Richard W. Stevenson
In White House, whispers and anxiety over CIA leak inquiry
Sun Feb 15 16:15:51 2004
64.140.158.137

In White House, whispers and anxiety over CIA leak inquiry

Richard W. Stevenson and David Johnston NYT

Friday, February 13, 2004
WASHINGTON It started almost casually last autumn, with FBI agents leaving business cards under doors around the White House, politely calling for appointments and even meeting some officials, without any lawyers present, over beers at a nearby bar.
.
But the investigation into who at the White House leaked the name of an undercover CIA officer has become much more intense in the past few weeks. Some administration officials have been summoned for confrontational interviews. Current and former members of the White House's communications and foreign policy teams have hired lawyers. At least a handful of White House aides have had to appear before a federal grand jury.
.
At the White House, the topic is rarely discussed openly among those who have already been drawn into the investigation and those who think they may be, people who have been questioned in the case said. The result, they said, is an information vacuum that is being filled to some extent by fear of what current or former colleagues may be telling investigators.
.
Since the investigation began in September, President George W. Bush has said repeatedly that he wants to get to the bottom of the matter and that he has directed everyone on his staff to cooperate fully. Some lawyers involved in the case said White House officials were now trapped between that direction from the president and legal advice that they aggressively assert their own rights. So, although White House officials have publicly pledged to help investigators, there is some resistance just beneath the surface. Some people who have spoken with investigators say they have refused to sign statements that would waive any promise of confidentiality they received from reporters. The effort to obtain the statements is apparently intended to deprive journalists an ability, if questioned or subpoenaed, to cite the need to protect anonymous sources.
.
Some people questioned in the case say they have also declined to sign agreements that they will not disclose any information about their encounters with investigators.
.
The inquiry is to find who told the syndicated columnist Robert Novak that Valerie Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson 4th, was an undercover CIA officer. In a column that appeared in The Washington Post on July 14, Novak attributed the information to two "senior administration officials." Disclosure of an undercover officer's identity can be a crime.
.
The investigation has already spread through much of the White House. Among those who have been interviewed by the FBI are Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, and powerful behind-the-scenes figures like I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Those who have trooped in to answer questions from the grand jury include Scott McClellan, Bush's press secretary; Claire Buchan, a deputy press secretary; Mary Matalin, a former top adviser to Cheney; and Adam Levine, a former White House communications aide.
.
At a White House that has largely avoided scandal - and one that has been distinguished by remarkable internal cohesion - the escalating investigation has brought unusual personal stress and the uncertainties that afflict anyone caught up in a full-scale criminal investigation.
.
Some White House officials, concerned about what the investigation might mean for themselves or their bosses, have been pumping reporters for information about what they know.
.
But like any institution caught up in an investigation, this one appears intent on getting on with business as usual and avoiding the spectacle of colleagues' turning on colleagues, even as investigators turn up the pressure.
.
"The mood is concern, not worry," said one Republican with close ties to the White House. "It's attention, not fear. And so far it hasn't caused any dysfunctional relationships to crop up."
.
The New York Times

< < Back to Start of Article
WASHINGTON It started almost casually last autumn, with FBI agents leaving business cards under doors around the White House, politely calling for appointments and even meeting some officials, without any lawyers present, over beers at a nearby bar.
.
But the investigation into who at the White House leaked the name of an undercover CIA officer has become much more intense in the past few weeks. Some administration officials have been summoned for confrontational interviews. Current and former members of the White House's communications and foreign policy teams have hired lawyers. At least a handful of White House aides have had to appear before a federal grand jury.
.
At the White House, the topic is rarely discussed openly among those who have already been drawn into the investigation and those who think they may be, people who have been questioned in the case said. The result, they said, is an information vacuum that is being filled to some extent by fear of what current or former colleagues may be telling investigators.
.
Since the investigation began in September, President George W. Bush has said repeatedly that he wants to get to the bottom of the matter and that he has directed everyone on his staff to cooperate fully. Some lawyers involved in the case said White House officials were now trapped between that direction from the president and legal advice that they aggressively assert their own rights. So, although White House officials have publicly pledged to help investigators, there is some resistance just beneath the surface. Some people who have spoken with investigators say they have refused to sign statements that would waive any promise of confidentiality they received from reporters. The effort to obtain the statements is apparently intended to deprive journalists an ability, if questioned or subpoenaed, to cite the need to protect anonymous sources.
.
Some people questioned in the case say they have also declined to sign agreements that they will not disclose any information about their encounters with investigators.
.
The inquiry is to find who told the syndicated columnist Robert Novak that Valerie Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson 4th, was an undercover CIA officer. In a column that appeared in The Washington Post on July 14, Novak attributed the information to two "senior administration officials." Disclosure of an undercover officer's identity can be a crime.
.
The investigation has already spread through much of the White House. Among those who have been interviewed by the FBI are Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, and powerful behind-the-scenes figures like I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Those who have trooped in to answer questions from the grand jury include Scott McClellan, Bush's press secretary; Claire Buchan, a deputy press secretary; Mary Matalin, a former top adviser to Cheney; and Adam Levine, a former White House communications aide.
.
At a White House that has largely avoided scandal - and one that has been distinguished by remarkable internal cohesion - the escalating investigation has brought unusual personal stress and the uncertainties that afflict anyone caught up in a full-scale criminal investigation.
.
Some White House officials, concerned about what the investigation might mean for themselves or their bosses, have been pumping reporters for information about what they know.
.
But like any institution caught up in an investigation, this one appears intent on getting on with business as usual and avoiding the spectacle of colleagues' turning on colleagues, even as investigators turn up the pressure.
.
"The mood is concern, not worry," said one Republican with close ties to the White House. "It's attention, not fear. And so far it hasn't caused any dysfunctional relationships to crop up."
.
The New York Times
http://www.iht.com/articles/129427.html

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High Crimes of Bob Novak
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17857

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