101-442: The Plame affair (also known as the CIA leak scandal and Plamegate ) was a political scandal that revolved around journalist Robert Novak 's public identification of Valerie Plame as a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer in 2003. In 2002, Plame wrote a memo to her superiors in which she expressed hesitation in recommending her husband, former diplomat Joseph C. Wilson , to
202-515: A CIA employee" in 2002 [one year before she was allegedly "outed"] in the Fox News Channel's "green room" in Washington, D.C., as they waited to appear on air as analysts. Although no one was "indicted for actually leaking Plame's identity," the investigation resulted in the federal criminal trial United States v. Libby in which Lewis Libby , the former Chief of Staff to Vice President of
303-441: A civil suit against Vice President Dick Cheney , his former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby , top Presidential advisor Karl Rove , and other unnamed senior White House officials (among whom they later added Richard Armitage ), for their alleged role in the public disclosure of Valerie Wilson's classified CIA status. On September 13, 2006, Joseph and Valerie Wilson amended their original lawsuit, adding Richard Armitage as
404-572: A day or so. And – fairly or not – it's been cited by some as the event that triggered the Plame hullabaloo. I doubt that the column prompted the investigation eventually conducted by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, for I assume that had my column not appeared the CIA still would have asked the Justice Department to investigate the leak as a possible crime. On September 16, 2003,
505-507: A deal with Warner Bros of Hollywood to offer their consulting services—or maybe more—in the making of the forthcoming movie about the Libby trial", their lives and the CIA leak scandal. According to an article by Michael Fleming published in Variety earlier in the week, the feature film, a co-production between Weed Road's Akiva Goldsman and Jerry and Janet Zucker of Zucker Productions , with
606-441: A field of vital importance to national security – and break the law – in order to strike at a Bush administration critic and intimidate others?" In that article, Corn notes: "Without acknowledging whether she is a deep-cover CIA employee, Wilson says, 'Naming her this way would have compromised every operation, every relationship, every network with which she had been associated in her entire career. This
707-504: A former deputy secretary of state, has acknowledged that he was the person whose conversation with a columnist in 2003 prompted a long, politically laden criminal investigation in what became known as the C.I.A. leak case, a lawyer involved in the case said on Tuesday [August 29, 2006]." Wilson and his wife then amended their civil lawsuit (see below) to add Armitage as a defendant along with Vice President Dick Cheney and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. According to their complaint, Richard Armitage
808-497: A fourth defendant. Unlike their charges against Rove, Cheney, and Libby, "claiming that they had violated her constitutional rights and discredited her by disclosing that she was an undercover CIA operative", the Wilsons sued Armitage "for violating the 'Wilsons' constitutional right to privacy, Mrs. Wilson's constitutional right to property, and for committing the tort of publication of private facts.'" United States District Court for
909-440: A news article in the paper's same issue, which reported that the administration had misrepresented its actual confidence level in the intelligence reports that Hussein was seeking uranium. Complaints to The Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell about the apparent contradiction between the article and editorial, resulted in her acknowledging "the high wall between editorial and news" and also that "it would have been helpful if
1010-502: A press release posted on the website of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington . They stated that they respected the jury's verdict and believed justice was done, as well as affirming their commitment to pursuing their civil suit. Wilson criticized President George W. Bush 's July 2, 2007, commutation of Lewis Libby 's prison sentence, calling it "a cover-up of the Vice President's role in this matter and quite possibly
1111-497: A screenplay by Jez and John Butterworth , is based in part on Valerie Wilson 's then-forthcoming book " Fair Game ", whose publication, in October 2007, after a delay of two months, was contingent on CIA clearances. The film, Fair Game , was released November 5, 2010, starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn . It is based on two books, one written by Wilson, and the other by his wife. On July 13, 2006, Joseph and Valerie Wilson filed
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#17328693887031212-499: A statement issued by CREW, the Supreme Court decision brings "the case to a close." In the statement, Melanie Sloan responded to the ruling: The Wilsons and their counsel are disappointed by the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case, but more significantly, this is a setback for our democracy. This decision means that government officials can abuse their power for political purposes without fear of repercussion. Private citizens like
1313-422: A statement was not totally outrageous or not to be believed or not to be appropriately used. It's that once we used the statement, and after further analysis, and looking at other estimates we had, and other information that was coming in, it turned out that the basis upon which that statement was made didn't hold up, and we said so, and we've acknowledged it, and we've moved on." He also said: "the case I put down on
