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Yes, Valerie Plame Was Covert
Political Animal via CBS News ^ | May 29, 2007 | Kevin Drum

Posted on 05/30/2007 12:35:06 PM PDT by Sleeping Beauty

In a court filing today, Patrick Fitzgerald provides a summary of Valerie Plame Wilson's status with the CIA's Counterproliferation Division at the time she was outed to the press by members of the Bush administration. Guess what? She was covert:

While assigned to CPD, Ms. Wilson engaged in temporary duty (TDY) travel overseas on official business. She traveled at least seven times to more than ten countries. When traveling overseas, Ms. Wilson always traveled under a cover identity — sometimes in true name and sometimes in alias — but always using cover — whether official or non-official cover (NOC) — with no ostensible relationship to the CIA.

At the time of the initial unauthorized disclosure in the media of Ms. Wilson's employment relationship with the CIA on 14 July 2003, Ms. Wilson was a covert employee for whom the CIA was taking affirmative measures to conceal her intelligence relationship to the United States.

...she had been working under cover outside the U.S. quite extensively during the previous five years, which means that Plame almost certainly qualified as "covert" under the specific definitions outlined in IIPA. Nonetheless, for some reason Fitzgerald decided not to bring outing charges against anyone. This suggests that Mark Kleiman has been right all along: Fitzgerald's decision had nothing to do with technical aspects of IIPA, but rather with its scienter requirements.

That is, the leakers had to know that leaking Plame's name could be damaging, and Fitzgerald didn't think he had the evidence to make that case. That might have been especially true since the leaks seem to have been authorized at very high levels, something the leakers could have used in their defense at trial.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cia; cialeak; plame; plamegame; plamegate; valerieplame
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To: Sleeping Beauty
So, what do you think?

I think Fitzfong is lying. Look at this nonsense:

Ms. Wilson was a covert employee for whom the CIA was taking affirmative measures to conceal her intelligence relationship to the United States.

When Novak called the CIA, they readily confirmed that she worked there!! And he has the gall to claim that they were taking affirmative measures to conceal her relationship with the CIA?

Add to that ole Joe's admission to Wolf Blitzer that she was "not a clandestine officer the day Bob Novak blew her identity" and Fitzie is just plain unbelievable. He ought to be disbarred.

61 posted on 05/30/2007 2:24:06 PM PDT by freespirited
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To: Sleeping Beauty

Here is the definition of Covert agent under the law. See if Fitzfong’s claim makes sense to you.

(4) The term “covert agent” means—

(A) a present or retired officer or employee of an intelligence agency or a present or retired member of the Armed Forces assigned to duty with an intelligence agency—
(i) whose identity as such an officer, employee, or member is classified information, and

(ii) who is serving outside the United States or has within the last five years served outside the United States; or

(B) a United States citizen whose intelligence relationship to the United States is classified information, and—

(i) who resides and acts outside the United States as an agent of, or informant or source of operational assistance to, an intelligence agency, or
(ii) who is at the time of the disclosure acting as an agent of, or informant to, the foreign counterintelligence or foreign counterterrorism components of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or

(C) an individual, other than a United States citizen, whose past or present intelligence relationship to the United States is classified information and who is a present or former agent of, or a present or former informant or source of operational assistance to, an intelligence agency.


62 posted on 05/30/2007 2:34:00 PM PDT by freespirited
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To: Sleeping Beauty
fitz is a proven liar and is lying here. The woman that wrote the law stated that val was NOT covert. Armatage stated that she was not covert. joe wilson stated that she was not covert. End of story!

LLS

63 posted on 05/30/2007 2:39:32 PM PDT by LibLieSlayer (Support America, Kill terrorists, Destroy dims!)
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To: Puppage

Not true. When you have non-official cover, you do use your real name. I was under NOC for a number of years.


64 posted on 05/30/2007 2:46:56 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man
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To: marron
Joe Wilson "threatened" Novak over the phone when he said:"Leave my wife out of this". Novak's column said she was a "Dem Operative" (political lingo) not a spy for cripes sake.

The SECRET was that Joe was the envoy and Valerie was his means to the free trip with UNDOCUMENTED RESULTS.

And by the way, all Joe ever said was that they weren't seeking yellow cake through LEGAL channels. Well, I could have told you that without a trip.

65 posted on 05/30/2007 2:49:14 PM PDT by Sacajaweau ("The Cracker" will be renamed "The Crapper")
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To: Anti-Bubba182
I don't believe she was even out of the USA during those 5 years. She and Joe shacked up at the Watergate for a while and then married AND she took the name Wilson. Plame was her name by birth. These people were well known in Washington and mucho people knew her as Plame before she married Wilson.

