A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit brought by Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson against Vice President Dick Cheney and other top administration officials. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled Cheney, senior White House adviser Karl Rove and then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage can’t be held liable for the administration’s disclosure of Plame’s identity. The suit accused the White House of deliberately outing Plame in retaliation for her husband’s public criticism of the motives for invading Iraq. In a statement, Joseph Wilson said: “We brought this suit because we strongly believe that politicizing intelligence ultimately serves only to undermine the security of our nation. Today’s decision is just the first step in what we have always known would be a long legal battle.”