1414-662: A subsequent correction provided by the Post on the article's website: "Correction: In some editions of the Post, a July 10 story on a new Senate report on intelligence failures said that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV told his contacts at the CIA that Iraq had tried to buy 400 tons of uranium from the African nation of Niger in 1998. In fact, it was Iran that was interested in making that purchase." Wilson took strong exception to these conclusions in his 2004 memoir The Politics of Truth . The State Department also remained highly skeptical about
1515-600: A teenager, Wilson entered the US Foreign Service in 1976, where he would be employed until 1998. From January 1976 through 1998, he was posted in five African nations; as a general services officer in Niamey, Niger , (his first assignment) he was "responsible for keeping the power on and the cars running, among other duties". From 1988 to 1991, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission (to US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie ) at
1616-500: A willing pawn is simply untrue. At the CIA, the official designated to talk to me denied that Wilson's wife had inspired his selection but said she was delegated to request his help. He asked me not to use her name, saying she probably never again will be given a foreign assignment but that exposure of her name might cause "difficulties" if she travels abroad. He never suggested to me that Wilson's wife or anybody else would be endangered. If he had, I would not have used her name. I used it in
1717-520: Is the last option of a democracy, taken when there is a grave threat to our national security. More than 200 American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq already. We have a duty to ensure that their sacrifice came for the right reasons. At a press conference on Monday, July 7, 2003, the day after the publication of the op-ed, Colin Powell said: "There was sufficient evidence floating around at that time that such
1818-441: Is the stuff of Kim Philby and Aldrich Ames .'" Wilson has said: I felt that ... however abominable the decision might be, it was rational that if you were an administration and did not want people talking about the intelligence or talking about what underpinned the decision to go to war, you would discourage them by destroying the credibility of the messenger who brought you the message. And this administration apparently decided
1919-521: The CIA sent a letter to the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), requesting a criminal investigation of the matter. On September 29, 2003, the Department of Justice advised the CIA that it had requested an FBI investigation into the matter. On September 30, 2003, President Bush said that if there had been "a leak" from his administration about Plame, "I want to know who it is ... and if
2020-765: The George W. Bush administration and its aftermath. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal published in mid-July 2004, finds some justification for his perspective presented in "What I Didn't Find in Africa", but highlights some evidence of Iraq's attempts at acquiring uranium yellowcake from African nations such as Niger, on which Iraq did not follow through. But another editorial published July 13, 2005, in The Wall Street Journal asserts that Wilson had lied in his "What I Didn't Find in Africa" about "what he'd discovered in Africa, how he'd discovered it, what he'd told
2121-487: The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. Wilson's first marriage was to college friend Susan Otchis in 1974. In 1979, the couple had a set of twins, Sabrina Cecile and Joseph Charles V. The marriage ended in divorce in 1986, toward the end of his service in Burundi . Wilson married his second wife Jacqueline, a French diplomat raised in Africa, in 1986. Though Wilson and Jacqueline began to live separate lives in
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#17328693887032222-566: The US Embassy in Baghdad , Iraq. In the wake of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, he became the last American diplomat to meet with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein , sternly telling him in very clear terms to leave Kuwait. When Hussein sent a note to Wilson (along with other embassy heads in Baghdad) threatening to execute anyone sheltering foreigners in Iraq as a deterrent, Wilson publicly repudiated
2323-595: The University of California, Santa Barbara , majoring, he said, in "history, volleyball, and surfing" and maintaining a "C" average . He worked as a carpenter for five years after his 1972 graduation. Later, he received a graduate fellowship, studying public administration. Wilson was influenced by the Vietnam War protests of the late 1960s. Diplomatic postings and government positions: Having become fluent in French as
2424-481: The Valerie Plame affair . Wilson's autobiographical account of over two decades of his life in foreign service includes detailed descriptions of his extensive diplomatic-career experiences, his first marriage and family, briefer references to his second marriage, his meeting of Valerie Plame , their courtship and marriage, and a detailed narrative of the events leading to his decision to go public with his criticisms of
2525-643: The mission to Niger . He is fluent in French, and, during his diplomatic career prior to the trip, he had served as a U.S. State Department general services officer in Niger, as an ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe , as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in both Brazzaville and Iraq (taking over as Chief of Mission during the 1990–91 Gulf War ), in other diplomatic postings, and in subsequent national security and military advisory roles concerning U.S.-African affairs under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton . After being consulted by her superiors at
