U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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92–225

" HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 108TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT 108–413

2004

Part 4

REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTING THE 

SECRETARY OF STATE, THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOT 

LATER THAN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE 

ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION DOCUMENTS IN 

THE POSSESSION OF THE PRESIDENT AND THOSE 

OFFICIALS RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF THE 

IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MS. VALERIE 

PLAME

ADVERSE REPORT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ON

H. RES. 499

FEBRUARY 27, 2004.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 

printed.


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II)

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

DUNCAN HUNTER, California, Chairman 

CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania 

JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado 

JIM SAXTON, New Jersey 

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York 

TERRY EVERETT, Alabama 

ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland 

HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, California 

MAC THORNBERRY, Texas 

JOHN N. HOSTETTLER, Indiana 

WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina 

JIM RYUN, Kansas 

JIM GIBBONS, Nevada 

ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina 

HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico 

KEN CALVERT, California 

ROB SIMMONS, Connecticut 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

ED SHROCK, Virginia 

W. TODD AKIN, Missouri 

J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia 

JEFF MILLER, Florida 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

TOM COLE, Oklahoma 

JEB BRADLEY, New Hambshire 

ROB BISHOP, Utah 

MICHAEL TURNER, Ohio 

JOHN KLINE, Minnesota 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan 

PHIL GINGREY, Georgia 

MIKE ROGERS, Alabama 

TRENT FRANKS, Arizona 

IKE SKELTON, Missouri 

JOHN SPRATT, South Carolina 

SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas 

LANE EVANS, Illinois 

GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi 

NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii 

MARTY MEEHAN, Massachusetts 

SILVESTRE REYES, Texas 

VIC SYNDER, Arkansas 

JIM TURNER, Texas 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

LORETTA SANCHEZ, California 

MIKE MCINTYRE, North Carolina 

CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas 

ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California 

ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania 

BARON P. HILL, Indiana 

JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut 

SUSAN A. DAVIS, California 

JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island 

STEVE ISRAEL, New York 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

JIM COOPER, Tennessee 

JIM MARSHALL, Georgia 

KENDRICK B. MEEK, Florida 

MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam 

RODNEY ALEXANDER, Louisiana 

TIM RYAN, Ohio 

ROBERT S. RANGEL, Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1

Background .............................................................................................................. 2

Legislative History .................................................................................................. 3

Committee Position ................................................................................................. 4

Committee Cost Estimate ....................................................................................... 4

Oversight Findings .................................................................................................. 4

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 4

Statement of Federal Mandates ............................................................................. 4

Record Votes ............................................................................................................. 4

108TH CONGRESS REPT. 108–413 " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 2d Session Part 4

REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF 

STATE, THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOT LATER THAN 

14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION 

DOCUMENTS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE PRESIDENT AND THOSE OFFICIALS RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF THE IDENTITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MS. VALERIE PLAME 

FEBRUARY 27, 2004.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HUNTER, from the Committee on Armed Services, 

submitted the following 

ADVERSE REPORT 

[To accompany H. Res. 499] 

[Including Committee Cost Estimate]

The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the 

resolution (H. Res. 499) requesting the President and directing the 

Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 

days after the date of the adoption of this resolution documents in 

the possession of the President and those officials relating to the 

disclosure of the identity and employment of Ms. Valerie Plame, 

having considered the same, report unfavorably thereon without 

amendment and recommend that resolution not be agreed to. 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

House Resolution 499, introduced on January 21, 2004, by Congressman Rush Holt, requests the President and directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General 

to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days 

after the date of the adoption of the resolution all documents including telephone and electronic mail records, logs and calendars, 

personnel records, and records of internal discussions in the possession of the President and those officials relating to the disclosure 

of the identity of Ms. Valerie Plame as an employee of the Central 

Intelligence Agency during the period beginning on May 6, 2003, 

and ending on July 31, 2003. 

Clause 7 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives 

provides for a committee to report on a qualifying resolution of inquiry, such as H. Res. 499, within 14 legislative days or a priviVerDate jul 14 2003 06:45 Feb 28, 2004 Jkt 092225 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR413P4.XXX HR413P4
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1 Robert Novak, ‘‘The Mission to Niger,’’ Chicago Sun-Times, 14 July 2003, Editorial section, 

p. 31.

2 Robert Novak, ‘‘Columnist Wasn’t Pawn for Leak,’’ Chicago Sun-Times, 1 October 2003, Editorial section, p. 49.

leged motion to discharge the committee is in order. H. Res. 499 

was introduced and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence, and in addition referred to the Committees on Armed Services, International Relations, and the Judiciary on January 21, 

2004. 

Under the rules and precedents of the House, a resolution of inquiry is one of the means by which the House may request information from the President of the United States or the head of one 

of the executive departments. It is a simple resolution making a direct request or demand of the President or head of an executive department to furnish the House of Representatives with specific factual information in the possession of the executive branch. It is not 

used to request opinions or to require an investigation on a subject. 

BACKGROUND

On July 14, 2003, syndicated columnist Robert Novak wrote a 

column questioning why Ambassador Joseph Wilson had been 

tasked with gathering information for the Bush Administration. 

Novak wrote, ‘‘Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. 

