Reply #2: May 25, 2007 - Fitzgerald Speaks...And, Yes, She Was a Covert Officer

[L. Coyote]

May 25, 2007 - Fitzgerald Speaks...And, Yes, She Was a Covert Officer
http://www.davidcorn.com/archives/2007/05/fitzgerald_spea.php


In the Valerie Plame case, there's been much disinformation from conservative commentators and Scooter Libby advocates who claim that Valerie Wilson was not truly a covert agent. These partisans then contend that the leak identifying her as a CIA officer could not have been a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and, thus, Patrick Fitzgerald's leak investigation (which resulted in Libby's conviction) was illegitimate. GOP lawyer Victoria Toensing has led the rightwing pack in this charge. (See here for background on her efforts on this front.)

On Friday, Fitzgerald took a shot at this misleading argument. In a sentencing memorandum filed with the federal court overseeing the Libby case, Fitzgerald notes:

It was clear from very early in the investigation that Ms. Wilson qualified under the relevant statute (Title 50, United States Code, Section 421) as a covert agent whose identity had been disclosed by public officials, including Mr. Libby, to the press.

In other words, there!

............

Fitzgerald, who doesn't leak and who doesn't go on television shows to defend himself, fires back in this memo. He writes:

Early in the investigation, investigators learned the identities of three officials--Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Senior Adviser to the President Karl Rove, and Mr. Libby, the Vice-President's Chief of Staff--who had disclosed information regarding Ms. Wilson's CIA employment to reporters. What was not apparent, however, were the answers to a series of questions central to whether criminal charges arising from the unauthorized disclosure of Ms. Wilson's identity as an intelligence agent were both viable and appropriate. These questions included the following:

* Were Mr. Armitage, Mr. Rove, and Mr. Libby the only government officials to disclose information about Ms. Plame's CIA employment to reporters?

* Was each particular disclosure by the government officials to journalists deliberate, reckless or inadvertent?

* How did those government officials learn about Ms. Wilson's CIA employment?

* What did those government officials know about the classified nature of Ms. Wilson's employment?

* Precisely what information regarding Ms. Wilson's CIA employment did government officials disclose to reporters, and to how many reporters?

* Were the disclosures made as part of a concerted effort to disclose this information? and

* Did other government officials direct or approve these disclosures?