As he concludes his investigation into the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is focusing on whether senior White House advisor Karl Rove, and Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, sought to conceal their actions and mislead prosecutors, lawyers involved in the case told the New York Times.
Among the charges that Fitzgerald is considering are perjury, obstruction of justice and false statement—counts that suggest the prosecutor may believe the evidence presented in a 22-month grand jury inquiry shows that the two White House aides sought to cover up their actions, the lawyers said. There may be others in the government who could be charged for violations of the disclosure law or of other statutes, like the espionage act, which makes it a crime to transmit classified information to people not authorized to receive it.
Rove and Libby have been advised that they may be in serious legal jeopardy, the lawyers said. Some lawyers in the case said they were persuaded that Fitzgerald had all but made up his mind to seek indictments.
A perjury charge against Rove stems from him initially not telling the grand jury he talked to Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper about Plame. Rove only recalled the conversation after the discovery of an e-mail message he sent to Stephen Hadley, then the deputy national security adviser.
Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent who trained with Plame and has aggressively criticized the Bush Administration via his blog, posted earlier this week that Hadley also is facing indictment.
"Hadley has told friends he expects to be indicted," Johnson wrote.
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The possible violations under consideration are peripheral to the issue Fitzgerald was appointed in December 2003 to investigate: whether anyone in the administration broke a federal law that makes it a crime, under certain circumstances, to reveal the identity of a covert intelligence officer.
It is still not publicly known who first told the columnist Robert D. Novak the identity of the CIA officer, Valerie Wilson. Novak identified her in a column on July 14, 2003, using her unmarried name, Valerie Plame.
While Fitzgerald could still charge administration officials with knowingly revealing Plame's identity, several lawyers in the case said he was more likely to seek charges for easier-to-prove crimes such as making false statements, obstruction of justice and disclosing classified information. He may also bring a broad conspiracy charge, lawyers told Reuters.
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Still, the Washington Post reports that the White House is already quietly confronting the looming prospect of a Bush presidency without Rove, his long-time senior advisor.
Initially, the administration plans to undertake a spin campaign. Senior GOP officials are developing a public relations strategy to defend those accused of crimes and, more importantly, shield Bush from further damage, Republicans familiar with the plans told the Post.
Additionally, the White House is already considering how it would fill the gap that would be created if Rove were to resign, although a Republican with close ties to the White House told the Post, "Anyone who talks about that kind of stuff should be shot."
Names apparently already under consideration are budget director Joshua B. Bolten, former Republican National Committe chairman Ed Gillespie or current party chairman Ken Mehlman.
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This item first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.
Article comments
1 - Edwin Kennedy
All of the info in this piece is very old news, and most of it is no longer correct.
A prosecutor who is pursuing conspiracy and other major crimes will generally send letters to the attorneys of key individuals advising that their client is either a target or something close to that if the prosecutor believes there is a chance the warning will encourage a few of them to "cooperate". Fitzgerald has now done that at least twice. He is not required to sent "target" notices, and there is no point in it unless the prosecutor feels a target letter will help him clear up a few things in exchange for a stick of gum.
All of the defense attorneys involved presumably know October 28 is just 7 days away as of today, October 21. What they do not know is if Fitzgerald will refrain from handing out "awards" until the last day. Most federal prosecutors do not wait until the last day to indict. So the clear message to those who have recieved one or more of those letters is that they may have one or two days at most to try to avoid lengthy sentences.
If the lawyers for Libby and Rove have received tartet letters, the tacit implication is that either the Vice President or President or both will be referred to Congress for impeachment.
Cheney is probably already dog food, and knows it. Bush won't understand any of it until someone draws him a picture.
2 - David R. Mark
Then you should blame all the sources who talked to the NY Times and the Washington Post yesterday, for stories appearing in today's newspapers.
Perhaps you should file a couple of letters to the editors?
3 - David R. Mark
BTW, what IN THE ARTICLE POSTED is incorrect?
4 - Dick Cheney
Patrick Fitzgerald blows chunks. George Bush has never had an original thought in his miserable life, ever. Who cares I got mine, go screw yourself.
5 - Tom Christian
Well it's all well and good if George Bush and his staff are punished for their wrongdoing. But I also want to know when Valerie Plame and her coworkers will be punished for their misdeeds which include spying on Americans here in the US. I know. She called me in spring of 2003 pretending to be with Brewster-Jennings. Following that I got a call from "Gail Heights"
at University Services trying to get information. As many of you may
remember, Gail Heights was the alias used by Gao Zhan the Chinese
scholar who was convicted of exporting microprocessors to Communist
China. This was just one of many attempts by Valerie Plame and her
colleagues to get inside my life.
For a lot more information, see my website at:
http://www.tomchristianonline.com/