Two senior administration officials told me his wife suggested sending Wilson to Niger to investigate the Italian report. The CIA says 

its counter-proliferation officials selected Wilson and asked his wife 

to contact him.’’ 1 Novak refused to identify his sources, but added 

additional detail about how he had learned of Plame’s employment 

in an October 1, 2003, column:

During a long conversation with a senior administration 

official, I asked why Wilson was assigned the mission to 

Niger. He said Wilson had been sent by the CIA’s 

counterproliferation section at the suggestion of one of its 

employees, his wife. It was an offhand revelation from this 

official, who is no partisan gunslinger. When I called another official for confirmation, he said: ‘‘Oh, you know 

about it.’’ 2

According to press reports, the CIA referred the matter to the Department of Justice after Novak’s July 14, 2003, column based on 

the possibility that the revelation of Plame’s employment status 

with the Central Intelligence Agency constituted a violation of the 

Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 U.S.C. 421). This 

Act makes it a crime to intentionally disclose the identity of a covert agent by persons with access to classified information and foreknowledge that the government sought to protect the identity of 

that covert agent. 

According to press reports, the Department of Justice began an 

investigation in September 2003, which the White House spokesman confirmed on October 1, 2003. By that time, the Justice Department had contacted the White House and asked it to preserve 

and maintain documents under its control. On October 3, 2003, a 

White House spokesperson indicated that the Justice Department 

had asked the White House to produce certain, more specific mateVerDate jul 14 2003 06:45 Feb 28, 2004 Jkt 092225 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR413P4.XXX HR413P4
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3 Curt Anderson, ‘‘Rove, McClellan among Officials Interviewed in CIA Leak Probe,’’ Associated Press Newswires, 23 October 2003. 4 U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Comey and Assistant Attorney General Christopher 

Wray, Department of Justice Press Conference, Washington, D.C., 30 December 2003. 

rials as part of the investigation, including the kinds of materials 

that are the subject of H. Res. 499. 

On December 30, 2003, the Attorney General recused himself 

from the investigation to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest. Prior to his recusal, the Attorney General, in discussions with 

Deputy Attorney General James Comey, concluded that it was appropriate to appoint an investigator from outside the Justice Department’s normal chain of command in order to oversee the investigation. That decision fell to Deputy Attorney General Comey, who 

appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, to investigate the matter and act as a special counsel. Comey simultaneously delegated all necessary authorities to 

Fitzgerald to continue the investigation. As a sitting U.S. Attorney, 

Fitzgerald’s investigatory authority exceeds that of a normal ‘‘special counsel.’’ He does not have to secure approval from the Attorney General in making his prosecutorial decisions and has all the 

investigatory tools normally available to a U.S. Attorney at his disposal, including the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and testimony, and convene a grand jury. A recent news 

article has stated, ‘‘Boxloads of documents have been forwarded to 

the FBI team, including White House phone logs and e-mails. More 

documents are being produced, as the contents of individual items 

sometimes lead agents to request additional materials. * * *’’ 3 According to press reports, Fitzgerald has since convened a Grand 

Jury to consider evidence in the investigation. In general, federal 

grand juries have sweeping investigative authorities to subpoena 

witnesses and documents identical to those identified in H. Res 

499. 

Justice Department officials have discussed the process associated with the investigation on the record, but have refused to discuss any details of the investigation itself in order to preserve the 

integrity of a possible criminal prosecution. Deputy Attorney General Comey told the media, ‘‘I can’t tell you about the details of any 

criminal investigation because our goal is to make sure that anyone 

we’re pursuing doesn’t know what we’re doing, and also, anyone 

who might not be charged with a crime is not unfairly smeared.’’ 4

In light of the ongoing criminal investigation, the committee concluded that transmittal of the materials identified in H. Res. 499 

would undermine the investigation and possible criminal prosecution of any suspects believed to have committed a crime in the 

Plame matter. Therefore, the committee ordered the resolution to 

be reported adversely. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

As noted above, H. Res. 499 was introduced on January 21, 2004, 

and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, International Relations, 

and the Judiciary. On January 28, 2004, the Select Committee on 

Intelligence reported adversely the resolution by a record vote of 10 

ayes, three noes, and one present. The resolution was reported adversely by the Committee on the Judiciary on February 25, 2004, 

4

by a record vote of 17 ayes and 8 noes, and by the Committee on 

International Relations on February 25, 2004, by a record vote of 

24 ayes to 22 noes. 

On February 25, 2004, the Committee on Armed Services held a 

mark-up session to consider H. Res. 499. The committee reported 

adversely the resolution by a record vote of 30 ayes to 23 noes. 

COMMITTEE POSITION

On February 25, 2004, the Committee on Armed Services met in 

open session and reported adversely the resolution H. Res. 499 to 

the House by a record vote of 30 ayes to 23 noes, a quorum being 

present. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, the committee estimates the costs of implementing the resolution would be minimal. The Congressional Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate for the resolution. 

OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the committee reports that the findings 

and recommendations of the committee, based on oversight activities pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional 

Budget Act of 1974, this legislation does not include any new 

spending or credit authority, nor does it provide for any increase 

or decrease in tax revenues or expenditures. 

With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, performance goals and objectives can not 

be explained, because the resolution does not require any new 

funding. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the committee finds that the rule does not 

apply because H. Res. 499 is not a bill or joint resolution that may 

be enacted into law. 

STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES

Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104–4, this legislation contains no federal mandates with respect to state, local, and tribal 

governments, nor with respect to the private sector. Similarly, the 

resolution provides no unfunded federal intergovernmental mandates. 

RECORD VOTES

In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the committee sets forth the following 

record vote that occurred during the committee’s consideration of 

H. Res. 499.

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