Fitgerald is a FLAMING IDIOT BEYOND BELIEF if at this point in time, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT, is still unknown or uncertain. It's makes such a mockery of his much vaunted 'thoroughness'.
Oh, c'mon.
Fitz works out of the "Counter Espionage" office of DoJ, an office specifically established to investigate intelligence cases. He knows exactly what Plame's status is and was.
Fitz has clearly stated that Plame held a classified position at CIA until 2003. That's test #1 for a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.
And Libby meets every test of being a potential perp due to his own classified position (that's test #2).
But the absence of an indictment under the Act indicates that test #3 was not met: Plame was not "covert" under the law (which requires foreign service).
Given Plame's lack of "covert" status, no one in this matter can be charged under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.
What's disturbing is that Fitzgerald would have known very early in the investigation that there was no legal breach of the Act, because Plame wasn't "covert" under the law. Yet he continued to pursue it, with what objective we don't know.
By the way, if Plame is still employed by the CIA in any classified capacity, she's now "covert" and covered by the Act due to her ongoing residence in France.
So don't say anything mean about her.
didn't we hear, early in this whole matter, that she was no longer covert, by the paperwork in the CIA personnel dept. had not yet changed this designation? if so, they could say that she was officially covert, but only on paper.