Former CIA agent speaks about identity leak to public

Valerie Plame Wilson smiled at the crowd of Hopkins students, faculty and local residents who had gathered in Shriver Hall on Thursday to hear the latest in the line of Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) Symposium speakers.

"I have a story to tell you," she began.

The chuckle that traveled through the audience in response indicated that many there already knew the basic details of Plame's tale.

Her name had been in and out of the news since July 14, 2003, when journalist Robert Novak revealed her position as a CIA operative in a column in The Washington Post.

This occurred only a week after her husband, Joseph Wilson, published an editorial that criticized the Bush administration for entering the Iraq War as a result of unreliable intelligence. This has commonly been considered the reason why Plame's identity was leaked.

The press leak that led to Plame being exposed by Novak resulted in the indictment and conviction of the administration official I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. President Bush subsequently commuted his sentence.

Plame expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to speak directly about her experiences over the past five years.

"So much has been spoken about me and for me, and I am delighted to be here to speak for myself," she said.

For the most part, Plame recounted the story of her life working for the CIA and especially on coping with the aftermath of having her identity revealed, an event that forcibly ended her covert work with the CIA.

Plame segwayed into a critique of the current government administration and a commentary on the importance of the presidential race. Plame did not speak in favor of either 2008 presidential candidate, but instead emphasized the important changes she felt needed to be made in the future, stressing the need for accountability in the next administration.

"This really is the most important election we've had yet," she concluded.

Plame also described the censorship she has faced since leaving the CIA and writing a book of memoirs. The CIA would not allow her to acknowledge any service prior to Jan. 21, 2002.

Plame acknowledged that it was common practice for the CIA to check manuscripts written by their former operatives to ensure that nothing that could compromise the agency is published.

She claimed, however, that nothing she had written about her experiences prior to that day actually posed a threat.

The Hopkins audience appeared largely supportive of Plame's situation. During the question and answer session, one student expressed sympathy for "the large gap in [her] resume."

Another audience member, who referred to Novak as "the Prince of Darkness," asked Plame why she had not filed a lawsuit against him.

Plame explained that Novak did not have security clearance and therefore did not have the responsibility to make proper decisions with regard to her identity. That responsibility, she said, lay with "those with security clearance."

She described Novak as "a blade of grass with elephants running over him."

Plame seemed to lose her composure slightly when responding to a few questions, however.

"Were there any direct reprisals against your husband?" an audience member asked her.

"Other than trying to destroy him completely?" she asked in return, going on to describe specific attacks she witnessed on her husband's business and character.

Another question that elicited a sharp response was when an audience member asked, "How did you feel when Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table?"

"I'm not even going to speak to that," Plame answered. "I think the whole impeachment process would drag things down."

Overall, the question and answer session remained civil and orderly.

Student reactions to the event were somewhat mixed. Some had been hoping for more of an insider's look at the life of an undercover agent, rather than the account of the highly publicized legal and political repercussions of Plame's exposure.

"It was informative, but it's not like it wasn't anything I hadn't already read about. I was hoping maybe she'd talk about her experiences as a CIA agent," sophomore Justin Shen said.

Still, others responded more favorably.

"I didn't really understand everything that happened before, but now just the extent was eye-opening," freshman Laura Quigley said.

Others commented that hearing the story firsthand was refreshing. Junior Thomas Vitale summed up the reaction of many in one short sentence.

"She definitely did not disappoint," he said.

"I'd say it was a very good turnout," MSE Programming Chair Brian Kim said about their third event of the year.

According to Kim, attendance at MSE events had been between 500 and 800 people. Since Plame's speech was free and open to the public, MSE could not provide exact statistics as to the size of the audience, but Kim estimated that Thursday night's audience leaned towards the higher end of the range.

Plame was the latest in a line of speakers hosted by the MSE's series "A More Perfect Union," a theme chosen to coincide with the 2008 presidential elections.