According to Nick Kristof of the NY Times, October 11, 2003 (three months after Wilson's infamous op-ed):
First, the C.I.A. suspected that Aldrich Ames had given Mrs. Wilson's name (along with those of other spies) to the Russians before his espionage arrest in 1994. So her undercover security was undermined at that time, and she was brought back to Washington for safety reasons.
Second, as Mrs. Wilson rose in the agency, she was already in transition away from undercover work to management, and to liaison roles with other intelligence agencies. So this year, even before she was outed, she was moving away from "noc" — which means non-official cover, like pretending to be a business executive. After passing as an energy analyst for Brewster-Jennings & Associates, a C.I.A. front company, she was switching to a new cover as a State Department official, affording her diplomatic protection without having "C.I.A." stamped on her forehead.
The betting is that Kristoff received much of his information in this article from Judith Miller who very likely knew Plame. I am not sure that Kristoff has appeared before the Grand Jury (probably not), but I would grab the SOB and put him in a cell next to Miller.