Deputy AG: Valerie Plame Leak Not Illegal [Helped In Drafting The Act]

News Max ^ | July 11, 2005 | Carl Limbacher

[conservativecorner]

The White House press corps lapsed into a full-blown feeding frenzy on Monday over the news that Karl Rove is identified in emails from Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper as someone who mentioned that Joseph Wilson's wife worked at the CIA - just days before her name was revealed by columnist Robert Novak.

But the former deputy attorney general who helped draft Intelligence Identities Protection Act - which Bush critics insist was violated when Valerie Plame was identified to Novak - said earlier this year that it's unlikely any laws were broken in the case.

Story Continues Below

Writing in January in the Washington Post, former Assistant Deputy Attorney General Victoria Toensing explained that she helped draft the 1982 law in question. Said Toensing: "The Novak column and the surrounding facts do not support evidence of criminal conduct."

For Plame's outing to have been illegal, the one-time deputy AG explained, "her status as undercover must be classified." Also, Plame "must have been assigned to duty outside the United States currently or in the past five years."

Since in neither case does Plame meet those criteria, Toensing argued: "There is a serious legal question as to whether she qualifies as 'covert.'"

The law also requires that the celebrated non-spy's outing take place by someone who knew the government had taken "affirmative measures to conceal [the agent's] relationship" to the U.S.

Toensing said that's unlikely.

In fact, the myth that the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was violated in the Plame case began to unravel in October 2003, when New York Times scribe Nicholas Kristof revealed that she abandoned her covert role a full nine years before the Novak column.

"The C.I.A. suspected that Aldrich Ames had given [Plame's] name [along with those of other spies] to the Russians before his espionage arrest in 1994," reported Kristof. "So her undercover security was undermined at that time, and she was brought back to Washington for safety reasons."

The Times columnist also noted that Plame had begun making the transition to CIA "management" even before she was outted by Novak, explaining that "she was moving away from 'noc' – which means non-official cover ... to a new cover as a State Department official, affording her diplomatic protection without having 'C.I.A.' stamped on her forehead."

Kristof concluded: "All in all, I think the Democrats are engaging in hyperbole when they describe the White House as having put [Plame's] life in danger and destroyed her career; her days skulking along the back alleys of cities like Beirut and Algiers were already mostly over."

[mattdono]

Bump.

And, case closed. We need to make sure that Toesing's piece get wide play.

[NathanBookman]

I wonder if this will be "Splashed" on the NYT front page tomorrow.

The libs hate it when the facts get in the way.

[digger48]

I'd sure like Wilson to do the "perp-walk" over this.....

For nothing else than just being a lyin' jerk.

[Prost1]

The problem all along has been the the Special Prosecutor has not verified publicly whether she was "undercover". Nor has there been any public admission as to the unique circumstance of her husband being sent on a trip that she recommended. (Personal conflict and possible reimbursement of government expenses...including loss of security classification for both.)

It seems to me that Joe Wilson has broken several laws as has his wife.

[maestro]

?....."The C.I.A. suspected that Aldrich Ames had given [Plame's] name [along with those of other spies] to the Russians before his espionage arrest in 1994," reported Kristof. "So her undercover security was undermined at that time, and she was brought back to Washington for safety reasons." ....?

.....This has NOTHING to do with France and the U.N.,.....move on!

/sarcasm?

[holdonnow]

And despite all the noise, Rove didn't leak anything.

[RAY]

The demorates will never accept this.

[The Brush]

I'm going to have to wait to get Senator Durbin's take on all this before I know for certain how to react.
Perhaps Senator Kennedy can bring some truth to the surface.

[vaudine]

Saw clips of the press corps feeding frenzy and was floored by the arrogance of the ABC lamebrain and by Dick Gregory(CNN?) Their total assumption of illegal and wrong doing by Rove and WH coverup was way out of line. The Dems also are playing it up. WHERE the H*%& were these people and their big mouthes when secret documents were being stuffed down Dem pants and socks and toted plumb out of the building by dear Sandy? Huh???Huh??? LEAN OUT YOUR WINDOW AND YOU WILL HEAR MY PRIMORDIAL SCREAM ECHOING IN THE DISTANCE.

vaudine

[jra]

What, you got something against Harry Reid?

LOL

[Frank_2001]

Teddy is not particularly gifted at bringing ANYTHING to the surface!;)

[tobyhill]

Who better to ask than the person who helped write the law.

[Howlin]

Oh, this is too funny.......

Newsmax is now copying and pasting -- NEWSMAX!


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1348716/posts

[advance_copy]

Back when the CIA was still working for MoveOn.org, Valerie Plame spent taxpayer money to pay for a useless Africa trip by her husband so he could come back and write in the New York Times that "Bush lied". Karl Rove didn't break any laws, but somebody better be looking at Plame for her nepotism.

[Hoodat]

Never let TRUTH get in the way of good Dem spin.

[kcvl]

ROFLOL!

[Mo1]

but somebody better be looking at Plame for her nepotism.

And her hubby's business dealings

[nopardons]

YIKES! Great catch.

[ncountylee]

I'd sure like Wilson to do the "perp-walk" over this.....

Burger didn't, Wilson wouldn't either.