Plame Testifies Before Congress Today: She Confirms She Was 'Covert' -- Calls Outing a 'Travesty'

By Greg Mitchell
Editor and Publisher
Published: March 16, 2007 10:45 AM ET updated 11:25 AM

WASHINGTON Valerie Plame told a congressional committee today that she indeed did work in a "covert" status at the CIA, and referred to the "travesty" of the disclosure of that by administration officials and the media.

"I know I am here under oath, and I am here to say that I was covert," she said, disputing claims to the contrary.

She said she was "shocked" by some of the revelations in the recent Libby trial. She also denied recommending that her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, be sent to Niger in the 2002 mission. After noting that she was happy to say this under oath, she called the allegation "incorrect" and "doesn't square with the facts."

Plame said a CIA colleague had mentioned that Wilson was qualified to do this assignment. She said she was "ambivalent" about that, as she was concerned about looking after the couple's two-year-old twins at the time. But asked to pass this request on, she did.