This Washington Post article by Walter Pincus and Mike Allen, two of the Post's best, describes how revealing Plame's identity also compromised a CIA front firm, Brewster-Jennings & Associates. And Novak gave some extra assistance to that process:
The name of the CIA front company was broadcast yesterday by Novak, the syndicated journalist who originally identified Plame. Novak, highlighting Wilson's ties to Democrats, said on CNN that Wilson's "wife, the CIA employee, gave $1,000 to Gore and she listed herself as an employee of Brewster-Jennings & Associates."In continuing his cooperation with White House attempts to discredit Wilson and Plame, Novak apparently shot off his mouth carelessly, to put the most generous interpretation on it. But the damage to the effectiveness of the front company had probably already been done by the original revelation.
"There is no such firm, I'm convinced," he continued. "CIA people are not supposed to list themselves with fictitious firms if they're under a deep cover -- they're supposed to be real firms, or so I'm told. Sort of adds to the little mystery."
In fact, it appears the firm did exist, at least on paper. The Dun & Bradstreet database of company names lists a firm that is called both Brewster Jennings & Associates and Jennings Brewster & Associates.
Veteran political reporter Jules Witcover, in an excellent article Friday, addressed the issue of protection of sources in this case:
If Mr. Novak initiated the interview [that produced the Plame exposure], then he clearly has the obligation to protect his source. But if some White House rumormonger undertook, unsolicited, to plant the story with other reporters, I don't see where, unless they had some prior understanding with the leaker, they have any obligation to protect him in his efforts of intimidation.Tags: joseph wilson, jules witcover, robert novak, valerie plame
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