The meaning of "is"

Ok here's the deal in very simple terms.

Karl Rove, the man with his hands inside the ventriloquist's dummy that is our president George "My smirk launches a thousand battleships" Bush, recently has been discovered to have outed the name of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA agent, as revenge for her husband, Joe Wilson, not agreeing to parrot the president's line regarding Iraq having purchased yellowcake uranium from Niger. This is a treasonous offence.

Now, Rove is saying he did not mention Valerie Plame by name, just as Joe Wilson's wife. And hence, he is squeaky clean and not guilty of the charge. Now is it me or is it just a case of semantics? You know, the kind Bill Clinton was taken to task for? And the kind the Republicans got an erection over while impeaching him for it?