Also NPR is still great, but starting to piss me off. They are still letting feces spread across the air-wave, and one imagines they “know better” (facts).

Bryan at 73 — You mean, the Vanity Fair cover which came out AFTER the Novak article exposed her? Hmmmm…which came first…oh, yes, that’s right, that would be the payback leaking whereby a network of classified agents was exposed to cover the Vice President’s exposed lying backside. Live with that.

Oh, and just so we’re clear: law enforcement agents with whom I have spoken to a person are disgusted by the Bush Administration’s failure to protect a national security network to save their own asses. Try speaking to anyone who has ever worked undercover to get a sense of the betrayal and the traitorous mindset required to even go there.

Was it really a Vanity Fair cover? I remember it inside the magazine, but maybe I’m missremembering.

1) despite the fact that her cover has been blown, her covert status remains classified — this is the same as any piece of leaked albeit classified information. Simply because something has been leaked to the press does not change its classification

2) For purposes of the trial itself, the defense did not want Plame’s covert status discussed because they felt it would be prejudicial— that is, that jurors would “judge” Libby based on his failure to protect a covert agent’s identity, rather than the facts relevant to the perjury/obstruction case before them

As to the leaks’ harmfulness, although the record omits specifics about Plame’s work, it appears to confirm, as alleged in the public record and reported in the press, that she worked for the CIA in some unusual capacity relating to counterproliferation. Addressing deficiencies of proof regarding the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, the special counsel refers to Plame as “a person whose identity the CIA was making specific efforts to conceal and who had carried out covert work overseas within the last 5 years”—representations I trust the special counsel would not make without support. (8/27/04 Aff. at 28 n.15.)

Paul @ 25

the prosecution has stated unequivicably, in public, on the TEE vee, that this was a covert asset, that there is no question this was a covert asset

I’m honestly confused by your statement. Can you provide a link to that quote. It seems to me that Fitz has been very careful not to say that explicitly and he has not charged anyone with that. I would love to see that actually spelled out by Fitz but I haven’t seen it yet.

Thanks

no link, he said it when he announced libby’s indictment

there actually is a clip of him saying this on the latest Frontline episode. I just saw it, but I forget which segment it’s in.

Remember that this happened immediately after Tenet left. Porter Goss came on the scene, brought his buddy Dusty Foggo in as No. 3, and got rid of dissidents.

One or more of those John/Jane Does is moving forward with the ability to have their case heard.