Cheney, Rove and Libby Are Sued in Agent's Unmasking

Though legal experts were divided over the strength of the allegations, the suit is likely to become a rallying point for administration critics -- in a similar manner, perhaps, to the focus by partisans a decade ago on Paula Jones' sexual harassment litigation against President Clinton. In this case, the charges are rooted in one of the most divisive and intensely debated issues of the Bush presidency: whether the administration twisted the intelligence it used to justify the war in Iraq.

Novak published Plame's name and employment in his syndicated column July 14, 2003 -- eight days after an op-ed article by her husband ran in the New York Times. Wilson challenged Bush's assertion in the State of the Union address that year that Saddam Hussein had sought nuclear material in Africa. In 2002, Wilson was sent on a CIA-backed mission to Niger to assess the claim; he concluded in his article that it was unfounded.

Plame had worked as a covert operative on weapons issues; in some circumstances, disclosing the identity of an undercover officer is a federal crime. Wilson and Plame say that her identity was leaked in retaliation for her husband's criticism.

Although Rove and Libby initially denied that they had anything to do with exposing Plame, an investigation by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald showed that both men had spoken with reporters about her -- and that Cheney himself was one of the people who gave information about Plame to Libby.

Fitzgerald's probe also revealed that Cheney was acutely concerned about Wilson's criticism and was insinuating privately that his wife had arranged the Africa trip as a "junket."

There has been no evidence that Cheney urged anyone to expose Plame. But her name surfaced as administration officials were speaking with reporters about Wilson and his column.

According to the lawsuit, the leak caused widespread personal and professional damage. Plame resigned from the CIA last year, citing the fallout from the scandal. The suit alleges that the disclosure has left Wilson and Plame fearing for their family's safety because of concerns that they had become targets of people hostile to the U.S. or the intelligence community.

The suit also alleges that by retaliating against Wilson for writing the column, the officials violated the couple's 1st Amendment rights, and that by disclosing Plame's identity, they violated her right to privacy. The suit was brought in part under a theory that allows citizens to sue federal officials for violating their constitutional rights.