CREW files brief in Valerie (Plame) and Joe Wilson Case Appeal

[spooky3]

http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/30970

11 Feb 2008 // On February 5, 2008, Valerie and Joe Wilson filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit arguing that the district court improperly dismissed their case. The Wilsons have sued senior white house officials I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Ricahrd Armitage for their unconstitutional actions of purposefully revealing Valerie Wilson's identity as a covert CIA operative in retaliation for Joe Wilson exposing an inaccuracy in the president's State of the Union address that was used to justify going to war with Iraq.

The Wilsons are appealing a decision of District Court Judge John Bates that their constitutional claims must be dismissed because the existence of the Privacy Act means that the courts cannot also recognize a constitutional claim for damages. On appeal CREW argued that because the Privacy Act, which prohibits the disclose of certain personal information, does not apply to the White House, which is not an "agency" for purposes of that statute, the district court erred in dismissing the suit. Judge Bates also found that the defendants' actions of revealing Ms. Wilson's covert identity were within the scope of their employment because part of their job is talking to the press. On appeal, we argued that disclosing information that would pose a grave and direct threat to our national security -- as the disclosure of Ms. Wilson's covert status did -- can never be in service of the United States. CREW and Erwin Chemerinsky are representing the Wilsons.

[spooky3]

1. kicking, so people will know the Wilsons are still fighting Rove et al.

trying to get justice they should have received a long time ago.