Well, a legal definition or standpoint is really the only one we're concerned with here. Right?
Or is a civil suit less dependent on the legal aspects, and more on the emotional ones (lots and lots of lefties on the jury)?
"But there is also a legal definition, for the purposes of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. And she almost certainly did not meet the requirements for a covert designation under the IIPA."
Correct. So far as Fitzgerald and his grand jury are concerned, the meaning of "covert" is as defined by the IIPA. Based on what we know and what we can surmise, it is very unlikely that any indictments will be pursued on that basis.
The civil suit strikes me as being of propaganda value only.