Former Spy Accused Of Anti-Semitism Eyeing Senate Run
Former CIA officer Valerie Plame attends the premiere for the film ‘Fair Game’ during the 36th Deauville American Film Festival on September 9, 2010 in Deauville, France. Image by Francois Durand/Getty Images
By Aiden Pink March 29, 2019
Former CIA spy Valerie Plame Wilson is considering a run for the United States Senate in New Mexico, the Washington Examiner reported Friday.
One early obstacle for Plame Wilson, should she choose to run, is an anti-Semitism controversy: She was criticized in September 2017 for tweeting links to anti-Semitic articles, including a column titled “American Jews Are Driving America’s Wars” and another called “The Dancing Israelis” that insinuated the Mossad was involved in the 9/11 attacks. Plame at first defended her sharing of the “Jews drive wars” article, arguing, “many neocon hawks ARE Jewish.” But she eventually apologized and resigned from her position on the board of the Ploughshares Fund, an anti-nuclear not-for-profit foundation. She has not tweeted since.
Plame Wilson told the Examiner on Friday that she would “like another opportunity to serve my country” and would run as a Democrat. The seat will open up in 2020 after the retirement of incumbent Sen. Tom Udall.
Plame Wilson worked as a covert CIA officer from 1985 to 2002, when her identity was leaked to the press by top George W. Bush administration officials to punish her husband for his public criticism in the runup to the Iraq War. As part of the investigation into the leak, former Bush aide Scooter Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury. Bush eventually commuted his sentence; President Trump pardoned him in April 2018.
Since resigning from the CIA in 2005, Plame has worked as an author and public speaker.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
