Fitzgerald 'not investigating an underworld godfather'.....

by **emad** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:05 pm

Shades of Hutton as inquiry puts heat on the President's men By David Charter in Washington HE HAS been likened to Eliot Ness, the fearless Prohibition-era prosecutor who brought Al Capone to justice. Like Ness, Patrick Fitzgerald hails from Chicago and has a reputation for being meticulous, impartial and relentless. But Mr Fitzgerald, 44, an independent attorney-general, is not investigating an underworld godfather. He has spent almost two years probing the highest levels of the US Government in an investigation that threatens to land some of the most senior figures at the White House in court. During his inquiry into the leak of a CIA agent’s name to the media, Mr Fitzgerald has privately interviewed President Bush, the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and a host of their officials. Washington is abuzz with speculation that, perhaps as soon as this week, Mr Fitzgerald could indict Karl Rove — Mr Bush’s most senior adviser and the man the President calls his “architect” — and Mr Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby. Charges could come under espionage laws that prohibit the identification of a secret agent, or perjury laws covering obstruction of justice. They would plunge Mr Bush deeper into trouble at a time when some of his traditional conservative supporters are already furious at the soaring budget deficit and his nomination of a close friend, Harriet Miers, for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. If indicted, Mr Rove would be expected to set aside his White House duties until he is cleared. There are also further inquiries into allegations of financial wrongdoing by Tom DeLay, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, and Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader in the Senate. The case that Mr Fitzgerald is examining has its roots in the intelligence that led America to invade Iraq. It centres on the unmasking of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent by journalists shortly after her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former US Ambassador to Gabon, began publicly criticising the White House case for war. In 2002 Mr Wilson was sent to Niger, a country with which he was familiar, to investigate claims that Iraq had tried to acquire weapons-grade uranium. He satisfied himself that the intelligence was flawed. But he became a thorn in the President’s side when Mr Bush referred to the Niger uranium plot in his State of the Union speech in 2003 — a year after Mr Wilson had told the CIA that the claims were bogus. Mr Wilson believes that his wife’s career was deliberately ruined in revenge for his criticism when she was identified as the CIA agent who dispatched him to Niger. Knowingly revealing the identity of a secret agent is an indictable offence and journalists have subsequently told Mr Fitzgerald that Mr Rove and Mr Libby talked to them about the case. Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter who went to jail for 85 days rather than identify her source for naming Ms Plame, has now told Mr Fitzgerald that Mr Libby spoke with her three times about the case in 2003. Ominously for the White House, Mr Fitzgerald questioned her closely on Mr Cheney’s role in the affair. There are parallels between Mr Fitzgerald’s investigation and the Hutton inquiry in 2003 into the death of David Kelly, the British weapons inspector. Both cases centre on allegations of an official backlash against troublesome figures who dared to question their governments’ case for war. There may be lessons from the Hutton inquiry for those on Capitol Hill. Lord Hutton’s investigation aroused fevered speculation that it could spell the end for various ministers, spy chiefs and civil servants. In the event, his report exonerated Mr Blair’s administration. <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1832418,00.html">www.timesonline.co.uk/art...18,00.html</a>

