Walter Pincus knew Valerie since 1996

Washington Post | January 12, 1996 | Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writer

[SBD1]

BODY: She was a CIA case officer working in Europe covertly, holding herself out as the representative of a Texas foundation that was interested in world economics.

Unlike most CIA case officers overseas who work out of U.S. embassies and purport to be diplomats, she was operating under what CIA calls "nonofficial cover" (NOC).

[james500]

The woman in the '95 Paris debacle was named "Mary Ann Baumgartner" from Dallas Market Centre.

Is the suggestion that Mary Ann was Valerie Plame?

[Lecie]

I, too, would like more information on this story such as the title,and does Pincus mention Plame by name. I did a search of the Post and the only story that matches the date is one titled "Agencies debate value of being out in the cold" Pincus, Walter; The Washington Post; Jan 12, 1996; pg. A18. Unfortunately it is not for sale.

[Dog]

Check this out...cyn and Shermy ....Old Walter knew who Val was far back as 1996......Hmmmmm.

[Bob from De]

I read on a FR thread within the last few days that Walter Pincus's wife Anne worked in the Clinton State Dept., Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

[mewzilla]

Pincus and Milbank: The Lowdown on Two Washington Post Bush-hating Reporters

[Dog]

Mary Ann Baumgartner and the French Minister..

[wolfcreek]

Paris, hmmmmmm? French Intelligence, hmmmmm?

The plot thickens.

[norwaypinesavage]

"No doubt she bragged about being a secret agent on their second date."

During a session of "heavy petting"? She sure doesn't seem like the type of person I would hire as a secret agent. James Bond she ain't.

[SeeSalt]

Fred Rustmann,... was Plame’s boss for a few years, says Plame worked under official cover in Europe in the early 1990s — say, as a U.S. embassy attache — before switching to nonofficial cover a few years later. Mostly Plame posed as a business analyst or a student in what Rustmann describes as a “nice European city.”


How come? Palme worked as a US embassy attache first - before switching to nonofficial cover a few year later? That is the most stupid thing happened in the history of spying.
Don't you think that each country spy services has in their data base the foreign people listed as "embassy attache"?

[polymuser]

I just love telling acquaintances what to watch for in the snews, and have them come back a couple of days later asking "where'd you hear that story?" I'll only concede the source if I believe they're truly ready for the blue pill.

[Homer1]

Baumgartner or Plame? Sounds like this was about Baumgartner. Please prove me wrong.

[OSHA]

When tradecraft errors led to her entrapment by French counterintelligence

Translated, that means she screwed up.

Her alias was Catherine Irene Anderson. She was a Cover photographer for Deep magazine. They were a startup company and couldn't afford nice big cameras so she had to use little bitty ones.

[shezza]

"...and if anybody calls the corporation, the secretary says, ‘Yeah, he works for us,’”

You mean just like the CIA did when Novak called them asking if Valerie Plame worked there?

[Homer1]

sounds like he was counter-intelligence in the Army. Don't get my hopes up...

[SBD1]

There were 2 women involved in this incident. Baumgartner was not the NOC, she was working at the Embassy and recruited Henri. Valerie, I contend was "the big boss" who asked Henri the off the wall Hollywood question.

[popdonnelly]

Regardless of whether Baumgartner = Plame, Plame could have been one of the five agents kicked out of the country by the French interior minister.

[Just mythoughts]

Sounds like this Joe Wilson "free" agent business was not about gathering intel rather planting intel.

They get somebody to talk up his and by association her name then they can accuse the President and allllll his MEN of "outing" her.

Now if Pincus knew Val gal, doesn't his wife work at the State Dept???? The Staters wanted to protect Saddam as much as anybody did.

The commonality of this 'plot' reminds me of that Redford/Dunaway CIA thriller, those "coverts" were ONLY analysts.

[ScaniaBoy]

Mary-Ann Baumgartner is described as a woman in her 60s in French newspapers.

According to other sources Valerie Plame was initially stationed in Athens and then moved to Brussels.

(Of course she could have been involved in the French affair - but should not be mixed up with Ms Baumgartner.)

Sorry, do not have any links at hand at the moment. If you require them, please FReepmail me.

[Just mythoughts]

bump and thanks, There is something just so Scott Ritter about this whole affair.

[mattdono]

Bump for reference.