Reply #7: IMO, there is NO way.....

[Hepburn]

....that Fitzgerald convened a GJ and did not have documentary evidence to present to them on one of the basic issues: Whether or not Plame was covert. If this could not be evidence, then there was no reason to convene the GJ. This is basic stuff to any prosecuting atty ~ and, let's face it, as the US Atty for the Northwest Dist of Illinois, Fitzgerald was a seasoned prosecutor and waaaaaaay beyond basics.

IMO, her file with the CIA would have documented if she was or was not covert. The fact that it was allegedly "common knowledge" is irrelevant in that it might be "common knowledge" to those in the WH, but it was not this to the general public and THAT was where she was outed. Some people in the WH were in a position to have that knowledge and, yeah, it might be common to them ~ but NOT to the public and that IMO was the intent of the statute as to what it was enacted to prevent.