July 19 (Bloomberg) -- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Vice President Dick Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove and former Cheney aide I. Lewis Libby of illegally conspiring to reveal the identity of a CIA agent.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington threw out the suit, saying he lacked jurisdiction. Valerie Plame, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and her husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson, sued in July 2006.

Plame and Wilson accused Cheney, Rove and Libby of violating their constitutional rights by revealing Plame's identity in retaliation for a New York Times opinion piece by Wilson questioning the Bush administration's evidence for going to war in Iraq. It is a federal crime to knowingly reveal a covert CIA operative's identity.

``Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted,'' Bates said today. ``This court lacks subject- matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claims for public disclosure of private facts.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Cary O'Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 19, 2007 15:30 EDT