Plame: Those who leaked her identity are ‘shameful’

? Valerie Plame on Friday called Vice President Dick Cheney and alleged leakers who blew her cover as a CIA spy “reckless” and “shameful.”

Plame is suing Cheney, his ex-chief of staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby and President Bush’s political guru Karl Rove for allegedly outing her in 2003 in a bid to discredit her husband, an Iraq war critic.

“I am proud to have served my country by working at the Central Intelligence Agency,” Plame told reporters in her first public remarks since retiring from the clandestine service this year.

“I and my former CIA colleagues trusted our government to protect us,” Plame said. “That a few reckless individuals within the current administration betrayed that trust has been a grave disappointment to every patriotic American.”

Former CIA officer Valerie Plame says she feels betrayed by Bush administration officials who revealed her identity. Plame spoke Friday in Washington, D.C.

Unnamed defendants in the lawsuit include “John Does” in the alleged conspiracy whom the Wilsons hope to uncover as the case progresses. Their attorney, Christopher Wolf, would not say whether they suspect President Bush.

Spokesmen for Cheney and Libby have declined comment.

“Those who acted so harmfully against our national security must answer for their shameful conduct in court,” said Plame, flanked by her husband and co-plaintiff, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Plame’s classified CIA identity was leaked to journalists after Wilson publicly challenged the White House rationale for the Iraq invasion.