Valerie Plame Comes Out Swinging With A Lawsuit!
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 13, 2006–
Valerie Plame Wilson, Ambassador Joseph Wilson and their counsel, Christopher Wolf of Proskauer Rose LLP, will hold a news conference at 10 AM EDT on Friday, July 14 at 10:00 AM at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045, to announce the filing of a civil lawsuit against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice-President Richard Cheney and Karl Rove.
UPDATE #2: Amb. Wilson just sent me an updated statement in response to Bob Novak:
“Robert Novak, some other commentators and the Administration continue to try to completely distort the role that Valerie Wilson played with respect to Ambassador Wilson’s trip to Niger. The facts are beyond dispute. The Office of the Vice President requested that the CIA investigate reports of alleged uranium purchases by Iraq from Niger. The CIA setup a meeting to respond to the Vice President’s inquiry. Another CIA official, not Valerie Wilson, suggested to Valerie Wilson’s supervisor that the Ambassador attend that meeting. That other CIA official made the recommendation because that official was familiar with the Ambassador’s vast experience in Niger and knew of a previous trip to Africa concerning uranium matters that had been undertaken by the Ambassador on behalf of the CIA in 1999. Valerie Wilson’s supervisor subsequently asked her to relay a request from him to the Ambassador that he would like the Ambassador to attend the meeting at the CIA. Valerie Wilson did not participate in the meeting.
As the CIA itself has officially confirmed, Valerie Wilson did not send Ambassador Wilson to Niger and she neither suggested him nor recommended him for the trip. Furthermore, the Ambassador agreed to travel to Niger pro bono with only his travel expenses being paid.”
Of course the Ambassador did. It makes perfect sense to hire an outside person to do the work of the CIA!
AllahPundit has an interesting roundup:
They’re alleging, of course, that the neoconservative cabal conspired to discredit Honest Joe with a “whispering campaign,” a charge which Novak has repeatedly denied. But never mind that.
Here’s the good stuff:
The Complaint specifies that each of the Wilsons has been deprived of their First and Fifth Amendment rights; each has suffered a gross invasion of their privacy; each has been impaired in pursuing professional opportunities; and that they fear for their safety and the safety of their children as a result of the wrongful public disclosures.
They didn’t seem to be overly concerned about privacy when they turned out for the White House Correspondents Dinner, during which Colbert actually pointed them out from the podium. As for financial impairment, three years after they became Jesus and Mary Magdalene in the nutroots’s version of the Passion, Joe Wilson has a bestseller to his credit and does brisk business on the lecture circuit. (Request him for the topic, “Speaking Truth to Power and the Consequences.” You won’t regret it!) Plame will eventually write her own memoir and they’ll make a bundle on that too.
And yet:
More privacy fun. Vanity Fair, January 2004
Media Blog puts the dagger in.
Jeff Goldstein has this to say:
I will say that this suggests to me that Fitzgerald’s investigation is over. And if he couldn’t find the requisite proof to indict, it’s possible that Plame and Wilson have decided to pursue this as a way of create [sic] the appearance of scandal where none existed.
I went to Volokh and they brought up some good points as to whether these guys are immune from this suit! Cases sited were Nixon v. Fitzgerald, Butz v. Economou and Harlow v. Fitzgerald
Do you think it will be limited or full immunity?
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July 13, 2006 - 10:24 PM on July 13th, 2006
What a pathetic joke. These two have caused enough trouble, with their phony CIA outing crap. All this wil do, besides adding another caseload to the court calendar, will be to fully and thoroughly expose Joe Wilson, a lying weasel, for conspiring to create a scandal for the Bush Admin.
This one should really last about a half hour, until it is shown to the first judge that sees it how Plame’s identity was not disclosed by Libby, Rove, or anyone, it had already been disclosed by Wilson’s ego when he had his name published in the vanity book “Who’s Who”. Stupid Democrites.
July 14, 2006 - 07:19 AM on July 14th, 2006
Wilson, Plame Sue Rove, Cheney, And Libby
I think they’re grasping here, trying to keep this story in the public eye:
Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Vice President Cheney, presidential adviser Karl …
July 14, 2006 - 08:06 AM on July 14th, 2006
I could be wrong on this, but hasn’t she been photographed with Joe all over the place?
If that’s true, she couldn’t have been too concerned about people recognizing her face.
July 14, 2006 - 08:25 AM on July 14th, 2006
2- Does this answer your question?
July 14, 2006 - 02:05 PM on July 14th, 2006
July 16, 2006 - 11:24 AM on July 16th, 2006
Considering Robert Novak claims to have gotten her name from Joe Wilson’s entry in Who’s Who in America, I find it rather hard to believe that her identity as his wife was a big secret.
Besides, the releasing of her name to the press has already been deemed legal. Her husband has also been declared a liar by both the 9-11 commission and a congressional committee hearing. What else is there to say on this other than time to fire up the counter suit for defamation.