IMPEACH BUSH

House Democrats on Friday vowed to expand their investigation into the Valerie Plame leak scandal in order to hold the Bush administration accountable and find out how "future abuses" can be prevented.

"We are going to continue this investigation," said Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) as he called for recess at the end of the former CIA agent's testimony.

"It is not our job to determine criminal culpability. But it is our job to understand what went wrong, to insist on accountability and to make recommendations to prevent future abuses," said Waxman. The lawmaker described the committee's role as "fundamentally different" to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's criminal investigation into the leak.

A line snaked outside from the packed hearing room into the corridor, while the press table was filled with reporters. Two dozen or so photographers greeted Plame as she was sworn in before the committee, shuttering away as she answered questions in a measured, careful tone.

Several Democrats wanted to expand the committee's oversight by asking for more documents as well as testimony from additional witnesses, including columnist Robert Novak, who was the first to disclose Plame's identity in a July 2003 story.

Waxman said he "will give it some thought" in asking Novak to testify at a future hearing, per Rep. Diane Watson's (D-Calif.) request.

"I am very sensitive to how the process works and I am furious that your classified information was disclosed — and by Robert Novak, of all people," Watson told Plame, citing her experience as an ambassador to Micronesia in dealing with state secrets.

The two Republicans present, Reps. Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.) and Tom Davis (Va.), the ranking minority member, concentrated on the ins and outs of the CIA rather than the White House.

"If the Agency doesn't take sufficient precautions to protect the identity of those engaged in covert work, no one else can do it for them," said Davis in his opening statement.

Both Westmoreland and Davis were also interested in revelations from a January 2004 Vanity Fair article about the Plame scandal, as well as her own political stance.

Plame said her photo in the magazine was "more trouble than it was worth." She also confirmed that she was a Democrat.

"I gave a list of questions I couldn't ask you, but that was not one of them," said Westmoreland.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) also requested an internal CIA memo that disputed the Senate Intelligence Committee's finding that Plame sent her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, on his infamous trip to Niger. Waxman agreed to both requests.

Plame said the CIA official who wrote the memo came to her with "tears in his eyes," saying the Senate committee report was wrong and mischaracterized his memo.

Both Waxman and Norton referenced Executive Order 12958, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995, which established a system to classify as well as declassify national-security information.

"I think either case can be equally damaging," said the former CIA agent, answering Norton's question of what was more detrimental: disclosing a covert agent's identity or classified information.

Both Democrats and Republicans expressed the difficulty in keeping the hearing open due to the secretive nature of Plame's past career. As chairman, Waxman met personally with CIA Director General Michael Hayden to discuss Plame's service with the agency.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) felt the CIA director ended the debate on whether Plame was covert or not. "Gen. Hayden said, quote, ‘Ms. Wilson was covert,' end of quote," Cummings said.

Despite the hearing's gravity, there were breaks for humor.

"If I seem a little nervous, it's because I never questioned a spy before," said Westmoreland to low laughter.

"I've never testified," quipped Plame.