Was She Covert? [PLAMEGATE]

Washington Post ^ | 03/22/07 | Robert Novak

[Enchante]

Waxman and Democratic colleagues did not ask these pertinent questions: Had not Plame been outed years ago by a Soviet agent? Was she not on an administrative, not operational, track at Langley? How could she be covert if, in public view, she drove to work each day at Langley? What about comments to me by then CIA spokesman Bill Harlow that Plame never would be given another foreign assignment? What about testimony to the FBI that her CIA employment was common knowledge in Washington?

Instead of posing such questions, Waxman said flatly that Plame was covert and cited Hayden as proof. Hayden's endorsement of Waxman's statement astounded Republicans whose queries about her had been rebuffed by the agency. That confirmed Republican suspicions that Hayden is too close to Democrats.

[Enchante]

Novak shouldn't be so self-righteous about the abysmal handling of this matter by the Congress -- it is Novak who did so much (and omitted so much) to allow this farce to become a national embarrassment.

Still, Novak is right in some of his comments on the disgraceful exhibition in Waxman's hearing..... both by the dishonest vicious 'Rats and the cowardly absence of almost all of the Republicans who lack the guts to fight this out.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Plame testified that she was sitting at her desk, when she heard her neighbor's phone ring as he took the call from the VP's office. He popped over to her desk to complain about it, when a shadowy passer-by came past, overheard what was going on, and suggested she ask husband Joe Wilson about making the trip.

Now, is it everyday practice for "covert" agents to sit around in a cubicle farm, overhearing each other's conversations and phone calls? Is it typical that a hotshot "covert" agent would forget the name of someone who knew her marital status, husband's name, and husband's background?

The whole Plame version of the story makes no sense and is clearly a horror of prevarication.

[Always Right]

Waxman is a disgraceful liar, but that is what makes him a hero of the left. The left never cares about the truth.

[Doug Loss]

Was she covert? Nope. Next question...

[stylin19a]

The WH ought to be takin 2nd looks at Hayden...

[FLOutdoorsman]

It is a wild story. The incredible aspect of it, is the fact that she said it under oath.

[denydenydeny]

A lot of the "spineless Republican" talk is just nonsense from people who don't know anything about politics, but I have to agree that the behavior of the Republicans at the Plame testimony was 100% spineless and disgraceful.

[JBR34]

This is all a bunch of Bunk. I would assume ANY spouse of an Ambassador to be a spook or providing info to the spooks.

If I spoke to the spouse of a Foreign Ambassador that was of interest to them, (not that it would ever happen) I would expect that person to fill out a contact form (in triplicate) briefing our conversation to their intellegence services.

If the wife of the Bulgarian President tells the wife of US ambassador to Bulgaria that poor Yuri has gallstones, then you can bet you last dollar that the wife of the US ambassador passes that info on.

Spouses are assumed to be operatives.

[mcshot]

"...but I have to agree that the behavior of the Republicans at the Plame testimony was 100% spineless and disgraceful."


I totally agree and it's heart wrenching.

[popdonnelly]

"it is Novak who did so much (and omitted so much) to allow this farce to become a national embarrassment."

Yes, but he didn't do anything more than several people in the news media did. Bob Woodward, for example. This entire story could have been put to bed early, if it weren't for a lack of honesty on the part of the news media.

[popdonnelly]

"The left never cares about the truth."

True. They care about "winning".

[Peach]

It's so obvious that she was no longer covert that I can't believe that 3 years after the event, we're still discussing whether she was covert. LOL

[newcthem]

But we have come to expect this behavior from practically every Republican from Jorge on down..........(Fred and Duncan, excepted)

[JmyBryan]

The Republicans backed down/ran and hid when the White House foolishly recanted on the 16 words in the SOTU speech.

Biggest mistake of the Bush Admin.

[Alberta's Child]

On his radio show last week Don Imus cited that specific part of her testimony and said it sounded like some idiocy from "four frames of a Dilbert cartoon."

[Lancey Howard]

Instead of posing such questions, Waxman....

Why on earth would a partisan Democrat rodent like Waxman ask "such questions"?
Where were the Republicans??

(....And I will continue to throw away my RNC mailings with vigor.)

[Alberta's Child]

Mark Steyn had a column on this subject within the last week or so. He said the British government -- and particularly British intelligence officials -- were most upset over the fact that the U.S. sent an abject mediocrity like Joe Wilson to Niger to verify the Iraq-Niger scenario that Britain still insists was true.

The U.S. simply didn't give a damn about whether there was any truth to the Niger angle of the story.

[colorado tanker]

She was only "covert" in the sense that everyone who works at Langley is. She did classified work and had a security clearance and was supposed to keep her mouth shut. But she sure as heck wasn't "covert" in the sense of the statute and hadn't been for years.

Hayden should have made that clear. Looks like the CIA is still working against the administration.

[Quick or Dead]

Plamegate was a glorified witch hunt with two girls (Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame) who fingered out the so-called witches who had "hexed"(outed) them. The only thing that would have made this farce complete would have been a hanging.

[Rumplemeyer]

When did she and that rodent she is married to first appear in Vanity Fair?

I remember it was in the late 90's, Imus was damp with enthusiasm, heaping praise for the photo spread and story, it mentioned she worked for the CIA.