So Karl Rove has now been identified as the leaker responsible for the deaths of more than 70 CIA assets overseas. (See previous story “Will the Real Chemical Ali Please Stand Up? The Curious Case of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, www.almartinraw.com)

When Ambassador Wilson was asked how he knew it was Rove, he had documents in his possession identifying Rove as the leaker from a secret investigation of the State Department's Internal Security Unit. It was from a small clique, four Clinton holdovers in that department of the State Department, who were sympathetic to what had happened to Wilson.

These investigations could not have possibly been made without, at least, the tacit acquiescence of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Wilson has announced that he will have his private attorneys petition the Department of Justice demanding that Rover a/k/a Karl Rove be prosecuted under the 1982 Intelligence Identity Protection Act. This law was specifically supposed to prevent what has happened in this case, and that is the Bush administration attempting to retaliate against a senior government official who tells the truth about that administration by revealing the identities of intelligence members within their own families.

This is a law that was specifically designed to prevent this from happening. It is a law that was proffered by the Democrats in 1982 that the Republicans fought and could not defeat. The law carries an automatic mandatory 10 years to life imprisonment as punishment.

And where would Rove go? Karl Rove, it should be noted, is a dual citizen of the United States and Germany. Because of his position he has special diplomatic status. The idea is that if it's absolutely necessary, he could go to Switzerland where he couldn't be extradited.

The law specifically states in this case (and this depends on how much Secretary of State Colin Powell is prepared to get involved, if he signs a formal complaint from the State Department) that the Attorney General has no choice but to prosecute. He is required to prosecute, even if he doesn't want to do so.

This is very explosive, and what makes it so explosive is that this Intelligence Identity Act, if it can be proved, and Rove can be successfully prosecuted, and if Rove reveals that the president George Bush told him to institute this leak, then the President's automatic shield of immunity is removed and the president himself can be prosecuted for murder -- if any deaths of any US intelligence agents or assets resulted from the leak. This is the only legal statute that has this provision.

The Bush Administration is exerting enormous pressure on Colin Powell because he is the real linchpin. They are exerting pressure on him NOT to proceed to file a formal complaint with the Department of Justice.

Wilson's problem is that he has no greater legal standing than that of a private citizen. The Department of Justice, unbeknownst to anybody, has had a lot of communications with Wilson's attorney and they're claiming that Wilson has no special status, that he's just an everyday citizen, so that any demand he would make for prosecution would carry no more weight than a private citizen or OFU.

(OFU is George Bush Senior's term to describe the average American citizen. It stands for "One Fodder Unit.")

Wilson is saying, however, that when Rove leaked this out, he was still formally employed by the State Department. Wilson, it should be remembered, was the former ambassador during the Clinton Regime, was formally rehired, and he received a paycheck from the Department of State. When these leaks took place he still had another three weeks left on his contract. Therefore he was still a United States Ambassador and that apparently is also a key legal point.

When this goes before the US Court of Appeals in Washington and if the court agrees that Wilson was a formal ambassador at the time, then Colin Powell can not refuse to formally petition the Department of Justice for the prosecution of Karl Rove and to open an investigation into the president’s and vice president's role in the affair.

Was Rove really the source of the leak? The investigation held thus far by the State Department’s Internal Security (ISD) has stated that Rove did indeed leak the information out about the Ambassador's wife, CIA agent Valerie Wilson, to the Washington Post. Apparently they have an affidavit from the reporter he leaked it to.

The way the Bush Regime is trying to quash it is to slow it down by exerting pressure against Pro-Bush Media. Please note that you have not heard one word about this on CNN or MSNBC or Fox News. And not one word about this on ABC, CBS, or NBC.

If there is no public attention, there will be no steam behind it. Some of the congressmen are trying to push this into higher quarters. They’re trying to get Howard Dean to talk about it, since he’s getting so much press coverage

It's been said that Dean is himself frightened to start talking about it because it would diminish the press coverage he's been getting.

