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Valerie Plame is running for Congress in New Mexico. Yesterday, Plame released her first campaign ad which got a lot of attention for the production values and visuals. The ad claims “Dick Cheney’s chief of staff took revenge against my husband and leaked my identity. His name: Scooter Libby.†But as the Washington Post points out today, that claim is false. It’s true that Libby was aware of Plame’s role and did speak to people about it within the government, but the leak that made it into print came from Richard Armitage:QuoteSo Libby was talking about Wilson and Plame’s possible role in his trip, at least within the administration. But the leak that tipped the soup came from elsewhere.On July 8, Armitage told columnist Robert Novak that Wilson’s wife worked for CIA on weapons of mass destruction and suggested her husband for the mission. “I’m afraid I may be the guy who caused this whole thing,†Armitage later told a colleague. “I may have been the leaker. I talked to Novak.â€...Plame’s name and CIA role was first disclosed in Robert Novak’s column. Novak’s original source was Armitage, and his confirming sources were Rove and a CIA spokesman. Novak’s column led to the firestorm that launched a federal investigation. But no evidence shows that Libby disclosed Plame’s role to Novak.
So Libby was talking about Wilson and Plame’s possible role in his trip, at least within the administration. But the leak that tipped the soup came from elsewhere.On July 8, Armitage told columnist Robert Novak that Wilson’s wife worked for CIA on weapons of mass destruction and suggested her husband for the mission. “I’m afraid I may be the guy who caused this whole thing,†Armitage later told a colleague. “I may have been the leaker. I talked to Novak.â€...Plame’s name and CIA role was first disclosed in Robert Novak’s column. Novak’s original source was Armitage, and his confirming sources were Rove and a CIA spokesman. Novak’s column led to the firestorm that launched a federal investigation. But no evidence shows that Libby disclosed Plame’s role to Novak.
