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Fifth Column
When Bushies blew a CIA cover, it was 'treason'; now, it's a mistake
2014-05-30
Valerie Plame doesn't deny that blowing the cover of the CIA station chief in Afghanistan is a serious matter. It's just that, discussing the issue at a Wednesday evening forum sponsored by The Atlantic, Plame seemed to view the outing of the CIA's top spy on the front lines in the Afghan war as more of an embarrassment than an outrage.

"My understanding is ... it was a military aide who compiled this list of those that were greeting the president when he came," Plame said. "Colossally stupid, but I think it was inadvertent. It was an error ... really stupid. The White House apparently has said that they're going to do an investigation, and they'll find someone who's really embarrassed at the end of it."

There's no doubt Richard Armitage the Bush officials deliberately revealed Plame's CIA connection, if not her name, to the press. But the Plame leak could be characterized as inadvertent in one sense: the leakers, both in the State Department and the White House, did not know that Plame's status at the CIA was classified when they mentioned her to reporters. That is why no one was ever charged with leaking her identity; they did not knowingly and deliberately reveal classified information. So in that sense it was all a mistake. Yes, it was inadvertent, colossally stupid, an embarrassment -- but it was a mistake.

No matter. Pushed relentlessly by Democrats, the White House agreed to the appointment of a special prosecutor in the CIA leak case, which led to years of investigation -- top Bush aide Karl Rove was called before a grand jury five times -- and the conviction of former top Dick Cheney aide Scooter Libby on charges of perjury.
Posted by:Squinty

#8  Geez,

If my memory serves me correctly, only about three people at a given US embassy even know the person is the COS. most only know them as an "attaché"...

The entire Valarie Plame thing was started when some lefty in the DOS sent that idiot husband of hers to Nigeria to check on a back channel from the Brits that Iraq was in Nigeria trying to buy "yellow cake" for their nuke program.

Wilson was obviously a real big lib because as soon as his report came in that he couldn't find any proof, he was being interviewed by the lib media. Armitage mentioned Wilson when some journalistic hack was getting back info on Wilson and why he was chosen to go to Nigeria, Armitage said he wife worked at the CIA and had some "connections" in Nigeria...which led to someone digging around and identifying Plame as Wilson's wife...and it went from there.

Libby didn't lie to the feds, he was asked to remember conversations that had happened three years previously that he had not taken notes of, over the course of the witch hunt, his recollections conflicted...ask me about a conversation three years previous and then ask me again in six months and the recollection will be different. Libby was railroaded by the special prosecutor and the federal judge...both big dems.

Funny thing is that after all of the storm of "see the Iraqis were not buying yellow cake" about three years after Wilson's idiot journey to Nigeria, someone produced documents that stated Iraqis were trying to buy yellow cake AND the unredacted copies of Wilson's report said confirmed the fact while Wilson was saying "no they weren't" the entire Wilson Plame trip to Nigeria was a set up to embarrass Bush and was orchestrated from the get go by the Dems using one of their myriad sycophants in DOS.
Posted by: Bill Clinton   2014-05-30 12:52  

#7  It was only a mistake to out a station chief? It sure was a BFD when Valerie Plame was outed. One would have thought the gates of hell had opened. And then there was the case of Sandy Berger who was Clinton's security chief who stole federal documents by placing them in his pants. He got his hands slapped. It makes a difference which party you are in.
Posted by: JohnQC   2014-05-30 11:24  

#6  remember too, Plame was a desk-bound partisan publicity whore, not a COS
Posted by: Frank G   2014-05-30 09:26  

#5  "Accountability, competency, and transparency are the Obama Regime's Hallmarks"


*snicker*
Posted by: Frank G   2014-05-30 09:24  

#4  Ah, yes, the (non)principles of Leftism - One set of rules for me, another set of rules for thee.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2014-05-30 09:15  

#3   I hoping you don't think 'White House' and 'responsible' could in any way be related.Posted by ed in texas


It does paint a bullseye on his arse, but who would want to see him dead? Oh wait !!!!
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-05-30 08:14  

#2  Scooter Libby was convicted of lying to the FBI, not outing Plame. Colin Powell's aid Armitage did that, and skated.
They most that would happen here is the guy who drew up the list gets hammered; I hoping you don't think 'White House' and 'responsible' could in any way be related.
Posted by: ed in texas   2014-05-30 07:30  

#1  No matter. Pushed relentlessly by Democrats....

Comparing Plame to a currently active, COS Libya is laughable, even if she did [at one time] have some sort of intelligence connection. Anyone transiting a US Embassy with a black passport is automatically considered a US intelligence source by the host government. It's what people in embassies do.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-05-30 05:24  

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