Judge Tosses Ex-Spy's Suit Against Cheney

Court rules Plame's civil action vs. VP, Rove, Libby won't go forward
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2007 3:43 PM CDT
Judge Tosses Ex-Spy's Suit Against Cheney
Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, right, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley wait for the start of a President Bush's news conference, Thursday, May 24, 2007, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)   (Associated Press)

A judge today dismissed outed CIA operative Valerie Plame's civil suit against Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby, saying that the revelation of her identity "was incidental to the kind of conduct that defendants were employed to perform." Furthermore, the judge ruled, Plame and her husband, ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson, failed to show that the case belongs in federal court.

The Wilsons sued the current and former White House officials last July, before Libby's conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. District Judge John Bates acknowledged the "important questions relating to the propriety of actions undertaken by our highest government officials," CNN reports. A spokeswoman for Cheney said the VP is "pleased" at the ruling. (More CIA leak investigation stories.)

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