?????

If Karl Rove was the leaker of Valerie Plame's name, how would he, a private citizen, have known she was a CIA agent? I'm asking because I don't know how this would work: I assume such information is classified - would a non-governmental employee, one whose job as a private citizen involved political strategy, be given clearance to national security information in general and CIA information in particular? Even one working as a private citizen for the president? In other words, was it a crime for him to even know about Plame? Did someone in Bushco with clearance commit a crime in telling Rove about Plame?

If so, and he was the leaker, then there are two people who commited a treasonous felony, Rove and the person who disclosed that information to Rove.

Does this sound right? (My guess re: the leak - Rove wanted to punish, he was given the info on Plame, he put the person who knew about Plame in touch w/Novakula. Still a crime, still the work of a pustule of evil, but not the same as being the leaker. Hope I'm wrong.)