers the conversation. (Novak told Fox News that Harlow "asked me not to write it," but not as firmly as Harlow says he did.) Both men agree that Harlow failed to tell Novak that Plame was undercover, and that was obviously a dumb mistake on Harlow's part. Apparently Harlow was going by the book: Plame's undercover status, he told the Post, was itself classified information. (Would that book be Catch-22?)

http://www.slate.com/id/2162463/fr/flyout

Does this encapsulate the gist of what happened?

Then Harlow is yet another blabbermouth who can't keep his fool mouth shut.

What about classified did he fail to understand?

DR

 

[fishbob]

Alright, here is what happened in a nutshell.

Does this encapsulate the gist of what happened?

On the specifics related to Novak - Yes.
On the overall operation - Not Hardly.

You left out all the parts where Rove and his minions were passing information to various journalists trying to get Plame's identity published.

 

[Azure]

On the specifics related to Novak - Yes.
On the overall operation - Not Hardly.

You left out all the parts where Rove and his minions were passing information to various journalists trying to get Plame's identity published.

And the part where everyone involved was charged for revealing the identity of a CIA agent.

Oh wait...

 

[Ziggurat]

Last time I checked, the question of whether Plame was covert (as defined by law) was still up in the air. Plame herself didn't even know. And I'm afraid the only people to blame for THAT are at the CIA.

 

[Tricky]

Last time I checked, the question of whether Plame was covert (as defined by law) was still up in the air. Plame herself didn't even know. And I'm afraid the only people to blame for THAT are at the CIA.

She doesn't seem to have any confusion about it.

Today, I can tell this committee even more. In the run-up to the war with Iraq I worked in the counter proliferation division of the CIA -- still as a covert officer whose affiliation with the CIA was classified.
I raced to discover solid intelligence for senior policymakers on Iraq's presumed weapons of mass destruction programs.
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.
I loved my career because I love my country. I was proud of the serious responsibilities entrusted to me as a CIA covert operations officer and I was dedicated to this work.

 

[corplinx]

Well, truth be told it seems the _real_ Valerie Plame affair was an effort to try to oust Karl Rove versus find the truth about the Novak leak. Rove is always the target. The frackas going on now about Gonzales, congress wants to subpoena Rove. Rove is always the target.

The Novak leak in a nutshell was the result of incompetence by stupid old white men.

 

[Dorian Gray]

I believe Plame's job was to covertly track weapon proliferation. By revealing her name, the Bush Administration has proven that it is they who are the traitors working against America. They lied about uranium and Plame's husband called them on it. To punish him for the lie, they betrayed the country.

Why isn't someone substantial in jail for this? Now the scandals are coming about every 2 weeks, and while Bush has stopped giving people medals for f**king up, he's still backing losers and still either incompetent or dishonest.

 

[Azure]

So lets blame Bush, shall we?

Fitzgerald did a GREAT job.

 

[Schneibster]

I believe Plame's job was to covertly track weapon proliferation. By revealing her name, the Bush Administration has proven that it is they who are the traitors working against America. They lied about uranium and Plame's husband called them on it. To punish him for the lie, they betrayed the country.

I believe you meant, "to punish him for exposing their lie," based on the rest. A quibble but worth pointing out IMO. Especially when it's pretty clear you believe that.

Why isn't someone substantial in jail for this? Now the scandals are coming about every 2 weeks, and while Bush has stopped giving people medals for f**king up, he's still backing losers and still either incompetent or dishonest.

They're going to keep on coming, and coming, and coming.

 

[Tricky]

So lets blame Bush, shall we?

I don't doubt that Bush was clue-free during the whole leaking business. However, now that he knows what happened, he can be blamed for not firing those who ordered or allowed the leak. Something about a buck stopping somewhere.

Fitzgerald did a GREAT job.

He was very thorough.

 

[Darth Rotor]

Something about a buck stopping somewhere.

That would be Chuck E Cheese.

DR

 

[Tricky]

Something about a buck stopping somewhere.

That would be Chuck E Cheese.

I thought that was, "The Buick stops here."

 

[joobie]

Last time I checked, the question of whether Plame was covert (as defined by law) was still up in the air. Plame herself didn't even know.

last i checked, both the CIA and plame disagree with you.

Henry Waxman read a prepared statement that was cleared by CIA director Michael Hayden. It read in part:
“

"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."

of course, maybe the head of the CIA was wrong. what did plame say?

"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."

yeah, it really sounds like they didn't know if she was covert.

 

[Ziggurat]

of course, maybe the head of the CIA was wrong. what did plame say?

yeah, it really sounds like they didn't know if she was covert.

http://yargb.blogspot.com/2007/03/transcript-of-plame-testimony.html

"REP. DAVIS: The Intelligence Identities Protection Act makes it a crime to knowingly disclose the identity of a covert agent, which has a specific definition under the act. Did anyone ever tell you that you were so designated?

MS. PLAME WILSON: I'm not a lawyer.

REP. DAVIS: That's why I asked if they told you. I'm not asking for your interpretation.

MS. PLAME WILSON: No, no. But I was covert. I did travel overseas on secret missions within the last five years.

REP. DAVIS: I'm not arguing with that. What I'm asking is, for purposes of the act -- and maybe this just never occurred to you or anybody else at the time -- but did anybody say that you were so designated under the act? Or was this just after it came to fact?

MS. PLAME WILSON: No, no one told me that. And that --

REP. DAVIS: How about after the disclosure?

MS. PLAME WILSON: Pardon me?

REP. DAVIS: How about after the disclosure, did anyone then say gee, you were designated under the act, this should not have happened? Did anybody in the CIA tell you at that point?

MS. PLAME WILSON: No."

"Covert" has a colloquial meaning, and a specific legal definition in the context of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA). Her use of the word "covert" does not in itself indicate she met the legal definition under the IIPA.

 

[Tricky]

http://yargb.blogspot.com/2007/03/transcript-of-plame-testimony.html

Based on joobie's post, it appears that matter was clarified by Michael Hayden.

 

[Ziggurat]

Based on joobie's post, it appears that matter was clarified by Michael Hayden.

Was it? All I can find so far is second-hand reports of what Hayden wrote, no actual transcript. So I cannot judge for myself whether he used the term "covert" in the context of the IIPA or not. Anyone got a link?

 

[SezMe]

MS. PLAME WILSON: No, no. But I was covert. I did travel overseas on secret missions within the last five years.

...snip...

"Covert" has a colloquial meaning, and a specific legal definition in the context of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA). Her use of the word "covert" does not in itself indicate she met the legal definition under the IIPA.

Suppose, for the sake of this discussion only, I give you your point that Plame was not formally covert under IIPA. Given her actual status as she testified and as I am sure Novak could have found out, was his publishing her name justified? Or wise? Or traitorous? Or what?

 

[Tricky]

Was it? All I can find so far is second-hand reports of what Hayden wrote, no actual transcript. So I cannot judge for myself whether he used the term "covert" in the context of the IIPA or not. Anyone got a link?

Even Novak admits that Hayden was quoted correctly. But then, of course, he poisons the well.

Yet Novak, in his March 22 column, refuses to believe it. To be sure, he concedes, Waxman "was correctly quoting Hayden." But Hayden's willingness to state that Plame was covert does not, in Novak's view, decide the matter. It merely confirms "Republican suspicions that Hayden is too close to Democrats."

So Novak insists that even the CIA director (appointed by Bush) was covering up because he likes Democrats. If you believe that, then this thread ought to be in the Conspiracy Theory forum.