Outed CIA Operative, Husband Heading West

Outed CIA operative Valerie Plame, who is at the center of a criminal case involving the former chief of staff for Vice President Cheney, is moving to Santa Fe, N.M., with her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Wilson confirmed the move from Washington in an e-mail to The New Mexican newspaper in Santa Fe.

Wilson said the couple, who frequently visit Santa Fe, decided to move because of "the beauty of the state and the hospitality of its citizens."

He did not say when the move would take place.

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby faces charges of perjury and obstruction in connection with Plame's name being leaked to reporters. Libby, whose trial is to begin next month, is accused of lying to investigators about his conversations with reporters regarding Plame.

Plame believes the administration leaked her name to reporters as retribution for her husband's criticism of intelligence before the Iraqi war.

Wilson in 2002 discounted reports that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein tried to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger to make a nuclear weapon. The claim wound up in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address.

Wilson visited New Mexico at least twice this year on behalf of the congressional campaign of Democrat Patricia Madrid. He said his efforts were as a volunteer, "a simple citizen exercising my right to support the candidate of my choice."

Wilson and Plame also were in Albuquerque in September as guests of honor at an event for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Plame has sued Cheney, Libby, White House adviser Karl Rove and the former No. 2 official at the State Department, Richard Armitage. The federal lawsuit accuses the White House officials of violating Plame and Wilson's constitutional rights to equal protection and freedom of speech, and accuses Armitage of violating Plame's privacy rights.