by **emad** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:23 pm

Bush aides fear indictment after CIA leak inquiry By Rupert Cornwell in Washington Published: 19 October 2005 The Independent A nervous White House is bracing itself for the worst as the inquiry into the leak of the identity of a CIA agent reaches its climax, possibly with the indictment of one or more officials as early as this week. Every sign is that Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, is close to wrapping up his 22-month-old grand jury investigation, in which attention has focused on two top aides - President Bush's adviser Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the chief of staff to the Vice-President Dick Cheney. Mr Fitzgerald has lifted a corner of the rug on the bitter struggles before and immediately after the Iraq invasion between Mr Cheney's office and the CIA. The struggles came amid the unravelling of the Bush administration's claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The investigation began after the conservative columnist, Robert Novak, revealed the name of the CIA agent Valerie Plame, whose husband, the retired diplomat Joseph Wilson, was a fierce critic of the war. Mr Novak leaked the name of Ms Plame in July 2003. As the investigation unfolded, Mr Rove and Mr Libby emerged as key informants of journalists covering the affair, including Judith Miller, the New York Times reporter who spent 85 days in jail after initially refusing to reveal her sources. Mr Rove has made four appearances before the grand jury in Washington, the most recent of them last Friday, while Ms Miller says she had three conversations with Mr Libby in which Ms Plame was discussed - although she never wrote a story on the subject. Mr Wilson contends that the revelation of his wife's identity was a deliberate retaliation by the administration, after he had infuriated them with an article in The New York Times in which he publicly debunked the claim that Iraq had been seeking uranium in Africa as part of a revived effort to build nuclear weapons. Mr Rove and Mr Libby admit to discussing Mr Wilson's wife with journalists, but say they never identified her by name, still less deliberately leaked the fact that she was a covert operative - leaking such information is a crime under United States law. The prosecutor's office says Mr Fitzgerald, who is based in Chicago, will return to Washington to announce his conclusions. But it is far from certain who will be indicted, and on what charges. Even the date of any announcement is unclear, as the grand jury's term runs until 28 October. Analysts say it will be very hard to prove the original charge of an organised conspiracy to leak Ms Plame's name and job. More likely, it is believed, are charges of perjury or obstruction of justice, arising from discrepancies in testimony made to the grand jury. But the consequences for the White House could be devastating. Mr Rove and Mr Libby are the most influential aides of their bosses. If indicted, they would have to take a leave of absence to organise their defence ahead of any trial. A White House spokeswoman said the inquiry was not overshadowing the administration's work. "It's business as usual," she said. A nervous White House is bracing itself for the worst as the inquiry into the leak of the identity of a CIA agent reaches its climax, possibly with the indictment of one or more officials as early as this week. Every sign is that Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, is close to wrapping up his 22-month-old grand jury investigation, in which attention has focused on two top aides - President Bush's adviser Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the chief of staff to the Vice-President Dick Cheney. Mr Fitzgerald has lifted a corner of the rug on the bitter struggles before and immediately after the Iraq invasion between Mr Cheney's office and the CIA. The struggles came amid the unravelling of the Bush administration's claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The investigation began after the conservative columnist, Robert Novak, revealed the name of the CIA agent Valerie Plame, whose husband, the retired diplomat Joseph Wilson, was a fierce critic of the war. Mr Novak leaked the name of Ms Plame in July 2003. As the investigation unfolded, Mr Rove and Mr Libby emerged as key informants of journalists covering the affair, including Judith Miller, the New York Times reporter who spent 85 days in jail after initially refusing to reveal her sources. Mr Rove has made four appearances before the grand jury in Washington, the most recent of them last Friday, while Ms Miller says she had three conversations with Mr Libby in which Ms Plame was discussed - although she never wrote a story on the subject. Mr Wilson contends that the revelation of his wife's identity was a deliberate retaliation by the administration, after he had infuriated them with an article in The New York Times in which he publicly debunked the claim that Iraq had been seeking uranium in Africa as part of a revived effort to build nuclear weapons. Mr Rove and Mr Libby admit to discussing Mr Wilson's wife with journalists, but say they never identified her by name, still less deliberately leaked the fact that she was a covert operative - leaking such information is a crime under United States law. The prosecutor's office says Mr Fitzgerald, who is based in Chicago, will return to Washington to announce his conclusions. But it is far from certain who will be indicted, and on what charges. Even the date of any announcement is unclear, as the grand jury's term runs until 28 October. Analysts say it will be very hard to prove the original charge of an organised conspiracy to leak Ms Plame's name and job. More likely, it is believed, are charges of perjury or obstruction of justice, arising from discrepancies in testimony made to the grand jury. But the consequences for the White House could be devastating. Mr Rove and Mr Libby are the most influential aides of their bosses. If indicted, they would have to take a leave of absence to organise their defence ahead of any trial. A White House spokeswoman said the inquiry was not overshadowing the administration's work. "It's business as usual," she said. <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article320544.ece">news.independent.co.uk/wo...320544.ece</a> Also in this section Wilma threatens US in record hurricane season

by **dbeach** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:38 pm

"Mr. Fitzgerald, 44, is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. He joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan in 1988 after three years as a litigation associate at the New York law firm, Christy & Viener. He graduated from Amherst College, Phi Beta Kappa, with a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics in 1982, and from Harvard Law School in 1985." He is not from Chicago..he is a New Yorker educated at the best schools in Massachusetts ..his office is in Chicago... don't take much time to get that corect..so this author rushed out this story. "Analysts say it will be very hard to prove the original charge of an organised conspiracy to leak Ms Plame's name and job. More likely, it is believed, are charges of perjury or obstruction of justice, arising from discrepancies in testimony made to the grand jury." That is smoke accroding to CS and many DU threads .. there is a conspiracy if its rove,libby and card acting with hutton and miller .. This is minimizing the seriousness of the offenses. USC 793 and 794 are going to happen not the lighter stuf that the MM is conditioning the masses with.. CS forum has the details al nice and neat.. MM is full of themselves..

by **dbeach** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:45 pm

"But Mr Fitzgerald, 44, an independent attorney-general, is not investigating an underworld godfather" STOP this nonsense and again plating of imagery. the bush crimianls are an Ivy League above the law legal type new world criminal syndicate and theyarew orse than any Correole fable at its own worst.. The Ivies have been blaming the Italian gangsters for yrs and cultivating this image of Italians as criminals.. What bunk! TREASON was committed by the Wall st criminals and their S. & B. pals. . Ness was a govt agent..Fitz is a DA..lil different..

Fitzgerald 'not investigating an underworld godfather'.....

Fitzgerald 'not investigating an underworld godfather'.....

Bush aides fear indictment after CIA leak inquiry

Re: Bush aides fear indictment after CIA leak inquiry

Re: Bush aides fear indictment after CIA leak inquiry

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