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Edited on Sat Sep-27-03 10:32 PM by eileen_d
I thought this deserved its own thread, though the Time article thread also cites it. So juicy, it's hard to pick just three paragraphs, but here goes:
The only recipient of a leak about the identity of Wilson's wife who went public with it was Novak, the conservative syndicated columnist, who wrote in The Washington Post and other newspapers on July 14 that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, "is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction." He added, "Two senior administration officials told me his wife suggested sending Wilson to Niger."
When Novak told a CIA spokesman he was going to write a column about Wilson's wife, the spokesman urged him not to print her name "for security reasons," according to one CIA official. Intelligence officials said they believed Novak understood there were reasons other than Plame's personal security not to use her name, even though the CIA has declined to confirm whether she was undercover.
Novak said in an interview last night that the request came at the end of a conversation about Wilson's trip to Niger and his wife's role in it. "They said it's doubtful she'll ever again have a foreign assignment," he said. "They said if her name was printed, it might be difficult if she was traveling abroad, and they said they would prefer I didn't use her name. It was a very weak request. If it was put on a stronger basis, I would have considered it."
I wonder if Novak is rethinking that career move now...
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