2626-511: The "plaintiffs have not exhausted their administrative remedies under the Federal Tort Claims Act , which is the proper, and exclusive, avenue for relief on such a claim." Bates ruled that the FTCA outlines the appropriate remedy since the FTCA "accords federal employees absolute immunity from common-law tort claims arising out of acts they undertake in the course of their official duties," and
2727-528: The "plaintiffs have not pled sufficient facts that would rebut the [FTCA] certification filed in this action." The Wilsons appealed that decision the next day. On August 12, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the District Court's ruling in a 2–1 decision. The Wilsons asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their appeal of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling. On May 20, 2009,
2828-482: The 1990s, they did not divorce until 1998. Wilson had met Valerie Plame in 1997, while working for President Bill Clinton ; they married in 1998, after Wilson's divorce from Jacqueline. They had two children, twins Trevor Rolph and Samantha Finnell Diana, born in 2000; the family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico , in 2006. Wilson and Plame divorced in 2017. Wilson died at his home in Santa Fe, on September 27, 2019, as
2929-497: The 5th of February [2003], for an hour and 20 minutes, roughly, on terrorism, on weapons of mass destruction, and on the human rights case ... we stand behind" In a July 11, 2003, statement, CIA director George Tenet , stated that the President, Vice President and other senior administration officials were not briefed on Wilson's report (otherwise widely distributed in the intelligence community) because it "did not resolve whether Iraq
3030-559: The Bush administration called me to leak this. There is no great crime here," adding that while he learned from two administration officials that Plame was a CIA employee, "[The CIA] asked me not to use her name, but never indicated it would endanger her or anybody else. According to a confidential source at the CIA, Mrs. Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert operative and not in charge of undercover operators." In "The CIA Leak", published on October 1, 2003, Novak describes how he had obtained
3131-523: The CIA about it, or even why he was sent on the mission." An editorial headlined "A Good Leak" published April 9, 2006, in The Washington Post claims that "Mr. Wilson was the one guilty of twisting the truth and that, in fact, his report [to the CIA] supported the conclusion that Iraq had sought uranium." Some commentators and newspaper readers believed that this Washington Post editorial contradicted
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3232-582: The CIA about whom to send on the mission, Valerie Plame , according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, suggested that they ask Ambassador Wilson, her husband, whom she had married in 1998, whether or not he might be interested in making such a trip. In the book Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War by Michael Isikoff and David Corn , the authors consider
3333-491: The CIA division where Mrs. Wilson worked, and said flatly that she recommended the mission to Niger by her husband, former Amb. Joseph Wilson. Second, Armitage did not slip me this information as idle chitchat, as he now suggests. He made clear he considered it especially suited for my column." He noted that critics would not be able to "fit Armitage into the left-wing fantasy of a well-crafted White House conspiracy to destroy Joe and Valerie Wilson. The news that he and not Karl Rove
3434-505: The CIA for a mission to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq had arranged to purchase and import uranium from the country, but stated that he "may be in a position to assist". After President George W. Bush stated that " Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa" during the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq , Wilson published a July 2003 op-ed in The New York Times stating his doubts during
3535-668: The CIA suggested sending him, and that she agreed to facilitate the discussion between her husband and her superiors despite her own ambivalence about the idea. In response to Plame's testimony, Republican Senators Kit Bond , Orrin Hatch , Richard Burr submitted additional views to the Senate report that stated "Mrs. Wilson told the CIA Inspector General that she suggested her husband for the trip, she told our committee staff that she could not remember whether she did or her boss did, and told
3636-531: The CIA," though that assertion is contradicted by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, Valerie Wilson, and the CIA. According to Murray S. Waas in The American Prospect of February 12, 2004, the CIA source warned Novak several times against the publication: two "administration officials" spoke to the FBI and challenged Novak's account about not receiving warnings not to publish Plame's name; according to one of
3737-454: The Court will not reach, and therefore expresses no views on, the merits of the constitutional and other tort claims asserted by plaintiffs based on defendants' alleged disclosures because the motions to dismiss will be granted ... The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson's comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory. But there can be no serious dispute that
3838-555: The Departments of State and Defense about the allegation that Iraq had a sales agreement to buy uranium in the form of yellowcake from Niger , the Central Intelligence Agency had authorized a trip by Joseph C. Wilson to Niger to investigate the possibility. The former Prime Minister of Niger, Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki , reported to Wilson that he was unaware of any contracts for uranium sales to rogue states, though he
