ALSO VISIT

Prosecutors have discovered a key piece of evidence in the investigation into the leaking of the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame by someone in the White House in the summer of 2003. The classified memo was authored in June 2003, just after Amb. Joseph Wilson published an article debunking the administration's Iraq-Niger uranium claims.

The memo was reportedly requested by then head of State Department intelligence, Carl Ford, to be read by Undersecretary of State Grossman, in charge of operations while then Secretary Powell and his deputy were away. The AP reports that an anonymous official brought the memo to light, and that Grossman needed the memo because he was "not familiar with the subject".

The memo itself is important, because it could lead investigators down the path they need to follow to learn who precisely knew about Plame's CIA status, and possibly how that information was first leaked to the press. Some content could also proved that the leaker or leakers had to have known their revelations were criminal.

Details of the memo's contents also have begun to emerge in the press, revealing that the paragraph stating that "Valerie Wilson" was with the CIA was marked "S", meaning it contained secret information and was subject to laws and regulations applicable to items classified top secret, so that any official who read the memo would have known her identity was to be kept secret. [For more: AP]

• Timeline of incidents surrounding leak, investigation

BACKGROUND:
WHAT THE LAW SAYS ABOUT LEAKING COVERT OP INFO
14 July 2005

Supporters of Karl Rove, spokespeople for the Republican party and talking points issued to party members, press and pundits have been eagerly asserting that Karl Rove violated no law when he revealed that Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife was an "agency" operative, because he did not state her name. In fact, this is plainly false: the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, the applicable federal law, states that revealing "any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not
authorized to receive classified information" constitutes a violation of the law and can result in $50,000 in fines and/or 10 years in prison. [Full Story]

JUDGE IMPRISONS REPORTER FOR REFUSING TO REVEAL SOURCE
6 July 2005

New York Times reporter Judith Miller has been jailed by a Special Prosecutor investigating the leak by White House officials of the identity of an undercover CIA agent to the press. She could face up to four months in prison, for violating a court order which she believes runs contrary to the constitutionally protected press freedoms. Investigating who in the White House leaked the name of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame to the press in the summer of 2003, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had demanded full testimony by reporters Judith Miller (of The New York Times) and Matthew Cooper (of TIME) regarding the identity of the sources they used to write stories about the controversy. [Full Story]