Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy: the Plame Affair

[ProSense]

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy: the Plame Affair

Valerie Plame Wilson, whose career Karl Rover and Vice President Dick Cheney wanted destroyed in a fit of pique, was finally allowed to testify before Congress on Friday. Some in the blogosphere are arguing that the outing of Plame Wilson was an impeachable offense.

Defenders of Rove and Cheney say that if they did not know that Valerie Plame Wilson was an undercover operative, then they did not break the law by trying to out her. But first of all, as high officials of the US government, they had a responsibility to excercise prudence in this regard. The "reasonably prudent person" is always invoked in tort trials, why not in national security affairs? Can anyone argue that Rove and Cheney were being prudent in their actions? Shouldn't they have to be to stay in office?

Moreover, they did know that Plame Wilson was involved in counter-proliferation efforts, including against Iran. By leaking her name with the intent that journalists such as Judy Miller publish it, they were conveying information about a CIA operation to Iran. That is high treason, even if they did not know she was covert. All they had to know is that she was trying to impede Iran's nuclear program, and that the Iranians did not know that that was what she was doing. You can't make her public without also letting the Iranians know. Here is what the Constitution says:

Article III, Section 3:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

<...>

Therefore, Rove and Cheney (and maybe Bush himself) gave aid and comfort to an enemy of these United States by a deliberate act of outing a CIA operative who was not known to Iran and whose cover and activities had not been.

That's treason. That warrants impeachment.

Also read Cliff Schecter’s "Karl Rove Must Go To Prison".

Here’s an excerpt:

He has corrupted American Democracy at every level, and has never paid the price.

He must go to prison, for the integrity of our system, if not just because it is the most natural place for him to reside outside of Hades. For once in his pathetic self-hating life, fully investigate this piece of garbage--please.

[Demeter]

1. Treason Is a Capital Crime--Much More Than Impeachment

And don't think THAT doesn't keep these thugs up nights--except for Dumby, who sleeps like a baby.

[ProSense]

3. Yes it is. Do you think they'll get charged with treason, and

then punished accordingly?

[Bitwit1234]

2. And shouldn't Novak and Miller be brought up for judgement.

Especially Novak. This is not the first time he cooperated with rove to try to help the republicans.

[doc03]

4. Where is "Treason Gate" you know if this

was a Democratic scandal that's what they would be calling it?