Respect for the law

Today in the New York Times, David Johnston and Richard Stevenson repeat a carefully leaked story that attempts to show that Karl Rove has done nothing wrong (as if that were possible!--I should say instead that it attempts to show that he did not violate federal law in the case of Valerie Plame). It contains the following sentence:

The law requires that the official knowingly identify an officer serving in a covert position.

I do not think that is what they meant to say.