Plame sues ex-State Department official who admitted CIA disclosure News
Plame sues ex-State Department official who admitted CIA disclosure

[JURIST] Valerie Plame, the undercover operative whose revealed identity precipitated the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive], and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, have now sued former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage [official profile] for serving as the primary source responsible for disclosing Plame's CIA affiliation to columnist Robert Novak in the summer of 2003. Armitage confirmed last week [JURIST report] that he had leaked confidential information concerning Plame's identity.

Plame and Wilson initially filed a lawsuit [JURIST report; complaint, PDF] in federal court in July against Vice President Dick Cheney, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove [official profile] and former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense trust profile] for their alleged roles in revealing her CIA status. Armitage will now be added to the list of defendants in that lawsuit. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.