3939-418: The District of Columbia Judge John D. Bates dismissed the Wilsons' lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds on July 19, 2007, stating that the Wilsons had not shown that the case belonged in federal court . Bates also ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction over the claim because the couple had not yet exhausted their administrative remedies. Bates stated that the lawsuit raised "important questions relating to
4040-591: The House Committee, emphatically, that she did not suggest him." Also in the additional views is the full text of an e-mail message sent by Plame on February 12, 2002, to the Directorate of Operations at CPD, in which she writes that Joe Wilson "may be in a position to assist" the CIA's inquiries into the Niger reports. In a review of Plame's memoir, Fair Game , Alan Cooperman wrote for The Washington Post that "by her own account, Valerie Wilson neither came up with
4141-814: The Iraqi government sought uranium to manufacture nuclear weapons . However, an article by journalist Susan Schmidt in The Washington Post on July 10, 2004, stated that the Iraq Intelligence Commission and the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at various times concluded that Wilson's claims were incorrect. She reported that the Senate report stated that Wilson's report actually bolstered, rather than debunked, intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq. This conclusion has retained considerable currency despite
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4242-458: The July 6, 2003, issue of The New York Times , Wilson contributed an op-ed entitled "What I Didn't Find in Africa," in which he states that on the basis of his "experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war" he has "little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat." Wilson described
4343-416: The Justice Department, in a brief filed by Solicitor General Elena Kagan , Assistant Attorney General Tony West, and Justice Department attorneys Mark B. Stern and Charles W. Scarborough, took the position that, "The decision of the court of appeals is correct and does not conflict with any decision of this Court or any other court of appeals, ... Further review is unwarranted." Melanie Sloan , an attorney for
4444-619: The March 2003 invasion of Iraq , Joseph C. Wilson wrote a series of op-eds questioning the war's factual basis (See "Bibliography" in The Politics of Truth ). In one of these op-eds published in The New York Times on July 6, 2003, Wilson argues that, in the State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush misrepresented intelligence leading up to the invasion and thus misleadingly suggested that
4545-494: The Niger claim. Former CIA Director George Tenet said "[while President Bush] had every reason to believe that the text presented to him was sound", because "[f]rom what we know now, Agency officials in the end concurred that the text in the speech was factually correct – i.e. that the British government report said that Iraq sought uranium from Africa," nevertheless "[t]hese 16 words should never have been included in
4646-423: The President by appearing at a press conference wearing a homemade noose around his neck and declaring, "If the choice is to allow American citizens to be taken hostage or to be executed, I will bring my own fucking rope." Despite Hussein's warnings, Wilson sheltered more than 100 Americans at the embassy and successfully evacuated several thousand people (Americans and other nationals) from Iraq. For his actions, he
4747-437: The U.S. District Court's decision the following day. In dismissing the civil suit, United States District Judge John D. Bates stated: The merits of plaintiffs' claims pose important questions relating to the propriety of actions undertaken by our highest government officials. Defendants' motions, however, raise issues that the Court is obliged to address before it can consider the merits of plaintiffs' claims. As it turns out,
4848-479: The United States , Dick Cheney , was tried on five federal felony counts. He was convicted on four of the counts, involving false statements, perjury, and obstruction of justice, none of which related directly to the Plame revelation but rather to his failure to cooperate with the subsequent investigation into the revelation. Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a fine of $ 250,000. Libby's prison sentence
4949-549: The Wilsons and the executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , released a statement that read, "We are deeply disappointed that the Obama administration has failed to recognize the grievous harm top Bush White House officials inflicted on Joe and Valerie Wilson ... The government's position cannot be reconciled with President Obama's oft-stated commitment to once again make government officials accountable for their actions." According to
5050-520: The Wilsons announced publicly that they had filed an appeal of the US District Court's decision to dismiss their lawsuit. On August 12, 2008, in a 2–1 decision, the three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the dismissal. Melanie Sloan , of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , which represents the Wilsons, "said
5151-472: The Wilsons, who see their careers destroyed and their lives placed in jeopardy by administration officials seeking to score political points and silence opposition, have no recourse. The Wilsons, and CIA memoranda presented in the report by the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence , indicate that Ambassador Wilson's diplomatic experience in Africa, and particularly in Niger , led to his selection for
