[Cboldt]

I just don't know what motive would be if he did not believe she was classifed.

See my #14, above. It seems he knew for a fact that her status was not "covert."

"Covert" being shorthand for "Nobody but you and some in the CIA know that you and the CIA have any relationship whatsoever." A janitor in the CIA cannot be "covert," but his personnel file is classified.

[angkor]

"Covert" being shorthand for "Nobody but you and some in the CIA know that you and the CIA have any relationship whatsoever."

Now I see where you're coming from. You don't know the meaning of "covert" under the Identities Act.

The bar is much higher than what you state above, both for the technical application of "covert status" and the manner in which the statute can be violated.