More on Valerie Plame's Status

I see that someone calling himself "Honzman" has wished the Other Political Junkie a Happy Birthday.

Let's hope that it IS Fred "The Honzman" Honsberger who's checking out the blog - if he sticks around long enough, maybe he'll learn something. Hahahaha!

Fred, if it is you, you need to take a look at the transcript from The House Commmittee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing on CIA Identity Leak on Friday the 16th. Henry Waxman opened said this:

This hearing is being conducted in open session. This is appropriate, but it is also challenging. Ms. Wilson was a covert employee of the CIA. We cannot discuss all of the details of her CIA employment in open session.

I have met, personally, with General Hayden, the head of the CIA, to discuss what I can and cannot say about Ms. Wilson's service. And I want to thank him for his cooperation and help in guiding us along these lines.

My staff has also worked with the agency to ensure these remarks do not contain classified information.

I have been advised by the CIA and that even now, after all that has happened, I cannot disclose the full nature, scope and character of Ms. Wilson's service to our nation without causing serious damage to our national security interests.

But General Hayden and the CIA have cleared these following comments for today's hearing.

During her employment at the CIA, Ms. Wilson was undercover. Her employment status with the CIA was classified information, prohibited from disclosure under Executive Order 12958.

At the time of the publication of Robert Novak's column on July 14, 2003, Ms. Wilson's CIA employment status was covert. This was classified information.

Ms. Wilson served in senior management positions at the CIA, in which she oversaw the work for other CIA employees and she attained the level of GS-14, Step 6, under the federal pay scale.

Ms. Wilson worked on some of the most sensitive and highly secretive matters handled by the CIA.

Ms. Wilson served at various times overseas for the CIA.[emphasis added]

Here we have the chairman of a powerful House committee declaring, in statements cleared by the CIA and the head of the CIA (and Pittsburgh native, by the way) Michael Hayden, that Valerie Plame was "undercover" her employment status was "covert" and that that information was "classified."

Finally, releasing that information was a violation of Executive Order 12958.

Fred, will you be stating anytime soon how wrong you've been for these last few years when you repeatedly said in no uncertain terms that Valerie Plame was not covert?

I mean, the frickin head of the CIA just said she was. What that means to you is, you're just plain wrong whenever you said she wasn't.

Aren't you?