"I believe it was done to discourage others from coming forward," Wilson told NBC television.

The controversy over the leak has mushroomed into an FBI-led investigation seeking to determine who revealed Wilson's wife's name, which could violate a law against outing covert intelligence agents.

At issue is who told a reporter that former ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife was a CIA agent, amid speculation that doing so may have been retaliation after the diplomat charged publicly that the case for war with Iraq was exaggerated.

The journalist who published the leak, Robert Novak, identified "two senior administration officials" as his sources.

Novak told NBC that he did not believe officials intentionally leaked the story to him.

- Nampa-AFP

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