Though the investigation into who "outed" Plame was premised on the notion that (a) her identity was not publicly known before RobertаNovak's article in July 2003аand (b) the disclosure came from the Administration——particularly persons in the White House to somehow "punish" Wilson, there is increasing evidence that Wilson himself widely divulged that information to burnish his own credentials as an expert.

I reported long ago that at the June 14, 2003 EPIC conference (where he listed his wife as Valerie Plame in the program)аWilson revealed he was the Ambassador who was the source for the May 2003 Nicholas Kristof piece and the June 2003 Walter Pincus piece, in which he falsely accused the Administration of jiggering evidence and disclosed his wife's name..There's ample reason to believe he flourishedа more than just her name, but as well herаconnection to the agency in greater detail regularly, which makes the entire investigation into who publicly disclosed her identity particularly ridiculous.

а

A shrewd reader at Free Republicаhas found this article.а See if you can guess who was the 'former state department official with ties to the CIA' who was a source for this article (which the wayback machine says was posted on July 7, 2003).аRay McGovern, whoа was the other featured speaker at the EPIC conference and a leading member of the VIPs—one who openly called on CIA employees to leak — is a named source. A second source is described only as a 'former state department official with ties to the CIA.'аа

а

I stronglyа suspect 'former state department official'а isа none other than Ambassador Munchausen himself, referring to his wife's employment to strengthen his credentials. And I have reason to believe that has been a pattern, as the witnesses Libby has announced he'll call willа certainlyаdemonstrate.

а

Critical Rhetoric, a poster at Just One Minute, provides more information about the July 2003 Red Pepper article. He writes:

а

June 23 was one day after the Pincus article in the Washington Post and one day after the Glen Rangwala reference to Wilson in the Independent. Rangwala and McGovern both talked to Wilson at the EPIC event, and McGovern was a source for the Dreyfuss article. There is every reason in the world to believe that he would direct the author to Wilson, or would have Wilson contact the author.

а

But the date might not be critical, since Dreyfuss also did a Nation article (posted June 19) that cited McGovern and "a former US ambassador with strong links to the CIA" who suggested that the forged documents may have come from Israel.

а

It is therefore evident that beginning in May of 2003а——with his interview with Nicholas Kristof——Wilson was pushing his story and many reporters knew who he was before he wrote his July 6, 2003 op ed in the New York Times. It is also apparent that beginning about the same time he told reporters of his connection to the CIA, that is, that his wife worked there on WMD matters.

а

Clarice Feldmanаа 5 07 06 (updated 5 08 06)