Post urged to probe Woodward's role in CIA case

Reuters Photo Former ambassador Joseph Wilson during a forum Capitol Hill June 16, 2005. Wilson, the husband...

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Post urged to probe Woodward's role in CIA case

By Adam EntousThu Nov 17, 5:05 PM ET

Joseph Wilson, the husband of outed CIA operative Valerie Plame, called on Thursday for an inquiry by The Washington Post into the conduct of journalist Bob Woodward, who repeatedly criticized the leak investigation without disclosing his own involvement.

"It certainly gives the appearance of a conflict of interest. He was taking an advocacy position when he was a party to it," said Wilson, joining media critics in questioning the role of one of the best-known investigative reporters in the United States.

Woodward disclosed that he testified under oath on Monday to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that a senior Bush administration official casually told him in mid-June 2003 about Plame's position at the CIA.

The surprise testimony appeared to contradict Fitzgerald's assertion that Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, was the first government official to divulge information to reporters about Plame.

Lawyers involved in the case said the disclosure could prolong the leak investigation as Fitzgerald pursues new leads drawn from Woodward and his source.

Libby's defense team asserted that Woodward's story undercut Fitzgerald's case against Libby, who was indicted in late October on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in the criminal probe, which was launched two years ago.

Wilson, a former ambassador turned White House critic, told Reuters that The Washington Post should reveal the name of Woodward's source, and conduct an inquiry to determine why he withheld the information for more than two years from his editors and the federal prosecutor.

Before publicly disclosing his involvement in the leak case on Wednesday, Woodward was a frequent critic of Fitzgerald's investigation in television and radio appearances. Woodward has described the case as laughable and Fitzgerald's behavior as "disgraceful" and has referred to him as "a junkyard dog."

One day before Libby was charged, Woodward said he saw no evidence of criminal intent.

Marvin Kalb of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government called Woodward's conduct "puzzling" and said he had more explaining to do.

"Since he knew he had information that was relevant and he chose not to disclose that information for reasons he said had to do with confidentiality, it's odd that he would rip into the prosecutor so publicly and so persistently," Kalb said.

One of the two Post reporters who led the newspaper's coverage of the 1970s Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon, Woodward apologized to Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie on Wednesday for failing to tell him for more than two years about his involvement in the Plame matter.

"That hardly undoes the damage," Rem Rieder, editor of the American Journalism Review, said of Woodward's apology. In an online column, Rieder said Woodward's belated disclosure "raises huge questions about his role at The Washington Post."

A White House official said on Thursday that national security adviser Stephen Hadley was not Woodward's source on Plame. According to current and former administration officials and lawyers, neither was: President George W. Bush himself, top political adviser Karl Rove, Libby, White House chief of staff Andrew Card, counselor Dan Bartlett, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former CIA director George Tenet, and former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin.

Plame's cover at the CIA was blown after her husband accused the Bush administration of twisting prewar intelligence to support military action against Iraq. Wilson said it was done deliberately to undercut his credibility.

Libby, who resigned from the White House after he was indicted, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have promised to mount a vigorous defense.

On Friday, Fitzgerald and news organizations will face off in court over Fitzgerald's efforts to keep documents in the Libby case secret. Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press have asked Judge Reggie Walton to deny Fitzgerald's blanket protective order.

Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited.

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