Of all the horrible things that the Bush Administration has done, I didn’t think this would be the story that had legs (Thanks for the head’s up, Kevin.)

At CIA Director George J. Tenet’s request, the Justice Department is looking into an allegation that administration officials leaked the name of an undercover CIA officer to a journalist, government sources said yesterday.

The operative’s identity was published in July after her husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, publicly challenged President Bush’s claim that Iraq had tried to buy “yellowcake” uranium ore from Africa for possible use in nuclear weapons. Bush later backed away from the claim.

The intentional disclosure of a covert operative’s identity is a violation of federal law.

The officer’s name was disclosed on July 14 in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak, who said his sources were two senior administration officials.

Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak’s column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson’s wife. Wilson had just revealed that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson’s account touched off a political fracas over Bush’s use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.

“Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge,” the senior official said of the alleged leak.

It goes without saying that revealing the identity of a deep cover operative in order to embarrass a political rival is far worse than anything Clinton was accused of. This isn’t your standard “every president does it” kinda stuff. This is the work of criminals who are willing to jeopardize national security in order to score a cheap jab at someone they’re pissed at.

Like I said before, I’m shocked that this has gone as far as it has. I can’t help but think this is all revenge for the White House making Tenet give his bullshit mea culpa back in July. Y’know the one where Tenet basically said “I should never have allowed the Bush Administration to lie. I take full responsibility…” I guess George called in his last favor when he asked the CIA to take responsibility for the words that came out of his mouth. I wonder who’s going to take a bullet for his this time?