The suit by Valerie Plame and her husband Joseph Wilson IV against Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis Libby, Karl Rove and 10 unnamed government officials seems on the surface to be a waste of more time in the public courts. Plame/Wilson charge an
"intentional and malicious exposure by senior officials" and a "whispering campaign" designed to injure the plaintiffs.
The suit can be read here http://news.findlaw.com/CNN/docs/iraq/wilsonlibby71306cmp.html
The origin of this dust up came from a 2003 Robert Novak article which named Plame as the wife of Wilson and a CIA employee. Wilson at the time had gained notoriety by disputing President Bush's state of the union address claim that Iraq had been seeking yellow cake uranium in Niger. He had been sent to Niger on a fact finding trip by the CIA. He refuted the president by way of an Op Ed piece in the New York Times
The CIA subsequently referred the matter to the justice department for alleged violation of espionage laws that protect the identity of undercover CIA operatives. This by itself is questionable since Plame had not been involved in covert actions for a number of years. A number of people have stated that Joe himself never seemed to be reticent about mentioning that Valerie worked at the agency.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has already spent million of dollars over a nearly 2 1/2 year period with virtually no results in terms of charges. It is apparent as result that no crime was committed in the naming of Plame. Up to this point only I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been charged and that was for reportedly lying to a grand jury about his actions.
Novak has since related his testimony regarding the leak and it seems that it was simply good research and reporting skills that led Novak to Plame. He said he found out Plame was married to Wilson through "Who's Who in America". He also said none of the people named in Plame's suit was the original source of the information. This source was reportedly Richard Armitage.
There may be some benefit to the public at large if we finally find out who in the CIA was responsible and under what conditions a notorious partisan like Wilson was sent on such a sensitive mission. Other questions that might be asked is why Wilson was not paid for the trip as either a consultant or an employee? His only remuneration for the trip was the expenses he incurred.
Can any of us volunteer for CIA work in foreign locations? If Wilson's mission was so sensitive why wasn't he required to sign a confidentiality agreement of some kind? Is every CIA fact finder allowed to write Op Ed pieces in national publications when they complete their mission?
Two other aspects of the mission seem to be absurd. It has been reported that Wilson was debriefed in his living room in the presence of his wife and that he did not submit a written report of his findings. Although the pair deny it, it seems quite apparent that Plame was the person who promoted her husband for the mission in the first place.
If this suit has been filed to create discomfort for the defendants or for continuing the notoriety of Ambassador Wilson it may end up serving a dual purpose. The Plame/Wilson couple may soon be in the position of having to answer some very difficult questions in depositions. If it results in exposing factions in the CIA responsible for this Wilson/Niger junket it may turn out to be an unintentional public service by the Wilson's.
