UPDATE 6-
Top Bush aide questioned for hours in leak probe
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, testified at length on Friday for a fourth time before a grand jury investigating the leak of a covert CIA operative's identity, as prosecutors neared a decision on whether to bring charges.
Rove spent 4 1/2 hours at the federal courthouse and was told by prosecutors they had yet to decide whether he should face charges, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said. Legal sources said that could soon change.
Friday's testimony appeared to be Rove's last opportunity to convince grand jurors that he did nothing illegal following the disclosure that he had spoken to two reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband, despite earlier White House denials.
Prosecutors have told Rove, the most powerful and controversial political strategist in Washington, that they can not guarantee that he would not be indicted.
Plame's husband, diplomat Joseph Wilson, says administration officials outed his wife, damaging her ability to work undercover, to retaliate against him for publicly questioning Bush's justification for invading Iraq in 2003.
When pressed by reporters, White House spokesman Scott McClellan would not explicitly repeat past expressions of confidence in Rove, who serves as deputy chief of staff and senior adviser.
After initially promising to fire anyone found to have leaked information in the case, Bush in July offered a more qualified pledge: "If someone committed a crime they will no longer work in my administration."
People close to the case said Rove's unusually lengthy grand jury appearance on Friday suggested prosecutors scrutinized his earlier testimony for inconsistencies and confronted him with new information from witnesses.
"Being in there that long after testifying three times before can't be viewed as a particularly positive sign," said a legal source in the case.
But Zachary Carter, a former U.S. attorney in New York, warned against reading too much into the length of Rove's appearance alone. "We're not talking about a neutral witness. We're talking about someone who is under investigation," he said.
WHAT'S NEXT
While special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald could bring charges against officials for the crime of knowingly revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative, several lawyers in the case said he was more likely to bring a broad conspiracy charge or easier-to-prove crimes such as making false statements and perjury.
Fitzgerald could send out letters to senior administration officials advising them they are targets of his probe, and bring indictments as early as next week, the lawyers said. Fitzgerald also might decide that no crime was committed and issue a report of his findings.
"The special counsel has not advised Mr. Rove that he is a target of the investigation and affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges," Luskin said. "The special counsel has indicated that he does not anticipate the need for Mr. Rove's further cooperation."
Luskin declined to discuss Rove's testimony.
The outcome of the investigation could shake up an administration already reeling from criticism over its response to Hurricane Katrina and the indictment of House of Representatives Republican leader Tom DeLay of Texas on charges related to campaign financing.
Asked if the investigation was a distraction for the White House, McClellan reeled off the president's priority list, from Iraq to hurricane reconstruction to expanding gasoline refining capacity. "We are aware of all those things but we've got a lot of work to do, and that's where we're focused," he said.
WHITE HOUSE ASSURANCES
Two years ago, the White House assured the public that Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, had no role in the Plame leak. Since then, reporters have identified Rove and Libby as their sources.
Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter who was jailed for 85 days before reaching an agreement to reveal her source, testified twice before the grand jury about three conversations she had with Libby.
Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper testified that Rove was the first person to tell him that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA, although Cooper said Rove did not disclose her name. Cooper also discussed Wilson and his wife with Libby.
Rove also spoke to newspaper columnist Robert Novak, who first revealed Plame's identity in a column on July 14, 2003, citing two administration officials, a legal source said.
Fitzgerald appears to be focusing on evidence that top White House officials began seeking information about Wilson and his wife in May and June of 2003, well before Wilson came out publicly accusing the administration of twisting intelligence to justify the Iraq war.
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Posted on Fri, Oct. 14, 2005
A look at what is known and unknown in CIA leak investigation
By Steven Thomma and Shannon McCaffrey
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - White House political adviser Karl Rove emerged Friday from a fourth appearance before a federal grand jury with no word on whether he'd be charged in the leaking of an undercover CIA officer's name to the press.
Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said in a statement that the prosecutor who was leading the investigation hadn't advised Rove that he was a target of the probe, but the prosecutor is under no legal obligation to do so. Luskin also said the prosecutor said he hadn't decided whether to press any charges in the case.
With just two weeks before the grand jury's term expires, much about the investigation remains a mystery, including such pivotal questions as whether a crime was committed and, if so, by whom.
Here's a look at what is known and not known:
Q: How did this start?
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12905678.htm
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http://antiwar.com/
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This White House Scandal Finally Tips the Scale!
http://www.apfn.org/APFN/LEAKGATE.HTM
Karl Rove: the real story - Editorials & Commentary ...
... and he called Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife, to ask if Rosebud ...
He was as surprised as the others when Vice President Cheney returned to ...
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/20/opinion/edkiellor.php
MIRED IN CRUDE: The end of oil - NI 335 - Greasing the machine
Dick Cheney, Vice-President Whether or not Dick Cheney is calling the shots in
the new administration he brings oil interests to the heart of the DC. ...
http://www.newint.org/issue335/greasing.htm
What's Dick Cheney REALLY Doing At His Undisclosed Location?
Description of Vice President Dick Cheney's activities while he's at his ...
Working on that rosebud topiary featured in last month's Martha Stewart Living. ...
http://www.toadalamode.com/cheneydo.htm
The Al Franken Show | Air America Radio |
... Falsely Claimed That It Was Vice President Cheney Who Sent Him To Niger, ...
WILSON: Well, look, it's absolutely true that neither the vice president ...
http://shows.airamericaradio.com/alfrankenshow/index.php?/franken/flashback_al_at_start_of_uso_tour/
- Judith Miller needs to be run out of town on a rail. — Sat Oct 15 20:22
- BREAKING | Judith Miller Releases Carefully Worded Statement — Sun Oct 16 02:31
- "Judy," he said. "It's Scooter Libby." — Sat Oct 15 20:32
- The Miller Case: A Notebook, a Cause, a Jail Cell — Sat Oct 15 21:37
- (CONT'D: The Miller Case: A Notebook, a Cause, a Jail Cell — Sat Oct 15 21:42
- (CONT'D) A Puzzling Outcome — Sat Oct 15 21:44
- CIA leak: A look at what is known and unknown — Sat Oct 15 02:47
- WHIG vs. The CIA: My Money Is On The Company, Part II — Sat Oct 15 03:04
- The dirt is starting to fly against Patrick Fitzgerald: — Sat Oct 15 14:16
- Why Patrick Fitzgerald Gets It — Sat Oct 15 14:25
- RE: The Leak — Sat Oct 15 03:14
Main Page - Saturday, 10/15/05
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