CIA Agents Letter to US Senate and House
18 July 2005
AN OPEN STATEMENT TO THE LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE.
The Honorable Dennis Hastert, Speaker, U.S. House of
Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S.
House of Representatives
The Honorable Dr. William Frist, Majority Leader of
the Senate
The Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the
Senate
We, the undersigned former U.S. intelligence officers
are concerned with the tone and substance of the
public debate over the ongoing Department of Justice
investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie
Plame, wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson
IV, to syndicated columnist Robert Novak and other
members of the media, which exposed her status as an
undercover CIA officer. The disclosure of Ms. Plame’s
name was a shameful event in American history and, in
our professional judgment, may have damaged U.S.
national security and poses a threat to the ability of
U.S. intelligence gathering using human sources. Any
breach of the code of confidentiality and cover
weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and,
directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and
safety of intelligence workers and their sources.
The Republican National Committee has circulated
talking points to supporters to use as part of a
coordinated strategy to discredit Ambassador Joseph
Wilson and his wife. As part of this campaign a common
theme is the idea that Ambassador Wilson’s wife,
Valerie Plame was not undercover and deserved no
protection. The following are four recent examples of
this "talking point":
Michael Medved stated on Larry King Live on July 12,
2005, "And let's be honest about this. Mrs. Plame,
Mrs. Wilson, had a desk job at Langley. She went back
and forth every single day."
Victoria Toensing stated on a Fox News program with
John Gibson on July 12, 2005 that, "Well, they weren't
taking affirmative measures to protect that identity.
They gave her a desk job in Langley. You don't really
have somebody deep undercover going back and forth to
Langley, where people can see them."
Ed Rodgers, Washington Lobbyist and former Republican
official, said on July 13, 2005 on the Newshour with
Jim Lehrer, "And also I think it is now a matter of
established fact that Mrs. Plame was not a protected
covert agent, and I don't think there's any meaningful
investigation about that."
House majority whip Roy Blunt (R, Mo), on Face the
Nation, July 17, 2005, "It certainly wouldn't be the
first time that the CIA might have been overzealous in
sort of maintaining the kind of top-secret definition
on things longer than they needed to. You know, this
was a job that the ambassador's wife had that she went
to every day. It was a desk job. I think many people
in Washington understood that her employment was at
the CIA, and she went to that office every day."
These comments reveal an astonishing ignorance of the
intelligence community and the role of cover. The fact
is that there are thousands of U.S. intelligence
officers who "work at a desk" in the Washington, D.C.
area every day who are undercover. Some have official
cover, and some have non-official cover. Both classes
of cover must and should be protected.
While we are pleased that the U.S. Department of
Justice is conducting an investigation and that the
U.S. Attorney General has recused himself, we believe
that the partisan attacks against Valerie Plame are
sending a deeply discouraging message to the men and
women who have agreed to work undercover for their
nation’s security.
We are not lawyers and are not qualified to determine
whether the leakers technically violated the 1982
Intelligence Identities Protection Act. However, we
are confident that Valerie Plame was working in a
cover status and that our nation’s leaders, regardless
of political party, have a duty to protect all
intelligence officers. We believe it is appropriate
for the President to move proactively to dismiss from
office or administratively punish any official who
participated in any way in revealing Valerie Plame's
status. Such an act by the President would send an
unambiguous message that leaks of this nature will not
be tolerated and would be consistent with his duties
as the Commander-in-Chief.
We also believe it is important that Congress speak
with one non-partisan voice on this issue.
Intelligence officers should not be used as political
footballs. In the case of Valerie Plame, she still
works for the CIA and is not in a position to publicly
defend her reputation and honor. We stand in her stead
and ask that Republicans and Democrats honor her
service to her country and stop the campaign of
disparagement and innuendo aimed at discrediting Mrs.
Wilson and her husband.
Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs
gathering the intelligence, which helps, for example,
to prevent terrorist attacks against Americans at home
and abroad. They sometimes face great personal risk
and must spend long hours away from family and
friends. They serve because they love this country and
are committed to protecting it from threats from
abroad and to defending the principles of liberty and
freedom. They do not expect public acknowledgement for
their work, but they do expect and deserve their
government’s protection of their covert status.
For the good of our country, we ask you to please
stand up for every man and woman who works for the
U.S. intelligence community and help protect their
ability to live their cover.
Sincerely yours,
_____________________________________
Larry C. Johnson, former Analyst, CIA
JOINED BY:
Mr. Brent Cavan, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Vince Cannistraro, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Michael Grimaldi, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Mel Goodman, former senior Analyst, CIA
Col. W. Patrick Lang (US Army retired), former
Director, Defense Humint Services, DIA
Mr. David MacMichael, former senior estimates officer,
National Intelligence Council, CIA
Mr. James Marcinkowski, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Ray McGovern, former senior Analyst and PDB
Briefer, CIA
Mr. Jim Smith, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. William C. Wagner, former Case Officer, CIA
