"the media never claimed that at all."
There were thirty-six (36) major news organizations and professional reporters' groups (including CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Reuters, The Associated Press, The Tribune Company, The Washington Post, The New York Press Club and The White House Corespondents) who asserted that "no crime" had been committed in the "Plame Leak" case because, among other things, Valerie Plame's identity had previously been disclosed to both the Russians and the Cubans.
On March 23, 2005 these news organizations and professional reporters' groups filed this legal motion:
they may have claimed no crime was committed on the technicalities of the statutes (they were correct about that) - but I don't see anywhere there where they admit that Russert, Cooper, and Miller were amongst the people "in the know" about who she was - that she had been outed to them.
to have admitted that, they would have had to admit that the conversations with Libby and Rove were setups (since they already knew who WIlson's wife was), they would not have been able to send those reporters in there with their BS testimony "oh, we knew nothing, we found out everything from Libby and Rove". it would have changed the entire case.