[Mb-civic] Rove to Testify Again in Grand Jury's CIA Leak Probe - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Rove to Testify Again in Grand Jury's CIA Leak Probe
Prosecutor's Warning That Bush Adviser Could Be Indicted Suggests New 
Information May Have Emerged

By Carol D. Leonnig and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 7, 2005; Page A04

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove will again testify to a 
grand jury that is in the final stages of investigating whether senior 
Bush administration officials illegally leaked the identity of covert 
CIA operative Valerie Plame to the media more than two years ago, a 
source familiar with the arrangement said yesterday.

Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald contacted Rove last week to 
seek his fourth appearance before the grand jury -- but warned Rove's 
lawyer that he could not assure that Rove would not be indicted, 
according to the source. Rove could appear as early as today, when the 
grand jury is next scheduled to meet.

Fitzgerald's request -- which comes just weeks before the grand jury 
term is set to expire on Oct. 28 -- suggests that new information has 
come to light in other witness testimony, or other questions remain that 
Rove needs to address, according to lawyers who have been involved in 
the case.

Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, said in an interview yesterday that Rove 
has not been notified that he is a target of the investigation, and does 
not fear testifying despite Fitzgerald's warning. Luskin declined to say 
whether he knows the topics Fitzgerald wants to question Rove about.

"Mr. Fitzgerald has affirmed to me that he has made no charging 
decisions, that he believes Karl continues to cooperate fully with the 
investigation, but beyond that, I don't want to comment at all about any 
communications with Mr. Fitzgerald's office," Luskin said.

A source close to Rove said Bush's chief political adviser and his legal 
team are now genuinely concerned he could face charges. But, the source 
said, his lawyers are hoping that Fitzgerald's warning of the chance of 
indictment is simply the move of a conservative, by-the-book prosecutor 
wrapping up a high-profile investigation. Prosecutorial guidelines 
require prosecutors to warn witnesses before they appear before a grand 
jury if there is a chance they could face criminal charges.

For the past 22 months, Fitzgerald has been investigating whether any 
Bush administration officials knowingly revealed Plame's identity in 
July 2003 as retaliation for public criticism by her husband, former 
ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, of the government's case for war in Iraq.

On July 6, Wilson contended in an opinion piece that administration 
claims that Iraq was trying to obtain nuclear materials in Niger were 
false. Wilson had been sent to the African nation by the CIA to 
investigate the claims. Eight days later, on July 14, Plame's name and 
CIA employment appeared in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak.

Rove has testified that he talked with two reporters about Plame in that 
time period, but only referred to her as Wilson's wife and never 
supplied information about her status as an undercover CIA operative. 
Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, also 
testified that he discussed Plame with at least two reporters but said 
that he, too, never mentioned her name or her covert status, according 
to lawyers in the case.

The news of Rove's upcoming testimony comes at one of the more difficult 
moments of the Bush presidency. In recent months, Bush has faced steady 
criticism for his handling of Iraq, gas prices and Hurricane Katrina. 
Most recently, a number of prominent conservatives who have backed Bush 
since 2000 have been sharply critical of his nomination of Harriet Miers 
to the Supreme Court.

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House would not comment on 
the probe.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/06/AR2005100601092.html?nav=hcmodule
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