Firedoglake is getting excited as chumfest 2005 begins. Jane notes that Bob Novak (you know, the Bush shill that first publicly identified Plame as a covert CIA operative) claimed nobody in the Bush Administration provided him any information regarding her identity and that there was "no great crime" committed. Actually he's wrong, there was a crime and it's one perpetuated by him and, according to credible sources, his buddy Karl Rove. This would not be the first time Novak begun where Rove ended: Rove was fired by Big Daddy's '92 campaign for leaking a negative story about Bush loyalist Robert Mosbacher to Novak.
The Bobster should go to jail, and not for failing to reveal his source (though if he perjured himself by lying as to who his source was, he should be indicted on that as well - or held in contempt for refusing to identify his source). Novak committed a crime under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. Part (c) below does not require the person who outs the operative to have obtained the identity from a party authorized to disclose the operative's identity.
The Bobster should go to jail, and not for failing to reveal his source (though if he perjured himself by lying as to who his source was, he should be indicted on that as well - or held in contempt for refusing to identify his source). Novak committed a crime under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. Part (c) below does not require the person who outs the operative to have obtained the identity from a party authorized to disclose the operative's identity.
Sec. 421. Protection of identities of certain United States undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants, and sources
(a) Disclosure of information by persons having or having had access to
classified information that identifies covert agent
Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the
United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(b) Disclosure of information by persons who learn identity of covert agents as result of having access to classified information
Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified information, learns the identify of a covert agent and intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that
the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(c) Disclosure of information by persons in course of pattern of activities intended to identify and expose covert agents
Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities intended to identify and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that such activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence activities of the United States, discloses any information that identifies an individual as a covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such individual and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such individual's classified intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined not more than $15,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
Tags:Rove; Plame; politics; Bush Administration; Foreign Policy; BBA; Honor; conservatism; robert novak; mediaSphere: Related Content
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