Plame under oath

Valerie Plame is taking a flame thrower to her critics in her testimony in front of the House committee this morning.

So far she's testified that:
1) she was in fact a covert agent on June 13. The day before Novak's column came out.
2) that under no circumstances did she suggest or authorize Joe Wilson to Niger. And that suggestion in the Senate Report that Wilson went to Niger under her authority and supervision is flat wrong and was added after the fact to the Senate Report by 3 republican Senators.

One thing is for sure....someone is full of shit.
We shall see.

 

If her testimony is indeed truthful then I for one will be eating my hat.

 

"Congressman, my husband comes from a strong Republican family, but I'm sure he is a Democrat now."

Who's the idiot that asked the question?

 

Sounds like Clintonesque phrasing. Don't think she wasn't coached extensively for this testimony.

It's pretty clear from documentary evidence that (1) she was not covert, as the law defines it, and (2) she used or abused her position to get her husband the trip to Niger.

This whole "retaliatory exposure" myth has a life of its own. It shows the power of the media that if they repeat something enough, it becomes accepted as fact. It is pretty clear that the true story is that the White House was blindsided by Wilson and his claims that Cheney's office had sent him on the trip. The fact that his wife got him the gig was highly relevant to his credibility. He wasn't some CIA asset but merely an unemployed guy with time on his hands. Moreover, he apparently came back form Africa with an entirelydifferent story than the one he wrote up in the NYT when he had joined Kerry's campaign.

For me, this whole episode illustrates two things. One, the White House is full of idiots who allowed themselves to be panicked by the CIA into a moronic special prosecutor investigation. Two, the CIA is filled with highly partisan activists who are incompetent at their day jobs but see nothing improper in absuing their positions to undermine the administration. If they did it to Venezuela the media and liberals would be in an uproar but it's ok if it's directed at a republican president.

When the history of the failed Bush presidency is written, his inability to get control over the CIA should emerge as a major theme. Basically, everything from 9/11 to Iraq involves varying levels of CIA incompetency, with some major assistance from the boobs at the FBI. This is not meant to exonerate Bush. He is the one who failed to manage the agency. He takes the blame.

 

Very interesting exchange today. Now if Director CIA Hayden will confirm this under oath things could get very interesting.



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CIA Director Hayden: ‘Wilson Was Covert’

During House hearings today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) announced that CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden recently told Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) that there was no doubt Victoria Plame Wilson was covert. Cummings — relaying what Waxman had told him — said that Gen. Hayden expressed clearly and directly, “Ms. Wilson was covert.”

Cummings also asked Wilson to respond to the specific claim, made by VictoriaToensing and others, that Plame had lost her covert status because she “had not been stationed abroad within five years.” Cummings asked, “During the past five years, Ms. Plame, from today, did you conduct secret missions overseas?” She answered, “Yes I did, Congressman.”

Transcript:

CUMMINGS: Ms. Wilson, first of all, thank you for your service. Ms. Wilson, even today your work for the CIA is so highly classified that we’re not permitted to discuss the details, but we can clarify one crucial point — whether you worked undercover for the CIA. You said your position was covert but I’ve heard others say you were not covert. In fact, one of the witnesses who will testify a little bit later, Victoria Toensing, is making that same argument. In an op-ed that appeared in the Washington Post on February 18, she says it quite bluntly. She says, “Plame was not covert. She worked at CIA headquarters and had not been stationed abroad within five years.” I know there are restrictions on what you can say today, but is Ms. Toensing’s statement correct?

WILSON: Congressman, thank you for the opportunity. I know I’m here under oath, and I am here to say I was a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency. Just like a general is a general whether he is in the field in Iraq or Afghanistan, when he comes back to the Pentagon, he is still a general. In the same way, covert operations officers who are serving in the field, when they rotate back to a temporary assignment in Washington, they, too, are still covert.

CUMMINGS: Is it possible that Ms. Toensing had more information than you do about your work or had access to secret document that you don’t?

WILSON: I would find that highly unlikely, congressman, because much of that information about my career is still classified.

CUMMINGS: On Wednesday night, I know that Mr. Waxman, our chair, and Congressman Reyes, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, spoke personally with General Hayden, the head of the CIA. And Mr. Waxman told me that Gen. Hayden said clearly and directly, “Ms. Wilson was covert.” There was no doubt about it. By the way, the CIA has authorized us to be able to say that. In addition, I understand that Chairman Waxman sent his opening statement over to the CIA to be cleared and to make sure that it was accurate. In it, he said, “Ms. Wilson was a covert employee of the CIA.” “Ms. Wilson was undercover.” The CIA cleared these statements. I emphasize all of this because I know that there are people who are still trying to suggest that what seems absolutely clear isn’t really true and that you weren’t covert. And I think one of the things we need to do in this hearing is make sure there isn’t any ambiguity on this point. Just three more questions, did you hold this covert status at the time of the leak? Did you — the covert status at the time of the leak?

WILSON: Yes I did, congressman. Yes.

CUMMINGS: Number two, the Identities Protection Act refers to travel outside the United States within the last five years. Let me ask you this question. Again, we don’t want classified information, dates, locations, or any other details. During the past five years, Ms. Plame, from today, did you conduct secret missions overseas?

WILSON: Yes I did, congressman.

CUMMINGS: Finally, so as to be clear for the record, you were a covert CIA employee and within the past five years from today, you went on secret missions outside the United States. Is that correct?

WILSON: That is correct, congressman.

CUMMINGS: I want to thank you and I hope this committee now has cleared up the issue of covert, whether Ms. Plame was a covert

 

I have to wonder if they are using the term "covert" in the same way as the statute. Because a number of people are on record as saying she was not covert. How can someone who drives in the main gate in Langley every morning be covert? Her analogy to being a general in the army is not the way the statute defines covert status. I would think a better analogy would be to a soldier serving in a combat zone.

Anyway, I could be dead wrong about it, and maybe she was considered covert. I will be interested to see what Victoria Toensing has to say. She is a high profile Washington lawyer and her husband was the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.

 

On what planet would it be even remotely relevant what Toesing thinks? From what I understand she helped write the applicable law...but she wouldn't know jack squat about Plame's status or her recent operational profile as they are classified.

What we have so far is

1) Plame's testimony under oath stating that she was covert

2) and a claim, reportedly from the DCI confirming her status as covert.

 

yea,yea,blah,blah who's listening anyway. Someone post a pic of her,,,she's HOT!!!

 

Did exposing Plame's identity cause the death(s) of other operatives that we have overseas? I think that is something the Congress should take a very close look at. These operatives may have been moles planted by the CIA and exposing her blew their covers and perhaps resulted in deaths or something severe. If that is the case, then all the wrong doers should be charged with treason and prosecuted likewise.

 

You got some kinda libido for an old timer there aft gunner(guffaw)(rolls eyes).