need to know

pat fitzgerald must not know much about handling classified materials. i guess US attorneys don't have much use for national security documents.

if he'd ever been given security clearance—even at the lowest level—he would've read something that said he wasn't to read any classified info unless he had a need to know it, and if he had any classified info, he wasn't to disclose it to anybody—no matter how high that person's clearance—unless that person had a need to know.

you see where i'm going with this?

even the vice president of the united states could not learn joe wilson's wife worked for the cia without seeking and finding clearly labeled secret materials or being told by someone who had access to those materials. and unless the vice president of the united states had a need to know, he should not have read or been given those materials. and once he had such info, he shouldn't have repeated it to anyone who had no need to know—not even if it was the most trusted member of his staff.

without a need to know, reading or disclosing classified info is a federal felony, and everyone with clearance knows it.

you see what i'm saying?