Court rules against Wilsons in Cheney case

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. District Court Tuesday upheld the dismissal of Joe and Valerie Wilson's civil suit against Vice President Dick Cheney and other White House principles.

Writing for the majority of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Judge David Sentelle agreed with the lower court that top White House officials can't be sued for leaking the identity of former CIA covert operative Valerie Wilson, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a legal watchdog group, said in a release.

The leak was apparently retaliation against Joe Wilson for his op-ed article in the New York Times undermining the Bush administration's argument for invading Iraq.

The court ruled the only remedy available is the Privacy Act, even though it isn't applicable to White House officials. Judge Judith Rogers dissented, saying a constitutional remedy should be available if there were no other alternative.

Melanie Sloan, the Wilsons' counsel, expressed disappointment with the ruling.

"It is simply unacceptable for top government officials to be unaccountable for such a gross abuse of their power," Sloan said. "Here, not only did these officials cause untold harm to two individuals who honorably served their country, they also jeopardized our national security for short-term political gain."

Courts, she said, "must be available to remedy precisely this kind of harm to ensure such conduct is neither condoned nor repeated."