Turning Plame into no big deal

NRO's Media Blog:

Apparently leaking Plame's name was not a crime. No one has been charged with any violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act.

Uh, just because no one is charged with a crime does not mean it did not happen. If that were the case, there are countless unsolved murders that aren't really crimes. No one, for example, has been charged in the Jack the Ripper case, but certainly the brutal slaughter of four women on the streets of London still fits the "crime" category, right? Or has NRO suddenly gone soft on the whole idea?

It isn't that the outing of Valerie Plame wasn't a crime, it's just that (to this point) there isn't enough evidence to charge anyone with that crime.

So why would Libby concoct such an easily disprovable story?

My theory? There was a crime committed, and Libby knew it, and may even know who's responsible. Whether he remains silent throughout is another issue altogether.

Here's something else they get wrong at the Media Blog, by the way:

Her relationship with the CIA was well-known around Washington according to numerous accounts...

The indictment:

Prior to July 14, 2003, Valerie Wilson's affiliation with the CIA was not common knowledge outside the intelligence community.

Maybe it's time the Media Blog did some better fact checking?