Chuck Schumer: “On July 23, I believe it was, when I read the Novak column that named high administration sources as revealing the wife…”

“On July 23, I believe it was, when I read the Novak column that named high administration sources as revealing the wife of Ambassador Wilson, Ms. Plame, as an agent--I hasten to add, I don't know if she is a covert agent. That is classified. But that is what was in the paper--I was outraged. I didn't know who had leaked the information. No idea. I am not an expert on the internecine rivalries among the various agencies, but the fact it was done just boiled my blood. So I wrote the FBI and asked Mr. Mueller to undertake an investigation of this act. The act, make no mistake about it, is a very serious act. In fact, it is a crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Why is it a crime? Why have this body and the other body made this a crime? For obvious reasons. Our covert agents put their lives at risk for us every day. They are soldiers just like our brave young men and women in Iraq and around the globe. And in the post-9/11 world, the world of terrorism, they are among our most important soldiers because we have learned intelligence is key. When the name of an agent is revealed, it is like putting a gun to that agent's head.”