Isn't Rove's Nondisclosure Agreement Enough For An Indictment?

[Quixote1818]

I am not talking about a conviction just an Indictment. Are their any lawyers or people who understand how the process works who can enlighten us on your opinion? The fact is he did sign this and it seems to me that the circumstances in which Rove disclosed to Cooper are completely covered in this agreement. Thanks

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THE PROHIBITION AGAINST “CONFIRMING” CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
Mr. Rove, through his attorney, has raised the implication that there is a distinction between releasing classified information to someone not authorized to receive it and confirming classified information from someone not authorized to have it. In fact, there is no such distinction under the nondisclosure agreement Mr. Rove signed.
One of the most basic rules of safeguarding classified information is that an official who has signed a nondisclosure agreement cannot confirm classified information obtained by a reporter. In fact, this obligation is highlighted in the “briefing booklet” that new security clearance recipients receive when they sign their nondisclosure agreements:

Before … confirming the accuracy of what appears in the public source, the signer of the SF 312 must confirm through an authorized official that the information has, in fact, been declassified. If it has not, … confirmation of its accuracy is also an unauthorized disclosure.3

THE INDEPENDENT DUTY TO VERIFY THE CLASSIFIED STATUS OF INFORMATION
Mr. Rove’s attorney has implied that if Mr. Rove learned Ms. Wilson’s identity and occupation from a reporter, this somehow makes a difference in what he can say about the information. This is inaccurate. The executive order states: “Classified information shall not be declassified automatically as a result of any unauthorized disclosure of identical or similar information.”4

Mr. Rove was not at liberty to repeat classified information he may have learned from a reporter. Instead, he had an affirmative obligation to determine whether the information had been declassified before repeating it. The briefing booklet is explicit on this point: “before disseminating the information elsewhere … the signer of the SF 312 must confirm through an authorized official that the information has, in fact, been declassified.”5

“NEGLIGENT” DISCLOSURE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
Mr. Rove’s attorney has also implied that Mr. Rove’s conduct should be at issue only if he intentionally or knowingly disclosed Ms. Wilson’s covert status. In fact, the nondisclosure agreement and the executive order require sanctions against security clearance holders who “knowingly, willfully, or negligently” disclose classified information.6 The sanctions for such a breach include “reprimand, suspension without pay, removal, termination of classification authority, loss or denial of access to classified information, or other sanctions.”7


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[Tennessee Gal]

1. I've been wondering about that, too

Hope some great legal mind here can enlighten us.

[Quixote1818]

2. Kick. OK even if you are not a lawyer, what do you think?

It gives me hope that at least no one is saying it's not enough. I just don't want this to sink out of sight before anyone weighs in.

[Quixote1818]

3. Kick

Still waiting for some thoughts.

[Igel]

4. I don't know how the process works.

I had some pathetically low clearance ages ago, and still don't know.

I do know that if I received classified info and revealed it, even negligently, I would have been in violation of what I signed.

But if I was given new information by somebody without a clearance, or given info by somebody with a clearance and who neglected to tell me it was classified, and then I repeated it to somebody not allowed to have it, would I have been in violation? Formally, yes: because I'd be repeating classified information. But that seems silly.

I know I repeated things that I heard in a car pool that included people with both a higher security clearance and somebody with no clearance, but I have no idea if those things were classified. Actually, I'd have had no way of checking if they were classified (since I'd only receive confirmation if I needed to know them, otherwise the person who'd be confirming the information would be violating *his* agreement).

So it's probably going to come down to how Rove found out; and, if it's not likely that he found out about Plame officially, how stringent any requirement to double check the official status of information obtained solely from an unofficial source is.