Cheney linked to leaking of CIA agent’s identity
Independent, UK By David Usborne in New York Published:Â 26 October 2005
The name of Vice-President Dick Cheney has surfaced unexpectedly in the inquiry into who might have leaked the identity of the undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame to journalists, increasing the pressure on the White House as the special prosecutor in the case prepares to file possible criminal charges. The man who has increasingly been at the heart of the investigation - Mr Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby - reportedly gave written notes to the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, revealing that he first heard of Ms Plame from his boss.
The contents of the notes and the role played by Mr Cheney were reported for the first time yesterday in The New York Times, which anonymously cited lawyers connected to the investigation. They seem to contradict testimony given by Mr Libby to a grand jury that he had learnt of Ms Plame from journalists.
According to the newspaper, the notes from Mr Libby are a record of a conversation with the Vice-President that took place on 12 June 2003, weeks before Ms Plame’s name first appeared in a column written by the prominent journalist Robert Novak. Mr Fitzgerald will this week conclude his investigation into whether anyone at the White House deliberately unmasked Ms Plame to journalists in 2003 as part of a vendetta against her husband, Joseph Wilson, who had been questioning administration claims regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
It is clear that if anyone at the White House is charged by Mr Fitzgerald, they would have to resign at once. No one knows what Mr Fitzgerald will decide, but he is expected to end the suspense before Friday. Mr Libby is widely considered to be at risk, as is Mr Bush’s top political confidant, Karl Rove. [more]