The Libby Indictment Proves How Simple This Was All Along

Within this document you’ll find language that matches to the word what I pointed out a while back in, Rove’s Crime is Obvious.

Before the government grants someone status to handle classified information, the person must first sign a Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement. From the low level analyst on up to the President himself, the agreement is signed in order to ensure that classified information is distributed on a ‘need to know’ basis. The document reads:

‘I hereby agree that I will never divulge classified information to anyone unless: (a) I have officially verified that the recipient has been properly authorized by the United States Government to receive; or (b) I have been given prior written notice of authorization from the US Government Department or Agency…responsible for the classification of the information…I understand that if I am uncertain about the classification status of information, I am required to confirm from an authorized official that the information is unclassified before I may disclose it…’

‘I have been advised that any breach of this Agreement may result in the termination of any security clearances I hold; removal from any position of special confidence and trust requiring such clearances; or the termination of my employment…unlawful disclosure of classified information by me may constitute a violation…of US criminal laws, including the provisions of Sections 641, 793, 794, 798, *952 and 1924 (etc)’

It was this language that justified the investigation. The cover-up is what Libby is going down for. Here’s a copy of the indictment.

a. Beginning on or about January 20, 2001, and continuing through the date of this indictment, defendant I. LEWIS LIBBY, also know as “SCOOTER LIBBY“, was employed as Assistant to the President of the United States, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs. In the course of his work, LIBBY had frequent access to classified information and frequently spoke with officials of the U.S. intelligence community, as well as other government officials, regarding sensitive national security matters.

b. In connecction wtih his role as a senior government offical with responsibilityes for national security matters, LIBBY held security clearances entitling him to access to classified information. As a person with such clearances, LIBBY was obligated by applicable laws and regulations, including Title 18, United States Code, Section 793, and Executive Order 12958 (as modified by Executive Order 13292), not to disclose classified information to persons not authorized to receive such information, and otherwise to exercise proper care to safeguard classified information against unauthorized disclosure. On or about January 23, 2001, LIBBY executed a written “Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement,” stating in part that “I understand and accept that by being granted access to classified information, special confidence and trust shall be placed in me by the United States Government,” and that “I have been advised that the unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized retention, or negligent handling of classified information by me could cause damage or irreparable injury to the United States or could be used to advantage by a foreign nation.”

So the right-wing’s argument that Plame’s identity was known or that it was not classified information is now OFFICIALLY in the garbage where it belongs. Valerie Plame’s identity was considered classified information, and both Rove and Libby signed the Non Disclosure Agreement. My argument from day one has been that their signing of this document makes it irrelevant whether or not they “knew” that her identity was classified at the time that they leaked it to reporters.

A lot of space has been used on right-wing blogs to argue that this wasn’t the case, and now it’s proven in black and white that the right-wing blogsphere’s efforts to lie and decieve were in vain. The investigation was justified, and the stormtroopers have been spitting into the wind for quite a while now. This is not a surprise as I’ve had a link up for months to the JUDICIAL OPINION concerning Matt Cooper and Valerie Plame, who initially refused to testify about their conversations wit Rove and Libby. The judges who wrote this opinion were clear on whether or not Plame’s identity was classified, but many chose to ignore it.

A crime was commited in Plame’s identity becoming public knowledge, and as I wrote in the past, THIS WAS OBVIOUS. The effort to prove this prompted the admistration to engage in a cover-up, and the charges against Libby prove this fact.

The cover-up scheme was simple. Libby and Rove spoke with reporters and leaked to them Plame’s identity. Their plan from the start was to lie in grand jury testimony and provide misleading statements under oath to the FBI in an attempt to decieve investigators. Their poorly thought out and executed scheme foolishly relied on everyone involved believing that the reporters told them about Plame’s identity, when in fact the source was VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY! Don’t believe it? Read for yourself from the indictment:

9. On or about June 12, 2003, LIBBY was advised by the Vice President of the United States that Wilson’s wife worked at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Counterproliferation Division. LIBBY understood that the Vice President had learned this information from the CIA.

Was the White House authorized to know that Joe Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA on WMD’s? Perhaps. Was the White House authorized to make that information public knowledge? Absolutely not. They did it anyway, and that’s what brings us to this point. The fact that President Bush, the captain of this ship, has played dumb since day one indicates to me that he doesn’t believe any of this was wrong.

Accountability indeed…