WH Pressies, Please Call Your Office

"At the threshold, the agent whose identity has been revealed must truly be "covert" for there to be a violation of the Act. To the average observer, much less to the professional intelligence operative, Plame was not given the "deep cover" reqired of a covert agent. She worked at a desk job at CIA headquarters, where she could be seen traveling to and from, and active at, Langley. She had been residing in Washington -- not stationed abroad, for a number of years. As discussed below, the CIA failed to take even teh usual steps to prevent publication of her name.

Moreover, the government may have 'publicly acknowledged or revealed'her intelligence relationship prior to the publication of NOvak's July 14, 2003 column . .." [citations omitted].


No, this isn't a document filed by Karl Rove's lawyers. It's an amici curiae (friends of the court) brief filed on behalf of 36 radio, television and news organizations -- and written by Victoria Toensing (who was intstrumental in the drafting of the law at issue during her tenure at the Justice Department). (HT to Hugh Hewitt for linking to the brief).

The baying hounds of the press, foaming at the mouth in the White House press room, might want to check with their credentialling organizations, so that everyone can get their stories straight about how serious a "crime" the as-yet unproven allegations against Karl Rove are.

And they need to take a chill pill and read this. Enjoy these hazy, crazy days of summer, press boys and girls, because they won't last forever.