News Writing Sample - Minneapolis, Minnesota

 Valerie Plame - Still "Fair Game": CIA Kills Book Deal

Over three years ago Richard Armitage, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, was the first of at least a handful of senior White House officials to leak the name of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame. Plame was and is the wife of  U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson who fell out of favor with the likes of Dick Cheney, et al. when he revealed that there was no evidence of Nigeria selling Yellowcake to Iraq. In his New York Times op-ed "What I Didn't Find in Africa" dated July 6, 2003, Wilson accused the Bush Administration of exaggerating the Iraqi threat to make a case for pre-emptive strike. In his op-ed, Wilson stated:

“Based on my experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war, I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq’s nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat...

 

If...[my] information was ignored because it did not fit certain preconceptions about Iraq, then a legitimate argument can be made that we went to war under false pretenses. (It’s worth remembering that in his March “Meet the Press” appearance, Mr. Cheney said that Saddam Hussein was “trying once again to produce nuclear weapons.”) At a minimum, Congress, which authorized the use of military force at the president’s behest, should want to know if the assertions about Iraq were warranted.”

The official story is that Armitage leaked Valerie Plame's name to Robert Novak, who then revealed her identity in his July 14, 2003 column, essentially ending her career as a CIA operative and potentially putting her entire family in danger. 

The story behind the story is that Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Lewis (Scooter) Libby more or less plotted to punish Wilson through Plame for his findings in Nigeria and for suggesting that the Bush administration beefed up their case for going to war in Iraq. 

Numerous hearings, investigations, lawsuits, etc. later, Plame signed a book deal with Crown Publishing worth $2.5 million to tell her story. Negotiations ultimately broke down but Simon & Schuster stepped in to publish the memoir. Simon & Schuster spokesperson Adam Rothberg said would Plame's memoir would be "a very interesting book by a key figure of our time."  Ambassador Wilson's personal and professional memoir, The Politics of Truth, was published in 2004 by Carrol & Graf and includes an account of events leading up to the publishing of his 2003 op-ed and and the ensuing fallout.

Just hours ago, the CIA halted publication of the book citing that Plame is not allowed to mention the fact that she worked for the Agency because she had "nonofficial cover."  According to Newsweek, Mark Mansfield, a spokesman for the CIA, says talks are "ongoing" to resolve the dispute. But Plame's agent says, "[Plame] believes this will effectively gut the book."

Incidentally, the Wilsons are suing senior Bush administration officials, including presidential adviser Karl Rove, Vice President Dick Cheney and his former chief of staff Lewis Libby for "intentional and malicious exposure." You can read the full complaint here.