P.S. It was just a little over 5 years after their marriage when Joe stepped to the podium and said he was the secret envoy. He outed his own wife.

66 posted on 05/30/2007 2:54:08 PM PDT by Sacajaweau ("The Cracker" will be renamed "The Crapper")
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To: Sleeping Beauty
Does anyone else think it is suspicious that this information is coming out SO FAR after the deed was done? Is Fitzgerald trying to make himself look important by doing this?

Frankly I find it convenient that the info wasn't available during all the time this was being investigated.

67 posted on 05/30/2007 2:58:30 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: HamiltonJay
The CIA "office" is not in D.C. It's in Northern Virginia. The parking lot is not open to the public ~ they have a huge fence and people have to show passes, etc. to get past the armed guards at the gate.

Still, they have a parking permit, and you could have seen her driving in to work.

68 posted on 05/30/2007 3:34:19 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: Secret Agent Man
While assigned to CPD, Ms. Wilson engaged in temporary duty (TDY) travel overseas on official business. She traveled at least seven times to more than ten countries.

She was traveling as a USG employee. She was far from being a covert agent. She is no more undercover than a CIA employee assigned to one of our embassies as she was at one time in Athens.

69 posted on 05/30/2007 3:38:49 PM PDT by kabar
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To: muawiyah

They have two gates—a front gate and a back gate.


70 posted on 05/30/2007 3:40:01 PM PDT by kabar
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To: kabar
Just checking it out from the satellite maps available on Google.com.

That roof is just made for identification isn't it.

I think the "back gate" (as you called it) is more often used to send out the trucks that stock the "safe houses) than as a means of entry or exit for semi-undercover office workers.

The folks with exceedingly deep cover never visit the area, or are flown in from Eisenhower field at Fort Belvoir (20 miles or so to the South).

71 posted on 05/30/2007 3:58:48 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: kabar

That’s not what I said. Read my post more carefully. I was correcting something that someone said about non-official cover.

Don’t read into things what you think people are saying, actually read what is written.


72 posted on 05/30/2007 4:03:09 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man
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To: petitfour
Except maybe her husband was her cover for a trip to Niger. I still blame it all on Mr. Wilson and whomever put forth all of the now-seemingly false intel for the 8 years prior to the war/invasion. Wag the Dog intel.

Val gal was a willing pawn IMO but I do agree that her hubby most likely orchestrated his charitable sleuthing. These that opposed the removal of Saddam appeared to be a global network. Personally I believe that those 'Soviet' advisers that high tailed it out of Iraq early on are responsible for the missing WMD's.

73 posted on 05/30/2007 5:42:54 PM PDT by Just mythoughts (Narcissism = fittest will survive off the government teat!!!!)
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To: muawiyah

Exactly!

If you are going to and from a CIA facility to work daily , you are NOT COVERT.. anyone could see you coming and going... its a joke to claim she was covert while working daily at CIA headquarters.


74 posted on 05/30/2007 6:38:23 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: muawiyah
I think the "back gate" (as you called it) is more often used to send out the trucks that stock the "safe houses) than as a means of entry or exit for semi-undercover office workers.

Not really. Most of the regular employees use that gate. Visitors use the front gate along with employees.

75 posted on 05/30/2007 8:54:58 PM PDT by kabar
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To: Secret Agent Man

I read what was written. Read what I wrote.


76 posted on 05/30/2007 8:57:33 PM PDT by kabar
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To: kabar

Your point has nothing to do with my point. I don’t disagree with you. But what you are pointing out has nothing to do with what I said.


77 posted on 05/30/2007 9:00:31 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man
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To: Sleeping Beauty

http://www.floppingaces.net/2007/05/29/the-msm-covers-for-plame-once/


78 posted on 05/31/2007 3:43:14 AM PDT by pookie18 ([Hillary Rotten] Clinton Happens...as does Dr. Demento Dean, Bela Pelosi & Benedick Durbin!!)
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To: Secret Agent Man

My point was that your real name isn’t a cover name for us civilians.


79 posted on 05/31/2007 4:52:51 AM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: Puppage; Secret Agent Man
My point was that your real name isn’t a cover name for us civilians.

Isn't that the point of being covert? You hand your real life out there with all it's wart and quirks. The ones that are fully ingrained and can't be questioned down because they are real. With details so unique that they don't hint at being constructed.

The one thing that is concealed is the relationship to an organization.

It was my understanding that truly covert agents go by their real names.

80 posted on 05/31/2007 5:20:08 AM PDT by Jack of all Trades (Liberalism: replacing backbones with wishbones.)
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