CIA officials shared Plame's identity

Testimony at Libby trial indicates that several people in the agency spoke to outsiders about her

WASHINGTON -- From their earliest days, U.S. intelligence agencies have made it an article of faith to protect the identity of their secret agents. As early as 1982, after a rash of malicious exposures, the CIA prevailed on Congress to make it a crime to knowingly disclose the identity of such operatives.

So in 2003, when the name of Valerie Plame, a CIA arms proliferation specialist, surfaced in a newspaper column, the agency immediately demanded a Justice Department investigation.

But last week, as former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby went on trial in connection with the leak, it appeared that neither the CIA nor some other intelligence community insiders were all that tight-lipped about such supposedly sensitive matters.

When it came to talking to outsiders, the agent's identity was often treated as not much more than water cooler dishing or cocktail party chatter.

A high-level CIA official dropped Plame's agency connection into a conversation with a White House aide who did not know Plame existed. Another CIA official confessed that only after he had mentioned the agent's name to an official outside the agency did he feel a twinge -- a belated "oops" -- over what he had done.

And former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who is a possible witness in the Libby trial, has acknowledged discussing Plame with a reporter. Armitage, an old hand at dealing with sensitive intelligence matters, later told a friend that gabbing about Plame was "the dumbest thing" he'd ever done in his life.

The agent's name wound up being a subject of discussion inside Washington's sprawling national security community after she was outed in a syndicated newspaper column. Libby is accused of lying to federal investigators trying to determine who leaked Plame's name to the columnist.

The revelations thus far in Libby's trial suggest that, while U.S. officials -- especially within the Bush administration -- have publicly insisted that secrecy is critical in national security matters, there is a backstage world inside the government where even the most basic rules for protecting sensitive information may be ignored.

In part, the readiness of intelligence officials to bring Plame into conversations with White House officials reflected an unspoken reality of politics and power in Washington: The CIA is an independent agency, but it serves the president and other high officials, who not only use the intelligence it provides but pass judgment on its performance.

"The CIA works both sides of the street, satisfying the political bosses, while protecting turf and tradition," said Williams Banks, a professor at Syracuse University law school and national security expert.

"Ironic for sure, but part of the Washington fabric."