Why now?
The furor has risen suddenly, a tornado from nowhere, about the leak of the name of Joseph Wilson's wife as a CIA operative. Her name first appeared back in July in Robert Novaks's column (which I don't remember reading) in which Novak pointed to the Whitehouse as the source of the information. (Read the original July 14 article).
Leaks are the staple of Washington, but in this case there might be a serious breach of the law which prohibits making public the name of intelligence operatives. Her real role is not clear to me at this time. The CIA apparently filed a report back in July with the FBI and requested an investigation. Now the Justice Department and the FBI are investigating and Democrats are calling for an independent counsel. According to a Washington Post poll, a majority of the public favors an independent investigation.
Wilson himself accused Carl Rove as the source of the disclosure and there are claims that the it was motivated by revenge to get back at Wilson, a career diplomat who held a prominent position in the Clinton administration. Time.com carried an article back in July and asked the question: "A War on Wilson?". This article notes Novak's column and states that "...some government officials have noted to TIME in interviews ...that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." so the word was being spread. Read the article.
The President has vowed to get to the bottom of the issue. At the same time, Democrats are questioning whether the administration in the person of John Ashcroft can investigate itself in an unbiased manner. The NY Times details some very close ties that link John Ashcroft to Carl Rove and other Whitehouse officials.
Looks like payback time. Novak has written another column (which I read this time) to try and stem the rising backlash against the administration.
11:04:41 PM 
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