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#17328693887035252-442: The absence of factual allegations that Mr. Wilson's alleged injury from the public disclosure of his wife's CIA employment is 'fairly traceable' to alleged conduct by Cheney, Rove, or Libby, petitioners have failed to establish Article III jurisdiction over Mr. Wilson's First Amendment claim. On June 22, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court announced, without comment, it would not hear an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling. According to
5353-540: The act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush Administration's handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials. Thus, the alleged tortious conduct, namely the disclosure of Mrs. Wilson's status as a covert operative, was incidental to the kind of conduct that defendants were employed to perform. Judge Bates ruled that
5454-623: The assignment." In his book, Tenet writes "Mid-level officials in [the CIA's Counterproliferation Division (CPD)] decided on their own initiative to [ask Joe Wilson to look into the Niger issue because] he'd helped them on a project once before, and he'd be easy to contact because his wife worked in CPD." In March 2007, Plame addressed the question while testifying before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform : "I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him. There
5555-454: The basis for his mission to Niger as follows: "The vice president's office asked a serious question [about the truth of allegations that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium yellowcake from Niger]. I was asked to help formulate the answer". In the last two paragraphs of his op-ed, Wilson related his perspective to the Bush administration's rationale for the Iraq War : I was convinced before
5656-537: The brief filed by the Justice Department: Petitioners allege that Novak's July 14, 2003 column publicly disclosed Ms. Wilson's covert CIA employment and that that disclosure 'destroyed her cover as a classified CIA employee'. Petitioners, however, allege that Novak's source was Armitage, and do not allege that any of the three defendants against whom Mr. Wilson presses his First Amendment claim-Cheney, Rove, and Libby-caused that column to be published. In
5757-557: The campaign (410–12). Wilson endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 US presidential election . He made speeches on her behalf and attended fundraisers for the campaign. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Wilson supported activist groups like Win Without War, a nonpartisan coalition of groups united in opposition to the Iraq War After the invasion and the publication of his memoir, The Politics of Truth , he spoke frequently in
5858-658: The choice to use Wilson "was made routinely at a low level without [CIA] Director George Tenet 's knowledge." Novak goes on to identify Plame as Wilson's wife: Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me that Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife to contact him. "I will not answer any question about my wife," Wilson told me. Novak has said repeatedly that he
5959-460: The editorial had put statements about Wilson in more context". In their 2006 book Hubris , Michael Isikoff and David Corn assert that it was Richard Armitage , Deputy Secretary of State, who first revealed that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA to Robert Novak sometime before July 8, 2003. In late August 2006, along with advance publicity for the book, news accounts and editorials began focusing on that public revelation: "Richard L. Armitage,
6060-580: The electronic media have covered it in depth. The Muckraker movement in American journalism was a component of the Progressive Era in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Journalists have built their careers on exposure of corruption and political scandal, often acting on behalf of the opposition party. The political ideology of media owners plays a role—they prefer to target the opposition but will reluctantly cover their own side. Journalists have to frame
6161-584: The employment of a then-classified, covert CIA officer, Valerie E. Wilson (also known as Valerie Plame ), with members of the press. The Wilsons also brought a civil lawsuit against Libby, Dick Cheney , Rove, and Armitage, in Wilson v. Cheney . On July 19, 2007, Wilson v. Cheney was dismissed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia . On behalf of the Wilsons, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed an appeal of
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#17328693887036262-402: The firm on expansion in areas of Africa considered "politically sensitive." Wilson also served as a guest speaker and panelist in conferences and other programs devoted to African business policies and political affairs , as well as on the matters pertaining to the CIA leak scandal . At the midpoint of his career as a diplomat, Wilson served for a year (1985–1986) as a Congressional Fellow in
6363-463: The following October, Wilson said that the official in question had declined the meeting, due to U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iraq, but speculated "maybe they might have wanted to talk about uranium". There was substantial disagreement about whether Wilson implied in the op-ed that he was sent to Niger at the request of the vice president, or his office. The implication that Cheney or his office sent Wilson to Niger, whether made by Wilson or
6464-812: The group will request the full D.C. Circuit to review the case and appeal to the US Supreme Court ." Agreeing with the Bush administration, the Obama Justice Department argues the Wilsons have no legitimate grounds to sue. On the current justice department position, Sloan stated: "We are deeply disappointed that the Obama administration has failed to recognize the grievous harm top Bush White House officials inflicted on Joe and Valerie Wilson. The government's position cannot be reconciled with President Obama's oft-stated commitment to once again make government officials accountable for their actions." On June 21, 2009,
