What Matters is Rove Confirmed the Identity - It comes down to incompetence

Now we find out that Novak has come out saying he was the other reporter that talked to Rove before the leak. Bush supporters are trying to say Rove was just the recipient of information from reporters but someone told reporters that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA. You know, it does not matter where Rove got his information, if he outed Plame, Wilson's wife, to Cooper especially if it is before the story hit the news then Rove appears to be the primary source, the government source to confirm the identity of Plame. Reporters are not going to go on the word of just other reporters, they need it confirmed by a government source and of course nothing better than a high ranking source. And it does not matter what Cooper was trying to do either. As far as compentence goes it does not matter what the nature of the conversations were, Rove giving or taking information, all that matters is that Rove confirmed the identity of a CIA agent and that event is the essential outing of Valerie Plame.

As far as the dispute on whether Rove named the agent or not, this will not be decided on a technicality. If Rove identified Valerie Plame he identifed Wilson's wife. If Rove identifies Wilson's wife he identifies Valerie Plame. Either way, under the right conditions, a CIA agent is dead. Rove, at the very least, should be disciplined for incompetence.

Wilson's Wife had to be Undercover

Isn't this amazing? Some are saying Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, was not covert when Rove mentioned her identity to reporter Matt Cooper but how can this be? The administration said from the beginning they would fire anyone involved with leaking her identity. Why would the administration say they would fire anyone leaking an identity if it would not be a crime, or that is, if the person in question was not undercover. Is the administration so incompetent that they did not check such an important response, to a very serious crime, without checking out that the person in question, Wilson's wife, was undercover. Well, of course not. The administration, in rapid contact with the CIA confirmed that and that is why they came out and said "anyone involved with leaking the identity of Plame would be fired. The Republicans and Bush supporters can twist and turn it everyway they can but the Bush administration would not have said a leaker would be fired if the agent in question was not covert. If Plame was not covert then this administration is one of the most incredibly incompetent in history.