Comments on: NOVAK-GATE V: END OF STORY?

By: ogged

ogged — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I definitely don't think Novak committed a crime. The quote from him makes it sound like he was talking to a senior official who outed Plame. That's the crime.

By: JohnC

JohnC — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

D'oh! I'm sure the CIA hadn't thought about this when they pressed for charges to be investigated! They must be slapping their heads at being cleverly out witted by Novak. Old man McGreevy sure beat out those meddling kids this time.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I can't imagine that "outing" an agent who isn't covert is a crime.

By: Sean Hackbarth

Sean Hackbarth — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

How can Plume be an agent who needed her identity kept secret if on her husband's bio (http://www.mideasti.org/html/bio-wilson.html) it clearly states who he's married too including her maiden name?

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Sean, Not sure exactly, since it's incredibly murky what her status was. I know we have people--as does everyone--who work as "themselves" but ostensibly as diplomatic personnel attached to an embassy but are in reality field agents. But one would think that would still be classified as a "covert" agent--and the story now says she wasn't that. I dunno.

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

JohnC, From what I have been reading, there was not an attempt by the CIA to press charges, per se, but a memo was sent (one of about 50 such memos this year) if "there may have been an unauthorized disclosure". See this at PoliBlog, for example (amongst numerous other postings). At this point, I am still not sure who (in terms of rank) gave Novak the info and what their motives were, and I still hold out the very real chance something sleazy or even illegal took place. Still, thus far the evidence that a major scandal has broken out is rather scant. It seems that some Dems heard that Karl Rove might have been involved, and they went a bit nuts before having sufficient facts. I still see this as developing.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

does'nt this contradict the washington post story by Allen & Priest where the claim made was that Robert Novak was one of 5 or 6 reporters who were called by the "senior administration officials" to leak the name of the CIA operative?

By: Sean Hackbarth

Sean Hackbarth — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I'm waiting to see when the other reports come out into the open. That none have come to the surface makes me wonder.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

It seems that the main sources of this "scandal" are changing their story every day, back tracking their blame, etc. (both Novak and Wilson are retracting previous comments about senior officials, etc.). Political partisans like Drumm got ahead of themselves trying to get a scandal cooking and will probably end up looking like the hateful, vile filled people they really are.

The easiest thing to do would be to put Novak under oath and have him tell what happened. As Instapundit noted this is not against the 1st, but probably wouldn't happen due to pressure from the press itself. In the mean time, this story seems to become less and less of an inssue.

By: Bwahaha

Bwahaha — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

BWAHAHAHA! Still believe it's the end of story?

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

By: Backcountry Conservative

Backcountry Conservative — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Valerie Plame
Phil Carter has some news and analysis from earlier regarding the Bob Novak article that reportedly blew Valerie Plame's cover as a CIA operative because her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, was a critic of Bush administration policy. Kevin Mc...

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