>>That is the first time I have heard that (from a reliable source since the whole hulabaloo of guesses and rumours in the media). That definitely falls under the category of TREASON and should bring either the death penalty or life behind bars to whomever disclosed the information. Now they just have to find and prove who is responsible...
>
>Like I said. It was my understanding she was covert. Some people should go to jail. I don't believe Libby was the only one that knew her identity. Is his boss responsible too? Did he also know it? Did he authorize or told him to go do it?

Cheney knew. And Cheney told him. In his grand jury testimony, Libby states that he learned about Wilson's wife from Cheney. But he had testified that he had learned Plame's identity from Russert and from other reporters. But 9 people contradict Libby by testifying that they heard it from him. Fitz comments on this coincidence in his closing: "All misremembering the same way, that the defendant is talking about Joseph Wilson’s wife?". Libby then remembers that he did learn it from Cheney and told Cheney that, to which Cheney said nothing, just "cocked his head". Cheney writes about wilson's wife sending him on a junket and at one point that is one of the talking points being constructed by the VP office. And Cheney tells him to leak the NIE to reporters, but with Libby not flipping you cannot get to the answer of whether Cheney "authorized or told him to do it". And he gets a pardon before Bush leaves.

Fitzgerald: What was Cheney's tone in telling you about wife
Libby: Curiosity
F: And your reaction?
L: Curiosity. Might mean something, maybe not.

He also states that Cheney told him that the President authorized the insta-declassification of the NIE. Libby testified that he leaked an edited bullet points list from the NIE (sans any dissent) to Judy Miller at the direction of Cheney. Whats peculiar is that others in the admin were going forward with the declassification after it was already insta-declassified. But the declassification issue is a defense redherring for Fitz's case of showing that libby lied and obstructed justice as a result of telling Miller about Plame's identity during the meeting when he disclosed the NIE info.

Fitz: According to defendant, at the time of his conversations with Miller and Cooper, he understood that only three people – the President, the Vice President and defendant – knew that the key judgments of the NIE had been declassified. Defendant testified in the grand jury that he understood that even in the days following his conversation with Ms. Miller, other key officials – including Cabinet level officials – were not made aware of the earlier declassification even as those officials were pressed to carry out a declassification of the NIE, the report about Wilson’s trip and another classified document dated January 24, 2003.

One piece of evidence was Wilson's op-ed piece that Cheney had torn out and saved where he had written comments on... one of which was "did Wilson's wife send him on a junket". His comments became the VP office's rebuttal talking points that went thru a few iterations... which were also entered as evidence. They dropped the "wife sent him" point during one of the iterations.

I will say that I think Fitzgerald has a sense of humor....

F: Do you recall Hadley saying on July 9th that we need to do something about Wilson now, discredit him?
L: I don't recall that specific phrase, but I'd have to check my notes.
F: Do you remember that concept coming across, regardless of specific words?
L: Yes, to discredit what Wilson was saying. Don't recall about discrediting him personally.
F: (pulls out notes) Do you recall Rove complaining that Wilson was viewed as a credible expert?
L: Remember wanting to discredit his story, but not him personally
F: Were people saying, "Let's be careful to discredit his story, but not discredit him personally"?
L: Don't recall any statement like that.


The testimony is fascinating, and very convincing... especially to the jury. Some details from Fitzgerald's closing argument, that covers a lot of ground...

http://www.newsinkling.org/cia-leak-investigation/fitzgeralds-closing-arguments-in-the-scooter-libby.html

This case is not a one-on-one he said/she said. It’s a he said, he said, she said, he said, he said, she said, he said, he said, she said, he said and the defendant made it up.

What’s the one thing he told one person in the Fall of 03? He went and told the Vice President his recollection was that he learned this from Russert. So, one person, he learned about Wilson’s wife from in the first place, at a time when he’s not supposed to be talking to other people, he goes and tells the person who told him, I learned it from Russert.

The first time in his government career Mr. Libby ever heard anyone talk about declassifying something privately for the President to the Vice President and then given to Miller. That was unique. He’s the only one in the government, other than the President and the Vice President who knew about this. Chief of Staff isn’t told. National Security Advisor isn’t told. The head of the CIA isn’t told. How unique is that? Never happened to him before. Never happened since.

One thing that’s really important is what Mr. Schmall told him. Craig Schmall [CIA] told him after the Novak column, after he read it, this is a big deal. He focuses on Valerie Wilson. Schmall says it’s bigger than that. Every intelligence service that thinks she was overseas will figure out who was in contact with her and, whether innocent or not, they will look at them. They could arrest them. They could torture them. They could kill them.

When you do something that’s brought to your attention later that you’re discussing something with people that could lead to people being killed, that better be important. That better imprint on your brain, 21 year old, 4 year old, whatever you’re doing, college kid, certainly a National Security Advisor to the Vice President during a time of war. That’s important.