NYT: an ominous cloud hanging over the CIA leak inquiry

Rove Summoned to Testify Again in C.I.A. Leak Investigation


By DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: October 6, 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 - The special prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case has summoned Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, to return next week to testify to a federal grand jury in a step that could mean there will be charges filed in the case, lawyers in the case said today.

The prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, has held discussions in recent days with lawyers for several Bush administration officials suggesting that that he is considering whether to charge them with a crime over the disclosure of an intelligence operative's identity in a 2003 newspaper column.

But some of the lawyers said Mr. Fitzgerald indicated that he had not yet made up his mind about whether to accuse anyone with wrongdoing and would use the coming weeks before the grand jury expires on Oct. 28 to decide the issue.

Mr. Fitzgerald's conversations with lawyers since late last week have left an ominous cloud hanging over the inquiry, sweeping away assurances from a number of officials and their lawyers that Mr. Fitzgerald was unlikely to find criminal wrongdoing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/politics/06cnd-leak.html?hp&ex=1128657600&en=27da92f0940e8ebb&ei=5094&partner=homepage

We finally are going to have closure, at least partially. And it doesn't look good for the West Wing.

Nominated.

snip>

Robert D. Luskin, a lawyer for Mr. Rove, said Mr. Rove has not received a target letter. Target letters are sometimes used by prosecutors to advise people that they are likely to be charged with a crime. Mr. Luskin said today that "the special counsel has said that he has made no charging decision."

snip>

The Salon article has it right:

So Karl Rove is returning to testify before the grand jury investigating the outing of Valerie Plame, and he's doing so without any guarantee that Patrick Fitzgerald won't prosecute him. How big of a development is this? "Stunning," a former federal prosecutor tells us. "There is no reason for Rove to make this appearance unless he and his counsel believe he is at serious risk of indictment. None."

It's always risky to go before a grand jury. You can't take your lawyer into the room with you, and you don't know what the grand jury knows or doesn't know. It's especially risky if you've already testified once -- or, in the case of Rove, three times -- before: The odds of introducing inconsistencies into your testimony increase each time you give it. That's why, the former prosecutor tells us, a defense lawyer would advise his client to make a return appearance before the grand jury only in extreme circumstances.

hangs over the treasonous bastards who gave not a second thought to endangering scores of people and CIA operations all to appease the little napolean in the WH who detests dissent. The Gray Lady continues to carry water for these criminals , all the time bearing the bogus description of liberal. Up is down, black is white and Republicans are patriots. 1984 just took a little while longer in getting here than Orwell predicted.

Unbelievable!

New York University law professor Stephen Gillers offers a similar assessment to the Associated Press. He calls Rove's return trip to the grand jury room an "ominous sign" that suggests Fitzgerald "has learned new information that is tightening the noose" around Rove's neck.

"Ominous" noose around his neck? I'll settle for that!!!

of record. All the news that's fit to print, so long as it doesn't lead to nasty calls from nasty RWers.

Shouldn't the press represent OUR interests? (if they are so national, how about the NATIONAL interests?)

they meant "odious"? Take heart chieftain, Fitzgerald will hand these crooks their collective ass:toast:

It's over the about-to-be-indicted crooks. But I guess that tells us where the "independent" presstitutes stand.

bargained for. But is is something they enabled.

Just to see Rove going to testify for the 4th time is worth the price of admission.

;-)

Sorry, for a moment there I thought this was the lounge.

and talks about Judith Miller going back to testify plus:

Recently lawyers said that they believed the prosecutor may be applying new legal theories to bring charges in the case.

One new approach appears to involve the possible use of Chapter 37 of the federal espionage and censorship law, which makes it a crime for anyone who "willfully communicates, delivers, transfers or causes to be communicated" to someone "not entitled to receive it" classified information relating the national defense matters.

Under this broad statute, a government official or a private citizen who passed classified information to anyone else in or outside the government could potentially be charged with a felony, if they transferred the information to someone without a security clearance to receive it.

The lawyers who discussed the investigation declined to be identified by name citing the ongoing nature of the inquiry and Mr. Fitzgerald's requests not to talk about it.