Who Knew Plame Was CIA?

Remember how we pointed out that the Rove leak case turns on whether The Great and Powerful Slug knew that Joseph Wilson's wife was a covert agent? Well, apparently (and I stress apparently) no one knew she worked for the CIA. This would make it, um, rather difficult for Rove's statement to Cooper not to be utterly damning and outright illegal.

According to Jack K (ellipses his):

...the first thing we know is that Karl Rove is a liar, because he told Cooper that Valerie Plame authorized her husband's trip to Nigeria on behalf of the CIA. Valerie Plame wasn't in a position to make such an authorization, and it was higher authorities in the CIA that were looking for an envoy to make that snooping-around trip...

...the next thing we know is that Karl Rove is a liar and - more to the point - a traitor to this country. He has constantly made a point of playing at the margins of truth, saying that he never told anyone that Valerie Plame was an undercover CIA agent or that he used her name, the implication being that he had no involvement in her outing. As Cooper's e-mail - which was prior to the initial column by that other noted traitor and administration stoolie Bobby Novak - clearly shows, Rove told Cooper that it was Wilson's wife, WHO WORKED FOR THE CIA IN THE AREA OF WMD, who played a central role in Wilson's being selected to go to Nigeria. One little problem, Karl ol' sweet cheeks Snoogums sugar-pie: nobody knew up until that moment that VALERIE PLAME ACTUALLY WORKED FOR THE FRIGGIN' CIA!!!

Let me repeat that unless you missed it.

NOBODY KNEW SHE WORKED FOR THE CIA!!!!

...as far as anyone knew, Mrs. Wilson was an energy industry consultant for the consulting firm Brewster Jennings, which itself was a CIA cover asset which is now as worthless as radioactive dirt to the agency. But nobody knew that at the time.

(Sort of via Atrios.)

So just to recapitulate the obvious: If this is true (and I stress if), then the architect of Bush's regime presidency and his closest advisor was willing to out an undercover CIA agent working to prevent WMD proliferation, thus jeopardizing the safety of the United States of America. I think that qualifies as treason. And for what? Partisan political purposes.

Feel free to double-check Jack K's point about her work for Brewster Jennings. I'm trying to find something on it and will correct this post if it turns out to be false.

UPDATE: According to this (in blogistani terms) ancient WaPo article, identifying Plame blew the cover of the CIA front she publicly "worked" for. We quote from it at length here.