6565-475: The idea [of sending Joe Wilson to Niger] nor approved it. But she did participate in the process and flogged her husband's credentials." Plame writes in her book that Joe Wilson was "too upset to listen" to her explanations after learning years later about the February 12, 2002 email she had sent up the chain of command outlining his credentials. In September 2003, on CNN 's Crossfire , Novak asserted: "Nobody in
6666-414: The information as political retribution for Wilson's article. The scandal led to a criminal investigation ; no one was charged for the leak itself. Scooter Libby was convicted of lying to investigators. His prison sentence was ultimately commuted by President Bush, and he was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2018. In late February 2002, responding to inquiries from the Vice President's office and
6767-509: The information for his July 14, 2003, column "Mission to Niger": I was curious why a high-ranking official in President Bill Clinton 's National Security Council (NSC) was given this assignment. Wilson had become a vocal opponent of President Bush's policies in Iraq after contributing to Al Gore in the last election cycle and John Kerry in this one. During a long conversation with a senior administration official, I asked why Wilson
6868-421: The issue of whether Valerie Wilson had sent her husband to Niger to check out an intelligence report that Iraq had sought uranium there, presenting new information undermining the charge that she arranged this trip. In an interview with the authors, Douglas Rohn, a State Department officer who wrote a crucial memo related to the trip, acknowledges he may have inadvertently created a misimpression that her involvement
6969-453: The leak itself. However, Libby was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice, one count of perjury, and three counts of making false statements to the grand jury and federal investigators on October 28, 2005. Libby resigned hours after the indictment. The federal trial United States v. Libby began on January 16, 2007. On March 6, 2007, Libby was convicted on four counts, and was acquitted of one count of making false statements. Libby
7070-483: The media, was apparently a cause of consternation to vice-presidential aide I. Lewis Libby, who called NBC's Tim Russert to complain. On July 6, 2003, in a Meet the Press interview with Andrea Mitchell , Wilson stated: "The question was asked of the CIA by the office of the vice president. The office of the vice president, I am absolutely convinced, received a very specific response to the question it asked and that response
7171-496: The mission that any such transaction with Iraq had taken place. A week after Wilson's op-ed was published, Novak published a column in The Washington Post which mentioned claims from "two senior administration officials" that Plame had been the one to suggest sending her husband. Novak had learned of Plame's employment, which was classified information , from State Department official Richard Armitage . David Corn and others suggested that Armitage and other officials had leaked
7272-850: The offices of Senator Al Gore and Representative Tom Foley ; he would later attribute his working for the Democratic Party to "happenstance." That experience helped him gain his position as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council, in 1997–1998. Over the years, Wilson made contributions to the campaigns of Democratic candidates, such as Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Congressman Charles B. Rangel of New York, and to Republican Congressman Ed Royce of California. In 2000, he donated funds both to Gore's and Bush's presidential campaigns. In 2003, Wilson endorsed John Kerry for president and donated to his campaign; in 2003 and 2004, he served as an advisor to and speechwriter for
7373-646: The officials, "At best, he is parsing words ... At worst, he is lying to his readers and the public. Journalists should not lie, I would think." Political scandal In politics , a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians , government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt , unethical or sexual practices. Politicians and officials who are embroiled in scandals are more likely to retire or get lower vote shares. Scandal sells, and broadsides, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and
7474-520: The op-ed describing his findings because they did not support the government's rationale for the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Wilson's allegations led to a federal investigation of the leak by the United States Department of Justice , to the appointment of a Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald , and to the Plame affair grand jury investigation . In 2005, retired US Army Major General Paul E. Vallely claimed that former Ambassador Wilson "mentioned Plame's status as
7575-529: The person has violated law, the person will be taken care of." Initially, the White House denied that Karl Rove , the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and Lewis "Scooter" Libby , Chief of Staff of Vice President Dick Cheney , were involved in the leak. Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from involvement with the investigation because of his close involvement with the White House, and
7676-580: The propriety of actions undertaken by our highest government officials" but also noted that "there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush administration's handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials", even if "the alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson's comments and attack his credibility" were perhaps "highly unsavory." On July 20, 2007, Ms. Sloan and
