CIA agent linked to Collegian (Plame is a Penn State grad)

The Digital Collegian (Penn State) ^ | Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | Rachel Spivak

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

The classified life of Valerie Plame, whose name was leaked as an undercover agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), originated in the offices of the Daily Collegian in the 1980s.

Plame, a marketing manager of the Daily Collegian in 1984 and a 1985 Penn State graduate, left State College to embark on a top-secret life in Washington, D.C.

Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times columnist, first published Plame's name July 14 in the newspaper.

The Justice Department began a formal criminal investigation on Sept. 26 into who leaked Plame's name. It is a felony to name an undercover CIA agent under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and disobeying this law can lead to 10 years in prison.

Patti Hartranft, current operations manager for The Daily Collegian, served as a student business staff member at the same time as Plame.

Hartranft remembered the pleasant working environment surrounding the soon-to-be undercover agent and said she was also shocked at the turnout of Plame's life.

"I was surprised to say the least. But when I saw the name in the newspaper, I thought, 'Was that our Valerie?' And we found out it was and we were beyond shocked," Hartranft said.

Plame visited State College a year or two after her graduation, and she spoke vaguely of her new occupation in Washington.

"She came to visit for a football game or something, but obviously left out the specifics of her new job," Hartranft said.

Candy Heckard, business advisor for The Daily Collegian, worked alongside Plame before she graduated from Penn State.

Heckard said she saw much potential in the internal promotions staff member, but was utterly shocked when she discovered last week the occupation Plame chose for herself.

"She was very mature, a very nice girl and pleasant ... I had no idea that she went right from graduating from college to the CIA. I thought she went off to get a regular job after that," she said.

The disclosure of such classified information is a threat and a danger to the agency, because once Plame's job and undercover operative was revealed, other agency secrets could be leaked -- leaving other sources compromised. Plame's safety could also be in danger, as those she worked with during undercover missions may now know her identity.

"I hope she's fine," Heckard said. "I think when people do their jobs and do it well they shouldn't live in fear."

Karen Karnuta, the business manager for The Collegian in 1984, said she could only imagine the effects of the media and government attention on Plame, but she was more captivated by the thought of Plame as the new "Jane Bond" of the 21st century.

"I was more interested in picturing her as a mom of 3-year-old twins while using an AK-47 and blowing things up," Karnuta said.

This week, President Bush ordered 2,000 White House employees to search phone and computer records and other files for any information about Plame or Joseph Wilson, her husband, for the investigation into who leaked the name.

Wilson, a former ambassador to Iraq, was under critical analysis by Novak for saying the Bush administration had exaggerated the president's claim that Iraq wanted uranium from Niger for the use of developing nuclear weapons.

In his column, Novak suggested that Wilson got the Niger assignment because his wife was a CIA agent working on weapons proliferation issues, and then explicitly named Plame -- citing "two senior administration officials." Since that column ran, six other journalists have said they received the name.

Karnuta questioned the actions of the government and if its alleged involvement was true.

"In this day and age, we want to know we have good intelligence [agents] and now we must be fearful that our own government will out them," she said.

Plame's dealings in the CIA went deeper than an ordinary undercover agent. She was classified as a "non-official cover," which is the highest level of agent secrecy.

She posed as an employee of Brewster-Jennings & Associates, an energy-consulting firm that may have been a CIA front.

Plame is a graduate of Lower Moreland High School in Montgomery County. After graduating from Penn State at 22, she left for Washington to become an operative in the area of weapons of mass destruction and later became a mother of 3-year-old twins.

[Bud Bundy]

According to Bob Novak: "A big question is her duties at Langley. I regret that I referred to her in my column as an ''operative'' -- a word I have lavished on hack politicians for more than 40 years. While the CIA refuses to publicly define her status, the official contact says she is ''covered'' -- working under the guise of another agency. However, an unofficial source at the agency says she has been an analyst, not in covert operations."

Yet this place thinks she was James Bond?

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[Willie Green]

Yet this place thinks she was James Bond?

Yep! Isn't it exciting?
Maybe they'll film some of the movie on campus!