Call it Wilson-Plame-gate. It's not about cigars and blue dresses; it's about the security of this nation and the danger of revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative. In a word, it is serious.

Retired Ambassador Joseph Wilson was sent to Niger last year by the CIA, at the behest of Vice President Dick Cheney, to research the claim that Iraq had sought to acquire uranium from Niger -- one of the central claims in the Bush administration's case for war. He found nothing that would support claims of the uranium sale.

When news of Wilson's report became public, an effort began to undercut his credibility. He was labeled a "Clinton appointee," though he worked for more Republicans than Democrats. His credentials for investigating the uranium claim were challenged, and word was leaked to columnist Robert Novak that Wilson's wife was "an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction." Novak revealed that information in a July 14 column.

"Two senior administration officials," Novak wrote, "told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger . . . ." The suggestion was that Wilson got the task only because of his wife and had no background in such work. It was a lame attempt at a smear; the White House later was forced to admit it erred in its claim about uranium from Niger.

The Novak column ended Plame's undercover career for the CIA, robbing the nation of potentially valuable intelligence. She is now reportedly back at CIA headquarters, where she continues her work on WMD. The leak also could conceivably have put at risk her life and the lives of those with whom she had contact throughout her career. That's why revealing the identity of an American intelligence agent is a felony.

It's also why, early on, Bush roundly condemned the identification of American intelligence sources and promised it would never happen in his White House.

This scandal should have unfolded in July, but the mainstream media weren't interested. The story was kept alive because of dogged work by a few online bloggers, most especially Josh Marshall of "TalkingPointsMemo" (you can find him in the blogs section of www.startribune.com/2cents ). The bloggers will never get the attention and the high praise they deserve for keeping attention focused on this. So let it be noted here at least.

It finally hit the mainstream last weekend, when NBC reported that CIA Director George Tenet had requested a Justice Department investigation of the case.

The story has gotten tangled like a rat's nest in the spinning that has gone on since. Bush spokesman Scott McClellan has tried to back and fill every way he could. But for once the White House press corps has refused to act like a bunch of whipped puppies.

On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that an "administration official" told its reporters "two White House officials leaked the information [on Plame] to selected journalists to discredit Wilson." The Post also said that, according to "White House aides," Bush had no intention of asking his senior staff about the leak.

So now you have both Novak and the Washington Post saying that two senior administration officials were the leakers and Bush refusing to take it seriously.

The Justice Department has responded affirmatively to Tenet's request for an investigation. But get this: When Justice informed the White House of the investigation Monday evening, it said it would be all right if the staff was notified Tuesday morning to safeguard all material that related to the case. The staff had all night to get rid of anything incriminating.

That incredible tidbit supports calls by Democrats and a slew of others for Attorney General John Ashcroft to appoint a special counsel to investigate this case. They're right: Ashcroft has no credibility in this, and neither does the White House, given its habitual effort to spin information, mislead the American people and smear anyone who disagrees with it. This developing scandal ultimately goes to the even more serious question of administration manipulation of intelligence on Iraq, where American soldiers continue to die almost every day in a campaign that looks increasingly like a bad mistake.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune

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