Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
The Karl Rove Controversy Continued
Point 2
Over on DailyKos.com there is an interesting thread (search for espionage) discussing whether the Espionage Act of 1917 was violated. (If you’re a real glutton for eye strain, here is the actual statute .)
The MSM is only discussing whether the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was broken. Allegedly, Rove is unlikely to be prosecuted under the Identities Act since that crime is almost impossible to prove in a court of law. As stated today in the New York Times:
“The 1982 law that makes it a crime to disclose the identities of covert operatives is not easy to break. It has apparently been the basis of a single prosecution, against Sharon M. Scranage, a C.I.A. clerk in Ghana who pleaded guilty in 1985 to identifying two C.I.A. agents to a boyfriend.”
If you want to read a discussion on the application of this law, click over here at Tabella .
Of course, the controversy is NOT solely a legal question. Even if no one is convicted, the story could catch on with the public and cause real political embarrassment to the Bush Administration. A “successful” scandal is relatively simple, easily explained, and contains a dramatic hook with an emotional appeal. For example, if Valerie Plame’s alleged network was exposed and an operative was killed in an excessively gory fashion, that might provide enough drama to hold public interest.
Do I sound cold? I go through dozens of news sites each day. THAT would make anyone jaded.
