The Supreme Court also decided Monday not to take the case of former CIA agent Valerie Plame, who sought compensation from former members of the Bush administration after she was publicly revealed to be a secret operative. Plame is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Plame filed the lawsuit, alleging that the Bush administration outed her in retaliation for her husband’s accusations that President Bush lied about Iraq’s alleged efforts to purchase uranium from Niger. Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington criticized the Supreme Court for not agreeing to hear the case. Sloan said, “This is a setback for our democracy. This decision means that government officials can abuse their power for political purposes without fear of repercussion.”