July 12th, 2006 4:15PM California Time I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it? I laughed at the title myself several times before finally acknowledging the truth of the matter. What did I learn specifically? Well, it wasn't how to steal cheese, although thank you so much for the picture anonymous web user! Image credit: http://users.utu.fi/hajala/Mission Impossible.jpg What I learned, specifically from Mission Impossible (The 1st film, released in 1996), was the fate of an exposed NOC. A 'NOC' is an employee of the United States Government, working in a Non-Official Cover status in the field of Espionage. The fate of a NOC upon being exposed, I learned in 'Mission Impossible' is an almost assured assassination. The crux of the entire film depended upon Ethan Hunt (A NOC played by Cruise)'s ability to keep a list of NOCs from being exposed. American espionage agents, both official and non, both fictional and non, have many enemies that would like to see them dead. 'Oh, it's just a movie!' You might say. But in fact, NOCs are real, and their identity is Classified by the United States Congress. Wikipedia on NOCs -(Non-Official Cover Operatives) "The degree of sophistication put into nonofficial cover stories can vary considerably. Sometimes, an agent will simply be appointed to a position in a well-established company which can provide the appropriate opportunities. Other times, entire front companies can be established in order to provide false identities for agents. Examples include Air America, used by the CIA during the Vietnam War, and made famous by the eponymous film. Another is Brewster Jennings & Associates, used by the CIA in WMD investigations, and made famous by the Plame Affair. The use of front companies can be dangerous, however, as the exposure of a single agent will expose the entire operation." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonofficial_cover The topic of the day in American Politics has most obviously been the admission by Reporter Robert Novak that Karl Rove indeed did inform him of the identity of Valerie Plame, a NOC, and that he did knowingly print Valerie Plame's identity in his syndicated column. Did Robert Novak break the law? According to 50 USC Sec. 435. Procedures (which is the law in question), 'No'. A reporter is not bound by the restrictions imposed upon an employee of the Executive Branch. He did however commit Treason in this case, as this particular exposure of Classified Information did measurable damage to the security of our nation. (See Wikipedia Entry on NOC above) Did Karl Rove break the law? According to 50 USC Sec. 435. Procedures (which is the law in question), 'Yes'. Mr Rove, as an employee of the current Bush Administration, is bound by the restrictions imposed upon a member of the Executive Branch not to divulge Classified Information to those without proper authorization. He is further guilty of Treason in this case, as this particular exposure of Classified Information did measurable damage to the security of our nation. (See Wikipedia Entry on NOC above) 50 USC Section 435 is a Federal Law, and is THE law in question when attempting to reconcile acts of declassifying data. If there is a question as to whether or not a 'leak' was legal, 50 USC Sec. 435 is where lawyers go to find out. It can be found here: http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=743412387478 0 0 0&WAISaction=retrieve It can also be found here: http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/documents/usc/ttl50/ch15/subchVI/sec435.html Further, 50 USC Sec. 435 is posted in word format in the sidebar for this page, so you can download it for your own use. All Amendments and resulting Executive Orders (which operate within but do not trump this law) are included at the above address. Also included within the law is a detailed outline of the legal process an Executive Branch Official must undergo in order to legally declassify data. Anyone who cares to speak to you regarding the legality of the Valerie Plame outing, who does not reference 50 USC Section 435, should be questioned further before acceptance as a credible source. This law was enacted by Congress on December 5th, 1991, well before Bush took office. There has been some question recently among the public regarding the status of Valerie Plame's identity before it's publication by Novak and Judith Miller (NY Times). To bring clarity to the situation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_leak_grand_jury_investigation In September 2003, the CIA requested that the Justice Department investigate the possible unauthorized disclosure of a CIA officer's classified identity, that officer being Plame. Wikipedia has detailed the entire investigation that followed the CIA's actions here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plame_affair#_note-32 President Bush has readily admitted that Plame's status was indeed classified, and when the investigation began he vowed to fire anyone involved in the 'leak' from his Administration. George W. Bush - June 10, 2004 (Responding to a media question which asked "do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have . . . leaked [Valerie Plame's] name?"): "Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts." George W. Bush - July 18, 2005: "I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts. And if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration." George W. Bush - September 30, 2003: " And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of. ... I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action." Bush's Press Secretary, Scott McClellan affirmed these statements repeatedly: Scott McClellan - September 29, 2003: "The President has set high standards, the highest of standards for people in his administration. He's made it very clear to people in his administration that he expects them to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration." Scott McClellan - October 7, 2003: "Let me answer what the President has said. I speak for the President and I'll talk to you about what he wants." and "If someone leaked classified information, the President wants to know. If someone in this administration leaked classified information, they will no longer be a part of this administration, because that's not the way this White House operates, that's not the way this President expects people in his administration to conduct their business." -source: Wikipedia.org To summarize thus far, 50 USC Section 435 states that Executive Branch employees and officials must declassify data in a manner consistent with the outlined format within said law. The manner of the leak was not consistent with this law, implicating the leakers as guilty of violating 50 USC Sec 435. This information should naturally beget indictments pursuant to this law. The leakers are now (as of June 12th, 2006) known in the public forum to be including but not limited to: Karl Rove, Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, and Dick Armitage. President Bush and Dick Cheney have admitted publicly to authorizing the leak, including them in this violation. Their claim of Executive Privilege does not exempt them from laws specifically written to curtail the powers of the Executive Branch. Further, this particular act of illegal declassification was detrimental to the security of the United States of America. This leak exposed a CIA front company, Brewster Jennings, and every operative both domestic and abroad working within that front to establish solid intelligence on the nuclear capabilities of Iran. An act of this nature is otherwise known as 'Treason'. According to my source of choice for this article, Wikipedia: "In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to one's nation or state. A person who betrays the nation of their citizenship and/or reneges on an oath of loyalty and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor." The Constitution tells us exactly what to do with those guilty of Treason who are employed within the Executive Branch: Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. The entire document can be found here: http://www.constitution.powersandmorrison.com All employees and officials of the Executive Branch are subject to the above cited section of the Constitution. Okay, now that you have all of the facts, go take another look at that hilarious mouse picture at the top of this article. And the next time someone tries to explain to you that the President can do anything he wants to, direct them to this page, and tell them that Tom Cruise actually knows something they don't. (UPDATE 1) BREAKING NEWS - 7/13/06 4:51PM California Time On the heels of this investigation, and the distribution of the results to the mainstream media and affiliated legal parties, it is my pleasure to announce that Valerie Plame Wilson, and her husband Joseph Wilson have filed suit in U.S. District Court today. 'In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Valerie Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, accused Cheney, Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby of participating in a "whispering campaign" to reveal Plame's CIA identity and punish Wilson for criticizing the Bush administration's motives in Iraq.' -(AP) AP News Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2189932 Reuters Article: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-07-13T210506Z_01_N13360644_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUSH-LEAK.xml The distribution of the referenced law (50 USC Sec. 435) occured this afternoon via the following letter: To Whom It May Concern: Regarding the Valerie Plame Outing Investigations, currently being conducted by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald This message has been sent to the following: The Offices of Patrick Fitzgerald, Special Counsel The Offices of Robert Luskin, Attorney for Karl Rove Joseph Wilson, fmr. U.S. Ambassador Valerie Plame-Wilson Christopher Wolf, Attorney for Valerie Plame-Wilson Air America Radio MSNBC CNN The NY Times The Washington Post The LA Times The Chicago Tribune The SF Chronicle Attn: The Law Pertaining To The Declassification of Classified Information, and the Processes Required to Effect Such, Has Been Located By Nathan Morrison of Powers&Morrison (http://www.PowersAndMorrison.com). This law, 50 USC Sec. 435, has been made available to the mainstream media at large in it's entirety. All relevant legal parties have been informed. The original article, detailing the release of this information at P&M, is here: Http://www.LibertyInChaos.PowersAndMorrison.com The Article is titled: "I Learned Something From A Tom Cruise Movie", and is located at the top of that page. The law (50USC Sec. 435) is also available at this page in .txt format for your uses. It is also posted below for convenience. For further information, please contact: Nathan Morrison Morrison@PowersAndMorrison.com Thank you for your time. (UPDATE 2) July 13th, 2006 6:30PM California Time BREAKING NEWS -- Exclusive to Powers&Morrison.com Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame will be holding a Press Conference tomorrow morning, and explaining the lawsuit filed today (See Update 1 below). Tune in to your national news service of choice Friday, AM Eastern Time. Your questions will be answered then. Thank you readers for your support in getting the word out on this. Everyone at P&M appreciates your sentiments, and your assistance in the struggle for justice for Valerie Plame. (UPDATE 3) BREAKING NEWS - July 14th, 2006 11:22AM California Time Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband Joseph Wilson gave a press conference this morning, detailing the suit they filed yesterday against Vice President Dick Cheney, Presidential Adviser Karl Rove, and Lewis Libby. The Video of the Press Conference, provided by CNN, is here: http://www.cnn.com/video/politics/2006/07/14/sot.cia.leak.plame.wilson.cnn/content.html# In unrelated news, I will be out of the office all next week. I will be receiving your emails at irregular intervals, so please forgive the delay in my response time. I will be posting intermittently while away. I will return to my news desk on Monday, July 24th. -Morrison |
