Plame says her cover was blown for political reasons

Valerie Plame, the former CIA operative whose identity was disclosed to the press by members of the Bush administration, told a congressional panel Friday that her cover was blown for “purely political reasons.”

In a packed hearing room, Plame told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that she felt as though she was “hit in the gut” when she learned that her identity was made public.

“We in the CIA always know that we might be exposed and threatened by foreign enemies,” Plame said. “It was a terrible irony that administration officials were the ones who destroyed my cover.”

The leak case has resulted in the conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was found guilty earlier this month of lying to investigators.

Only two Republicans, ranking member Rep. Tom Davis (Va.) and Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), were present at the beginning of the hearing, which was covered heavily by the press.

Davis condemned the outing of Plame but said the issue “looks to me more like a CIA problem than a White House problem. If the agency doesn’t take sufficient precautions to protect the identity of those who engage in covert work, no one else can do it for them.”

Davis also pointed out that “after spending six months and millions of dollars, the special counsel charged no one with the violations of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act” in the case.

When Plame left at the end of her testimony, protesters loudly called for the impeachment of President Bush.