7777-408: The public media and at colleges and universities. In late February 2002, Wilson traveled to Niger at the CIA's request to investigate the possibility that Saddam Hussein had purchased enriched yellowcake uranium. Wilson met with the current US Ambassador to Niger, Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick (1999–2002) at the embassy and then interviewed dozens of officials who had been in the Niger government at
7878-402: The responsibility for oversight fell to James B. Comey , a former prosecutor who had just been appointed deputy attorney general three weeks previously. Comey then appointed Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate the matter as Special Counsel who convened a grand jury . The CIA leak grand jury investigation did not result in the indictment or conviction of anyone for any crime in connection with
7979-465: The role of the President and/or some of his senior White House advisers." Wilson also complained that the President's action and others' actions leading to President Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence could seriously damage United States national security by harming its intelligence capability. On the evening of the verdict in the Libby trial, Joseph C. Wilson appeared on Larry King Live , during which he announced that he and his wife had "signed
8080-488: The run-up to the Persian Gulf war of 1991, I was only too aware of the dangers he posed. But were these dangers the same ones the administration told us about? We have to find out. America's foreign policy depends on the sanctity of its information. For this reason, questioning the selective use of intelligence to justify the war in Iraq is neither idle sniping nor "revisionist history", as Mr. Bush has suggested. The act of war
8181-501: The sixth paragraph of my column because it looked like the missing explanation of an otherwise incredible choice by the CIA for its mission. In that column, Novak also claims to have learned Mrs. Wilson's maiden name "Valerie Plame" from Joe Wilson's entry in Who's Who In America , though it was her CIA status rather than her maiden name which was a secret. Novak wrote in his column "It was well known around Washington that Wilson's wife worked for
8282-430: The story in terms of the audience's values and expectations to maximize the impact. Joseph C. Wilson IV Joseph Charles Wilson IV (November 6, 1949 – September 27, 2019) was an American diplomat who was best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and
8383-680: The subsequent leaking by the Bush/Cheney administration of information pertaining to the identity of his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA officer. He also served as the CEO of a consulting firm he founded, JC Wilson International Ventures, and as the vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC. Joseph Charles Wilson IV was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut , on November 6, 1949, to Joseph Charles Wilson III, and Phyllis (Finnell) Wilson; he grew up in California and Europe. He
8484-605: The text written for the President." With regard to Wilson's findings, Tenet stated: "Because this report, in our view, did not resolve whether Iraq was or was not seeking uranium from abroad, it was given a normal and wide distribution, but we did not brief it to the President, Vice-President or other senior Administration officials." Eight days after Wilson's July 6 op-ed, columnist Robert Novak wrote about Wilson's 2002 trip to Niger and subsequent findings and described Wilson's wife as an "agency operative". In his column of July 14, 2003, entitled "Mission to Niger", Novak states that
8585-614: The time of the supposed deal. He ultimately concluded: "it was highly doubtful that any such transaction had ever taken place." Wilson learned that the Iraqis had in fact requested a meeting to discuss "expanding commercial relations" but that Niger's Prime Minister Mayaki had declined, due to concern about U.N. sanctions against Iraq. President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address included these 16 words : "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." In response, in
8686-404: The war that the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Saddam Hussein required a vigorous and sustained international response to disarm him. Iraq possessed and had used chemical weapons; it had an active biological weapons program and quite possibly a nuclear research program—all of which were in violation of United Nations resolutions. Having encountered Mr. Hussein and his thugs in
8787-399: The way to do that was to leak the name of my wife. In October 2007, regarding his column "A White House Smear", Corn writes: That piece was the first to identify the leak as a possible White House crime and the first to characterize the leak as evidence that within the Bush administration political expedience trumped national security. The column drew about 100,000 visitors to this website in
8888-492: Was approached by a businessman on behalf of an Iraqi delegation about "expanding commercial relations" with Iraq, which Mayaki interpreted to mean uranium sales. Wilson ultimately concluded that there "was nothing to the story", and reported his findings in March 2002. In his January 28, 2003, State of the Union Address , US President George W. Bush said "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." After
8989-446: Was assigned the mission to Niger. He said Wilson had been sent by the CIA's counter-proliferation section at the suggestion of one of its employees, his wife. It was an offhand revelation from this official, who is no partisan gunslinger. When I called another official for confirmation, he said: "Oh, you know about it." The published report that somebody in the White House failed to plant this story with six reporters and finally found me as
