Nothing But the Truth

Nothing But the Truth is a 2008 drama starring Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga. The film is written and directed by Rod Lurie.

The events in the film are incorrectly thought to be inspired by the real-life Valerie Plame scandal, where an undercover CIA agent was outed by a news story.

Director Rod Lurie however, claims that the movie has very little to do with the scandal. Lurie states that he actually thought of the idea for the film while doing his television show Commander-In-Chief. He claims the genesis of the story was actually a scrapped storyline he was planning for the show. In the film Kate Beckinsale plays Rachel Armstrong, a journalist who refuses to reveal her source for the story. Farmiga plays Erica Van Doren, the outed CIA agent.Dark Horizons: Nothing But the Truth (December 2, 2008)

• Kate Beckinsale as Rachel Armstrong
• Angela Bassett as Bonnie Benjamin
• Matt Dillon as Dubois
• Vera Farmiga as Erica Van Doren
• David Schwimmer as Ray Armstrong
• Courtney B. Vance as Agent O'Hara
• Noah Wyle as Avril Aaronson
• Alan Alda as Alan Burnside

In a real life incident, sources inside the White House notified journalists that Valerie Plame, the wife of Joseph Wilson worked for the CIA. Joseph Wilson, a former diplomat wrote a New York Times editorial which claimed that President Bush had given false information in his 2003 State of the Union address when he stated that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium. The outing of Valerie Plame was thought to be a retaliation by the Bush administration for the story. Revealing the identity of a CIA agent is a potential violation of the law concerning the unauthorized release of classified information. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was the Vice-President's chief of staff, was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice for his role in the scandal. Washington Post.com: Background on the Plame Investigation