Reuters has confirmed that Patrick Fitzgerald will be taking new develops
before another grand jury in order to try and get indictments against White
House officials.
Fitzgerald sees new grand jury
proceedingsBy Adam Entous
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the
ongoing CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand
jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.In filings obtained by Reuters on Friday, Fitzgerald said “the
investigation is continuing” and that “the investigation will involve
proceedings before a different grand jury than the grand jury which returned
the indictment” against Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis
“Scooter” Libby.Fitzgerald did not elaborate in the document. For two years he has been
investigating the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. The
grand jury that indicted Libby expired after the charges were filed late
last month.President George W. Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove, was not
indicted along with Libby. But lawyers involved in the case said Rove
remained under investigation and may still be charged.Earlier this week Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward disclosed that
he testified under oath to Fitzgerald that a senior Bush administration
official had casually told him in mid-June 2003 about CIA operative Valerie
Plame’s position at the agency.Fitzgerald’s comments about bringing proceedings before a different grand
jury were contained in court filings in which he backed off seeking a
blanket order to keep all documents in the CIA leak case secret.
After Woodward’s testimony this week there was much chatter that it could in
fact hurt Fitzgerald’s case against Libby. I don’t see how that is possible. One
of the charges was of Libby lying under oath in regards to his testimony about
Tim Russert. This development does not change that.
What this new development will do is increase the stay of the black cloud
hanging over the administration. Now more speculation and rumors will fly over
who all in the White House leaked this information. Over all, it will not help
Bush’s approval ratings and as mid-terms grow closer will force more Republicans
to distance themselves from the White House.