Newsweek: Plame, The CIA & The Intelligence Identities Protection Act

[writes2000]

An interesting tidbit at the end of the article. Looks like the CIA felt that there was a crime committed in the Plame outing but they never mentioned the IIPA.

The Republicans have been barking up (defending) the wrong tree.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8682500/site/newsweek

Fitzgerald has been said to be investigating whether any aides violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act—which makes it a felony to disclose the identity of a covert CIA employee: it requires showing the violator knew the agent's undercover status. (The State memo makes no reference to that.) But the CIA's initial "crimes report" to the Justice Department requesting the leak probe never mentioned that law, says a former government official who requested anonymity because of the confidential material involved. Fitzgerald may be looking at other laws barring the disclosure of classified info or the possibility that current or former White House aides made false statements or obstructed justice.

[H2O Man]

1. Good call.

The CIA attorney actually called the Chief of the Counterespionage Section of the Department of Justice on 7-24-03; then sent two letters to the Criminal Division on 7-30 and 9-5-03. This is not as "simple" as the republicans would pretend.