9090-488: Was based upon my trip out there." The week after the publication of Wilson's New York Times op-ed, Robert Novak , in his syndicated Washington Post column, disclosed that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame , worked for the CIA as an agency operative in an article entitled "Mission to Niger." Subsequently, former Ambassador Wilson and others alleged that the disclosure was part of the Bush administration's attempts to discredit his report about his investigations in Africa and
9191-614: Was being sued individually (independently of his White House colleagues) for having nevertheless also violated Plame's right to privacy and property (ability to make a living), while not reducing the culpability of the others as claimed. In a column posted in TownHall.com on September 14, 2006, however, Novak disputes details of Armitage's contemporaneous media accounts of their conversations. According to Novak, "Armitage did not, as he now indicates, merely pass on something he had heard and that he 'thought' might be so. Rather, he identified to me
9292-900: Was called "a true American hero" by President George H. W. Bush . From 1992 to 1995, he served as US ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe . From 1995 to 1997, Wilson served as Political Advisor (POLAD) to the Commander in Chief of US Armed Forces, Europe ( EUCOM ), in Stuttgart, Germany . From 1997 until 1998, when he retired, he helped direct Africa policy as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and as National Security Council Senior Director for African Affairs. After retiring from government service in 1998, Wilson managed JC Wilson International Ventures Corp., an international business development and management company. Early in 2007, Wilson became vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC., to advise
9393-462: Was commuted by President Bush, who let the conviction and fine stand. Libby was later granted a full pardon by President Trump. In 2004, Wilson published a political and personal memoir entitled The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir . The book describes his diplomatic career, his personal life and family, and his experiences during
9494-407: Was more significant than it had been." In his testimony to the grand jury, Libby testified that both he and Vice President Cheney believed that Joseph Wilson was qualified for the mission, though they wondered if he would have been selected had his wife not worked at the CIA. Subsequent press accounts reported that "White House officials wanted to know how much of a role she had in selecting him for
9595-416: Was no nepotism involved. I did not have the authority. ... It's been borne out in the testimony during the Libby trial, and I can tell you that it just doesn't square with the facts." She described that in February 2002, while discussing an inquiry from the office of Vice President Cheney about the alleged Iraqi uranium purchases, a colleague who knew of her husband's diplomatic background and previous work with
9696-493: Was not told, and that he did not know, that Plame was – or had ever been – a NOC, an agent with Non-Official Cover. He has emphatically said that had he understood that she was any sort of secret agent, he would never have named her. On July 16, 2003, an article published by David Corn in The Nation carried this lead: "Did Bush officials blow the cover of a U.S. intelligence officer working covertly in
9797-458: Was or was not seeking uranium from abroad". In his 2007 memoir, Tenet wrote that Wilson's report "produced no solid answers" and "was never delivered to Cheney. In fact, I have no recollection myself of hearing about Wilson's trip at the time." In the July 11 statement, Tenet also noted that, according to Wilson's report, a former Niger official interpreted an Iraqi approach as an "overture as an attempt to discuss uranium sales." Asked about this
9898-532: Was pardoned by Donald Trump on Friday, April 13, 2018. In March 2008, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that the investigation had cost $ 2.58 million. The GAO also reported that "this matter is now concluded for all practical purposes." According to testimony given in the CIA leak grand jury investigation and United States v. Libby , Bush administration officials Richard Armitage , Karl Rove , and Lewis Libby discussed
9999-478: Was raised in a "proud Republican family" in which "there [was] a long tradition of politics and service to the farm" and for which "[p]olitics was a staple around the table". Wilson's father Joe was a Marine pilot in World War II and narrowly escaped death by taking off immediately before the bombing of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin , in which 700 other American servicemen died. In 1968, Wilson entered
10100-413: Was sentenced to 30 months in prison, a fine of US$ 250,000, and two years of supervised release after his prison term. After the verdict, Special Counsel Fitzgerald stated that he did not expect anyone else to be charged in the case: "We're all going back to our day jobs." On July 2, 2007, President Bush commuted Libby's jail sentence, effectively erasing the 30 months he was supposed to spend in jail. Libby
10201-579: Was the leaker was devastating news for the Left." In the American Journalism Review , editor Rem Rieder noted that the disclosure that Armitage was Novak's "primary source" was insufficiently covered in the media. In response to the verdict on March 6, 2007, finding Lewis Libby guilty of four of the five charges in the Fitzgerald grand jury indictment against him, the Wilsons issued a statement in
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