Was Valerie Plame an undercover CIA operative?

[BOSSHOG]

This continues to be a thorn in the side of those who love bush for no apparent reason. I appreciate your various two cents worth. I know the answer to my question, I just like to know how others handle the inquiry.

[grytpype]

1. The CIA said she was. OK?

[elehhhhna]

6. Betcha millions that Joe was, too.

[AtomicKitten]

2. That was the crux of the investigation.

Patrick Fitzgerald said so as well in his press conference.

[emulatorloo]

3. Patrick Fitzgerald said she was -- Libby indictment, press conference

Google will help you find a transcript.

See also:

http://www.thinkprogress.org/leak-rebuttal

<snip>

CLAIM – VALERIE WILSON WASN’T AN UNDERCOVER AGENT: “Now, look, Fitzgerald has had two years, two years to answer a simple question, and that is, was the law violated by someone having willfully exposed a CI — an undercover CIA agent? Now, we know that wasn’t true. The, Valerie Plame wasn’t even an undercover agent at the time.” (Fred Barnes, Fox News, 10/15/05)

FACT – CIA SAYS WILSON WAS UNDERCOVER: “But within the C.I.A., the exposure of Ms. Plame is now considered an even greater instance of treachery. Ms. Plame, a specialist in nonconventional weapons who worked overseas, had ‘nonofficial cover,’ and was what in C.I.A. parlance is called a Noc, the most difficult kind of false identity for the agency to create.” (New York Times, 10/5/03)

<snip>

there are links to the citations at that site.

[htuttle]

4. The CIA said she was, and the CIA requested the FBI investigate...

...her identity being disclosed.

Don't you think the CIA would know better than Brit Fucking Hume about that?

Do you think the FBI chases wild geese for no reason at all?

Why would they have put Patrick Fitzgerald on the case if there was no possibility of a crime being committed?

etcetera...

[JuniperLea]

5. Even her family and neighbors didn't know what she did

If she was not undercover and her job was a simple desk deal, why couldn't she tell everyone she worked in an administrative position?

Everyone she worked with had their cover blown as well and their lives are in danger.

All of that work, time and money to create a network by which to obtain information for the benefit of our country's security was wasted.

[EST]

7. The answer is YES.

The CIA, Mr and Ms wilson, Fitzgerald, and many, many (responsible) others have testified and publicly stated that she was.

All else is repulsive puke spin, typical ass covering lies, for fun and profit. Those jerks are disgusting.

The CIA, including "slam dunk," himself was the responsible party who demanded a DOJ investigation because she was outed. That should make it pretty firm.

[BOSSHOG]

9. And sadly it does not

conservatives still cling to the notion that she wasn't and you know the reasons why. I chuckle at the notion that if the white house knew she were just a desk jockey they would go to such lengths to ensure her identity was exposed. So much time and energy has to be wasted to keep the truth on the radar with these monkey fucks. Its almost as if their actions were intentional. Lets have a whole bunch of congressman in trouble with the law, lets just lie and lie about plame and bush and the public will think evil liberals are picking on us.

[EST]

12. You are so correct.

[Capn Sunshine]

17. "Its almost as if their actions were intentional"

um, fuckin'A

[peacetalksforall]

8. CIA agents who are talking say she was. The investigations would not

have proceeded this far if that fact had not already been established.

The investigation was started because exposing an undercover is against the law. The investigation now has a charge of perjury and obstructing justice against Libby. There is still no charge on exposing, but the case has not concluded that we know of.

It is unclear to me who gets charged in the exposure part.

Assuming someone in the CIA leaked ...
...then assuming that someone in the admin that the CIA leaked to, leaked to reporters
... then assuming that the reporter leaked ...
which one broke the law - the first one or all of them down the line, including simultaneous leakers? Libby-Rove-Bolton on one level or Nocak-Cooper, etc.

[EST]

10. Here is what Fitzgerald said:

"Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer. In July 2003, the fact that Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer was classified. Not only was it classified, but it was not widely known outside the intelligence community. Valerie Wilson's friends, neighbors, college classmates had no idea she had another life. The fact that she was a CIA officer was not well-known, for her protection or for the benefit of all us. It's important that a CIA officer's identity be protected, that it be protected not just for the officer, but for the nation's security. Valerie Wilson's cover was blown in July 2003. The first sign of that cover being blown was when Mr. Novak published a column on July 14th, 2003.

[BOSSHOG]

13. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH

As usual your two cents worth is priceless.

[EST]

16. You're welcome. Glad to help.

[uppityperson]

11. Yes, her name was public info, but her undercoverness not

[emulatorloo]

14. WAPO: "Plame's Identity Marked As Secret"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/20/AR2005072002517_pf.html

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret
Memo Central to Probe Of Leak Was Written By State Dept. Analyst
By Walter Pincus and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 21, 2005; A01

SNIP


A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials.

Plame -- who is referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson, in the memo -- is mentioned in the second paragraph of the three-page document, which was written on June 10, 2003, by an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), according to a source who described the memo to The Washington Post.

The paragraph identifying her as the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was clearly marked to show that it contained classified material at the "secret" level, two sources said. The CIA classifies as "secret" the names of officers whose identities are covert, according to former senior agency officials.

Anyone reading that paragraph should have been aware that it contained secret information, though that designation was not specifically attached to Plame's name and did not describe her status as covert, the sources said. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a federal official to knowingly disclose the identity of a covert CIA official if the person knows the government is trying to keep it secret.

SNIP

[Ganja Ninja]

15. The CIA requested the investigation into the Plame outing.

If she wasn't undercover they wouldn't have asked for an investigation.

[acmejack]

18. Exactly.

That is the end all, be all. There is absolutely no rejoinder to that, period.

[TheWraith]

19. An additional point, Re: the type and nature of cover

It was mentioned earlier in the thread that Plame was a NOC, or Non-Official Cover agent. Most spies are given cover by the government as a diplomatic official, and thus are covered by diplomatic immunity. Therefore, even if they're caught in an act of espionage, the most the other country can do is deport them back to the US.

NOCs do not have diplomatic immunity. That means that if they're caught in an act of espionage, then they're subject to whatever legal sanctions chosen by the locals, up to and including execution, unless the US can negotiate their release or a prisoner exchange.