Plame question, did she tell Wilson she was CIA illegally?

[Timefortruth]

Supposedly in the Vanity Fair article about them Wilson says that on their fourth date Plame told him she was CIA. If this happened, and assuming Wilson didn't have the clearance to hear his girlfriends job, does reduce the criminal responsibility at all in Traitorgate?

Also, does anyone here know whether there is any evidence whatsoever to the RW claim that "everyone" in Washington knew Plame was CIA. That claim seems to me to be an after the fact creation to CYA, but I was wondering if it was pure fabrication.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. A spouse can tell what they do

just not exactly any details.

So NO

He gets sort of automatic clearance, as it were

[Timefortruth]

2. My information comes from a shaky source,

but supposedly the VF article said they weren't married yet. I thought it possible that she could have obtained permission to tell Wilson since he certainly had a security clearance of his own.

[Cocoa]

4. I doubt it would be relevant to this case

I don't see the connection to the actions of the traitors.

[librechik]

3. grasping at straws

the right is desperate to spin the crime as excusable or not even a crime. They must know they really put their foot in it this time!

[grasswire]

5. this is the current hot topic on freerepublic

They believe that Wilson and Plame are the traitors. They're yapping about Plame's disclosure to Wilson.

[Timefortruth]

8. That is the shaky source I was talking about.

But since nothing there is true, and often it is just plain invented I thought I'd see what everyone here had to say about it. Most talking points are vetted over there before the press accepts them as dogma.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. Incredible...

...I don't guess the freepers are bothering to explain exactly how Plame allegedly compromised national security by her private admission to Wilson which NEVER surfaced prior to her CIA employment being revealed by the mainstream media.

And I guess the freepers just don't see how the actions of one or mor people in the White House deliberately compromised national security by revealing Plame's name TO THE PUBLIC via a few lapdog "journalists".

And I guess they're also having difficulty understanding that by revealing who she was and what she did that it also threatened the lives of her entire network and anyone associated with that network.

It's just amazing how the freeper mind works, isn't it?

[HereSince1628]

6. I thought they met while he was an ambassador...

I may have that wrong, but if its true, I would think that the ambassador would have a top secret clearance. His access may have been limited in some way, but I would guess he would have had access to cryptography.

In any case, I agree with a previous poster...claiming her cover was blown already because she told her spouse is merel grasping at straws. Of course, when there is nothing else to grab for you cling to what you can find.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Agreed. The freepers are getting pretty anxious, IMHO.

[lostnfound]

9. We need to talk Plame issue whenever we hear "Dems are weak on defense"

Single-handedly destroying entire groups of non-official-cover undercover agents for the sake of political revenge? Now THAT'S weak on defense.

[Blue Gardener]

11. Blame the Victim

Typical Freeper logic.

[ant]

12. I found this

http://www.loper.org/~george/archives/2003/Oct/999.html - it's a NYT article:

"In her business, people get very good about sticking to their story," said Mr. Wilson, who has told friends that when they were dating Ms. Plame told him about her true vocation only because he, too, had a high-level secrecy clearance, as a political adviser to the American general who was commanding United States forces in Europe.


Edited to add that the rules MIGHT be different when it's your own cover. As some have pointed out, you're allowed to tell your spouse and other family members what you do - there's a certain amount of wiggle room given to individuals in these cases. However, that may only apply to people with "official" cover. I'm not sure if the rules are tighter for people like Plame.

[Timefortruth]

13. Good, that takes care of that!

At least here at DU, it will live on forever in Freeperland (motto:Never let facts interfere with opinions.").

Any thoughts on whether Plame's CIA status was an open secret in Washington. That is one of those claims that they can make and never verify. They believe on blind faith.

[ant]

14. well, I live in washington..

...and I work for the government on nonproliferation issues, and I used to have a clearance, and I know people who work in intelligence, but I never even knew she existed. ;)

I'm sure that given the nature of her work there were higher ups who were familiar with her, so perhaps in certain high-flying circles her true occupation was known. However, the article I linked to suggests to me that in her social interactions, at least, it was still a secret.

I don't doubt there were people who knew what she really did. DC can really be a small town that way, and when you narrow it down to people working in intelligence it's even worse. Someone might've seen her one day at an intelligence agency building and figured it out or whatever. It's pretty common. Again, though, like I edited into my original post, maybe things are different with people under "unofficial" cover. As far as I know I've never known anyone with that sort of cover.

Edited to add THIS time that even if someone did figure it out I doubt they would've run off to gossip about it. In my own experience people are good about not just respecting individual privacy on these matters but also recognizing the damage they could do if they talk too much.