Criticism of Miller Could Complicate Case Against Libby
WASHINGTON - A recent barrage of attacks on the credibility of a New York Times reporter, Judith Miller, could affect a prosecutor's decision about whether to bring indictments of White House officials in an investigation of the leak of a CIA operative's identity, according to legal analysts.
Attorneys closely following the case said the sharp criticism Ms. Miller has received from her editors and colleagues may discourage the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, from bringing perjury charges against Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby.
According to Ms. Miller and others who have testified before the grand jury investigating the leak, Mr. Fitzgerald has shown significant interest in whether Mr. Libby or other White House officials testified truthfully about their involvement in an alleged effort to discredit a vocal critic of President Bush, Joseph Wilson IV, by disclosing that his wife is a CIA employee.
The prosecutor's intense interest in Mr. Libby may be related to an alleged discrepancy about how he came to learn that Mr. Wilson's wife worked at the CIA. Mr. Libby has reportedly testified that he learned of the link from journalists, but the Times reported on its Web site last night that the White House aide's own notes - obtained by Mr. Fitzgerald - indicate that Mr. Libby learned of the connection from Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2005, more than a month before the CIA operative's name appeared in the press.
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http://www.nysun.com/article/21975