The Bush Administration has let it be known to the Democratic National Committee that any Democrat who tries to push this will find press coverage severely limited.

When the Democratic presidential selection process filters out (since there are now nine declared Democrats) and when there is one Democrat that everyone is behind, who's going to be the contender, then they won't be so frightened.

But this is a story, which should be more widely known, since the treatment of Ambassador Wilson and his family (not to mention the US intelligence assets who were liquidated overseas) is certainly one of the most egregious abuses of power yet perpetrated by the Bush administration.

Yet.

But who knows what the Bush Cabal may do tomorrow?

*** For media inquiries and to interview political analyst Al Martin, email virtualagency@yahoo.com

*** For the complete story, see Al Martin Raw.com: Political, Economic and Financial Intelligence, "The Curious Case of Ambassador Joseph Wilson"on the Al Martin Raw.com News Service. Click here AL MARTIN RAW.com: Political, Economic and Financial Intelligence

For more background on government whistleblower and former Bush Cabal insider Al Martin, author of "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider," click here Doublecrossed: Black Ops, Beltway Bandits and the US Shadow Government

ABOUT AL MARTIN --

Al Martin is a political-market analyst and America's foremost expert on corporate and government fraud. A former associate of Jeb Bush, Oliver North and General Richard Secord, he has written a book called, "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider," which chronicles his adventures with the Bush Cabal (National Liberty Press, Order Line: 866-317-1390). The book is a memoir and a detailed account of government criminal operations, namely State-sanctioned fraud, drug trafficking and illicit weapons sales, unprecedented in publishing history.

Al Martin's weekly column "Behind the Scenes in the Beltway" is published online at Al Martin Raw. He also writes a weekly market commentary for sophisticated market traders. To find out more, click here -- Al Martin Raw: Political, Economic and Financial Intelligence

ABOUT "THE CONSPIRATORS" BY AL MARTIN--

What if a criminal cabal -- a de facto white-collar crime syndicate --took over the US Government and used its systems and operations for its own profit?

According to former government operative and whistleblower Al Martin, this is exactly what happened.

Al Martin is the Man Who Knows Too Much. A self-described fourth level player of Iran Contra, Martin has first hand knowledge of the dirty deals, high-level scams, frauds, and treasonous activities of the US Shadow Government.

"The Conspirators" is a shocking expose' of Iran Contra scandals and it's totally uncensored. This book is a hidden history of American corruption in the 1980s. And 1990s. Until the present day.

His eye-witness accounts include first-hand knowledge of US Government drug trafficking, illegal weapons deals, as well as wholesale fraud by government perps -- securities fraud, real estate fraud, and insurance fraud.

Because of these criminal-government schemes, losses for taxpayers are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And growing.

When George Bush, Bill Casey and Oliver North initiated their plan of State-sanctioned fraud and drug smuggling, they envisioned using 500 men to raise $35 billion.

When Iran Contra finally fell apart, they had ended up using 5,000 operatives and making $350 billion.

And who is Al Martin? After Al Martin retired as a Lt. Commander from the US Naval Reserves, his life went into the fast lane as a black ops specialist. His first intelligence assignment was in Peru, then he was tapped for a CIA-sanctioned operation smuggling American Express cards into Argentina in 1979.

After that he met US Government-sponsored con man Lawrence Richard Hamil, a Department of Defense shadow player, who taught him the ropes of profitable covert operations.

In 1984, Martin began marketing Hamil's "deals" through his Florida based Southeast Resources, Inc.

At a meeting with General Richard V. Secord and Hamil, Martin was briefed about Iran Contra operations and allowed to view voluminous CIA white papers concerning Operation Black Eagle, the code-name for the Bush-Casey-North program involving US Government-sanctioned narcotics trafficking, illicit weapons deals and wholesale fraud.

Now Al Martin tells the facts that mainstream media has ignored or covered-up for over 15 years.