Plame

Plame is a surname most widely associated with Valerie Plame Wilson, an American former CIA officer whose covert status became public in 2003 amid the controversy over the justification for the Iraq War. The incident, known as the Plame affair, drew wide media attention and sparked a criminal investigation.

Valerie Elise Plame (born December 1963) is an American former field operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency who specialized in weapons of mass destruction. She joined the CIA in the 1980s and held undercover postings overseas. She is married to diplomat Joseph C. Wilson IV.

In 2003, reporters disclosed Plame’s identity as a CIA operative, prompting a federal investigation led by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. The inquiry led to the 2007 conviction of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, then chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury related to the investigation. President George W. Bush commuted Libby’s sentence in 2007; he was later pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2018. The case heightened scrutiny of how intelligence information is handled in political contexts and is commonly referred to as the Plame affair.

In the years following, Plame and her husband published a memoir about the episode and its aftermath. Plame has remained active in public discourse on intelligence, national security, and government accountability, while also engaging in speaking and advocacy work. The events surrounding Plame’s exposure inspired the 2010 film Fair Game, which dramatizes aspects of the case.