Meanwhile, investigative journalist Murray Wass is reporting Vice President Dick Cheney and his then-Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby were informed in June 2003 that the CIA did not believe Saddam Hussein had attempted to purchase uranium from Niger. Despite receiving the CIA’s assessment, Cheney and Libby proceeded with a public campaign to discredit Joe Wilson — the former US ambassador who had first investigated and dismissed the Niger allegation. The campaign to discredit Wilson led to the outing of his wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame.