Will The Outing of Valerie Plame Get Bush Axed?

"'Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate' the allegation."

That paragraph appeared in the syndicated "Inside Report" column of Robert Novak on July 14, 2003. The date is significant, since it is the date that celebrates the French Revolution that saw the beheading of King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette. This time it may see the guillotine come down on the Bush-Cheney team's chances of re-election.

It is a crime for anyone who has access to classified information to intentionally reveal the identity of a covert agent under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. The fact that Ms. Plame's covert activities involved discovering if any terror groups were dealing in WMD at a time when we are threatened with terrorist attacks is a real breach of national security. The penalty is a fine of up to $50,000 or up to 10 years in prison or both.

Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame's husband has served several administrations. In 1990 he was the charge d'affaires for Baghdad, then ambassador to Gabon for G. H. W. Bush and policy advisor for Africa for the National Security Council under President Clinton. With his wealth of experience he was eminently qualified to investigate a claim from an intelligence report that supposedly documented a sale of yellowcake uranium from Niger to Iraq. He was contacted in February 2002 by the CIA who said that Vice President Dick Cheney would like him to go to Niger and investigate the matter.

Wilson went to Niger and conducted an investigation, meeting with the ambassador there and concluded that the sale document was an obvious forgery since some of the names on the letterhead had not even been in office in ten years. When he returned, Wilson gave a detailed report to the CIA and the State Dept.

In January of 2003, Wilson heard President Bush utter the famous sixteen words in his State of the Union message "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Thinking it must be another African country Bush was referring to, Wilson put it behind him, until one day, months later, when he heard State Dept. spokesman, Richard Boucher say the US had been fooled by bad intelligence about Niger and Iraq.

Horrified that information the administration knew was false for almost a year was used as an excuse to Congress and the American people to invade Iraq, Wilson wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times on July 6, 2003 and appeared on Meet the Press on the same day describing his investigation and findings,

The Bush White House is famous for being "leak-proof" and it's been said that the only leaks are what Mr. Bush wants leaked to forward an agenda. Does that mean that the two senior administration officials who leaked Plame's identity to six reporters, although Novak was the only one who printed it, did so at Bush's behest in vindictive retaliation for Wilson exposing the Niger lie? Was Bush sending a message of "don't cross me"?

A grand jury investigation of this, yet another scandal, in the besieged Bush White House may have produced several witnesses who have testified that the president was well aware of the plan to reveal Plame's CIA connection and did nothing to stop it. While not called to testify so far, the seriousness of the situation is shown in the fact that Mr. Bush has consulted with a private attorney. This time, if he's called to testify, he won't be able to do so with Dick Cheney at his side as he did in the 9-11 investigation. Since Cheney has also seen a lawyer regarding this investigation, he may also be anticipating a grand jury subpoena of his own.

With the many investigations this administration has sparked, all resulting in no accountability, this has seemed to be a "Teflon Administration". Scandals seem to slide off and disappear. Time will tell whether or not this time something sticks.

06-07-04