The Political Chase

Analysis: Judy Miller’s Personal Account

As I wrote earlier, I am reviewing the New York Times articles about Judy Miller. I plan to have an overall summary, but I wanted to point out at least one item I believe to be significant.

This is from Miller’s personal account, specifically her second meeting with Scooter Libby on July 8, 2003.

At that breakfast meeting, our conversation also turned to Mr. Wilson’s wife. My notes contain a phrase inside parentheses: “Wife works at Winpac.” Mr. Fitzgerald asked what that meant. Winpac stood for Weapons Intelligence, Non-Proliferation, and Arms Control, the name of a unit within the C.I.A. that, among other things, analyzes the spread of unconventional weapons.

The is how the Times’ staff described that part of the meeting.

During the breakfast, Mr. Libby provided a detail about Ms. Wilson, saying she worked in a C.I.A. unit known as Winpac; the name stands for weapons intelligence, nonproliferation and arms control. Ms. Miller said she understood this to mean that Ms. Wilson was an analyst rather than an undercover operative.

Now, if we read the excerpts below from form SF-312, which Libby had to sign, and Title 18 of the United States Criminal Code, it is easy to conclude that Libby violated the laws of the United States.

Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement
(Standard Form 312)
Briefing Booklet

“All persons with authorized access to classified information shall be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement as a condition of access.” This requirement is reiterated in the executive order on classified national security information. The SF 312 is a contractual agreement between the U.S. Government and you, a cleared employee, in which you agree never to disclose classified information to an unauthorized person. Its primary purpose is to inform you of (1) the trust that is placed in you by providing you access to classified information; (2) your responsibilities to protect that information from unauthorized disclosure; and (3) the consequences that may result from your failure to meet those responsibilities. Additionally, by establishing the nature of this trust, your responsibilities, and the potential consequences of noncompliance in the context of a contractual agreement, if you violate that trust, the United States will be better able to prevent an unauthorized disclosure or to discipline you for such a disclosure by initiating a civil or administrative action.

The third and final requirement for access to classified information is the “need-to-know;” that is, you must have a need to know the information in order to perform your official duties. The holder of classified information to which you seek access is responsible for confirming your identity, your clearance, and your “need-to-know.” As a holder of classified information, you are responsible for making these same determinations with respect to any individual to whom you may disclose it.

[Emphasis added.]

Title 18, United States Code

Sec. 793. Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information

(d) Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it;

[Emphasis added.]

Miller had a security clearance when she was an embedded reporter during the Iraq war, but that seems to be moot even if the she still held a security clearance. The key is “need-to-know.” Miller was not employed by or providing a service for the US government. Quite the contrary, she was in a position to publicly disclose whatever Scooter divulged.

There are other similar incidents, but this one stands out like an Iraqi’s purple thumb after voting.