Was Valerie Plame a CIA covert agent when her name was released by Robert Novak?

Howdy ninapearl-ga,

According to this Newsweek article titled "The CIA Leak: Plame Was Still
Covert" by Michael Isikoff and dated Feb. 13, 2006, special prosecutor
Patrick Fitzgerald made a determination on this matter.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11179719/site/newsweek/

"But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeed
done 'covert work overseas' on counterproliferation matters in the past
five years, and the CIA 'was making specific efforts to conceal' her
identity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion."

US Code (USC) TITLE 50, CHAPTER 15, SUBCHAPTER IV, § 426, (4) covers one
definition of being a covert agent.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00000426----000-.html

"The term 'covert agent' means?
(A) a present or retired officer or employee of an intelligence agency or
a present or retired member of the Armed Forces assigned to duty with an
intelligence agency?
(i) whose identity as such an officer, employee, or member is classified
information, and
(ii) who is serving outside the United States or has within the last five
years served outside the United States; ..."

Under the above definition and the assertion by Patrick Fitzgerald, Valerie
Plame, also know as Valerie Wilson, was considered a CIA covert agent when
Robert Novak's July 14, 2003 column was published in the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102000874.html

"Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency
operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials
told me that Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate the
Italian report. The CIA says its counterproliferation officials selected
Wilson and asked his wife to contact him."

If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask.


Search strategy:

Google search on: "Valerie Plame" "covert agent"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Valerie+Plame%22+%22covert+agent%22

Referenced the USC as above.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Fitzgerald has apparently issued conflicting statements,
and Plame's status is still hotly disputed. For a more
balanced answer, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Plame

There is no "balance" to be had to the answer of this question, as Valerie
Plame, also known as Valerie Wilson, was either a covert agent or she wasn't
a covert agent.

On June 10, 2003, just weeks from Robert Novak's July 14, 2003 column was
published in the Washington Post, an analyst in the U.S. State Department's
Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), certainly considered Valerie Plame
to be a covert agent.

Here is the Washington Post coverage of this critical piece of information
that the "balanced" Wikipedia article cited in the above comment doesn't
mention, except in an incomplete, and somewhat disingenuous fashion, a link
away.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/20/AR2005072002517.html

"A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak
investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a
paragraph marked '(S)' for secret, a clear indication that any Bush
administration official who read it should have been aware the information
was classified, according to current and former government officials.
...
The paragraph identifying her as the wife of former ambassador Joseph C.
Wilson IV was clearly marked to show that it contained classified material at
the 'secret' level, two sources said. The CIA classifies as 'secret' the names
of officers whose identities are covert, according to former senior agency
officials."

It might be worth noting the disclaimer on the Wikipedia website.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer

"Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by
professionals with the expertise required to provide you with complete,
accurate or reliable information."

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher