Plame Case: Media Groups Back Reporters In Court Filing

Washington Post ^ | 03/24/05 | Dan Eggen

[Pikamax]

Media Groups Back Reporters In Court Filing Judges Urged to Determine if Crime Occurred in Leak Case By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, March 24, 2005; Page A03

A federal court should first determine whether a crime has been committed in the disclosure of an undercover CIA operative's name before prosecutors are allowed to continue seeking testimony from journalists about their confidential sources, the nation's largest news organizations and journalism groups asserted in a court filing yesterday.

The 40-page brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, argues that there is "ample evidence . . . to doubt that a crime has been committed" in the case, which centers on the question of whether Bush administration officials knowingly revealed the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame in the summer of 2003. Plame's name was published first by syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak and later by other publications.

[OldFriend]

Joe Wilson made charges and demanded an investigation.

Well, he got what he wished for and as a side note, Robert Novak was shown to be an out and out liar because he first said that it was a White House official who leaked the Plame information, and it would appear that was not the case.

[OK]

From different articles on this, I suspect that Plame was one of the agents compromised by Aldrich Ames, who now sits in prison for it. This became known on the Washington cocktail party circuit, and now everyone knows it.

That is why Plame has been in a desk job for the last few years. She hasn't been a secret agent since Aldrich Ames was arrested.

[Steve_Seattle]

"The 40-page brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, argues that there is "ample evidence . . . to doubt that a crime has been committed" in the case . . . "

This is absolutely hilarious. these are the same people who tried Bush in the media and found him guilty of impeachable crimes - based entirely in hearsay - before there was even an investigation. In fact, these are the people who demanded the investigation in the first place.

[The Great Yazoo]

Well, as journalists always say when an O.J. or some other obvious criminal goes free "That's the cost of a free society. Live with it!"

[Cboldt]

Link to the brief asserting that no outing crime was committed ...
March 23, 2005 Amici Brief of 36 News Organizations

You were right on top of this when the brief was filed.