Novak explains why outing Valerie Plame was no big deal

[sabra]

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/television/novak_on_special_report_40051.asp

<snip>

HUME: I want to ask you about the two other things in particular.

One is, so now you've got Bill Harlow saying please don't do this. Give me again more clearly your reasoning for not. Did you not think there was some possibility that some damage could result from the disclosure of this CIA person's name?

NOVAK: No. I had no idea that she was a covered person, that she was not just a - she was working as an analyst at the CIA.

HUME: At that time.

NOVAK: At that time.

Had no idea that she was in any way a covered employee. He never said - if he had ever said to me somebody's life was in danger if you do this, if he had got George Tenet to come on the phone with me I would not have written that.

But as a matter of fact, her life wasn't in danger and he said it is very unlikely she would ever go to Europe. That meant to me that she was not doing any kind of work as an agent in Europe. So all he was saying is it might be embarrassing to her if she went on a vacation trip with her husband if she was identified as a CIA person and that wasn't a good enough reason for moving her name out.

:mad:

[DistressedAmerican]

1. D-O-U-C-H-E-B-A-G!

[EST]

5. Old, wrinkled. stretched, lying, barely conscious, right wing,

mean spirited, bad tempered, unreasoning, putrid, ill considering, weasel petered, hated, unkind, limited, intellectually stunted, paranoid, ass-kissing, dumbass d-o-u-c-h-e-b-a-g!

[Swamp Rat]

7. D-I-T-T-O!

[flyarm]

2. I DON'T CARE WHAT THAT WEASLE SAYS..HE WAS TOLD NOT

to out her..and novak committed treason...

call the skunk what the skunk is..it will smell every time its cornered!

that fucker is a traitor..

period.

fly

[bluerum]

3. Novakula is a lying POS. Hey Novak - Go die in a sewer you dirty rat.

[kenny blankenship]

4. What a relief--this will sure simplify the police/criminal justice system!

Just ask people who have been caught breaking the law whether the law or the victims of their transgression of the law are "a big deal" or not.
Brilliant timesaver.

[AndyA]

6. Novak has committed treason, and is a traitor.

He was told not to say anything, and he did. He had no way of knowing for certain what role Plame had at the CIA. He endangered her life, and compromised the CIA during a time of war.

The man should be prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America.

Douchebag is way too nice of a descriptive term for this man.

[otohara]

8. Traitor to His Country; Traitor to His Profession -Eric Alterman

The upshot here appears to be that Novak lied to everyone in order to betray his country on behalf of Rove and company. First he revealed the name of an active CIA officer, blowing any and all operations with which she has ever been involved, costing the country millions, and possibly endangering lives despite the specific request from the agency that he not do so. That's all here.

Harlow, the former CIA spokesman, said in an interview yesterday that he testified last year before a grand jury about conversations he had with Novak at least three days before the column was published. He said he warned Novak, in the strongest terms he was permitted to use without revealing classified information, that Wilson's wife had not authorized the mission and that if he did write about it, her name should not be revealed.

Harlow said that after Novak's call, he checked Plame's status and confirmed that she was an undercover operative. He said he called Novak back to repeat that the story Novak had related to him was wrong and that Plame's name should not be used. But he did not tell Novak directly that she was undercover because that was classified.

Next, he played Joan of Arc by insisting he would never reveal the names of his sources to Mr. Fitzgerald while simultaneously doing just that. Why in the world is The Washington Post continuing to stand by this scoundrel? Is it all because he's a member of the club and insiders protect their own? It worked for Kim Philby and I'm beginning to think it's working here too. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-alterman/robert-novak-traitor-to-_b_24942.html

[TomClash]

9. What rot

Of course, Harlow wasn't going to say more - he'd be releasing classfied informaiton without authority.

How many reporters have EVER outed a case officer, analyst or asset without Agency permission? NONE.

Hey, Bob, ever think to ask WHY she was in Washington?

What a horrible human being.

[intheozone]

10. I hope the Wilsons sue the shit out of him

The Wilsons should file a civil suit now. Let's get the facts out in a civil case and see if a jury thinks it was no big deal. The Wilsons should get every dime that traitor has now and then some.

[AndyA]

11. AMEN - they can add Bush and Cheney to the list of defendants too.

Both of them played a role in the cover up of who did what, said what, when, and to who. While the investigation continued, they played dumb. Easy for Bush to do, of course. I hope the Wilson's sue the ever lovin' crap out of everyone related to this incident.

We are truly at a low point of American history.