The following was obtained from

Raw Story.

Prosecutor in leak case seeks
indictments against Rove, Libby, lawyers close to case say

10/26/2005 @ 10:28 am

 Filed by Jason Leopold and John Byrne

Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has asked the grand jury
investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson to indict
Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and
Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove on charges of perjury and obstruction
of justice, lawyers close to the investigation tell RAW STORY.

Advertisement Fitzgerald has also asked the jury to indict Libby on a
second charge: knowingly outing a covert operative, the lawyers said. They
said the prosecutor believes that Libby violated a 1982 law that made it
illegal to unmask an undercover CIA agent.

Libby’s attorney, Joseph A. Tate, did not return a call seeking comment.

Two other officials, who are not employees in the White House, are also
expected to face indictments, the lawyers said.

The grand jury had not yet decided on whether to make indictments at the
time this article was published. It appears more likely that the jury would
hand down indictments of perjury and obstruction than a charge that Plame
was outed illegally.

Those close to the investigation said Rove was offered a deal Tuesday to
plead guilty to perjury for a reduced charge. Rove’s lawyer was told that
Fitzgerald would drop an obstruction of justice charge if his client agreed
not to contest allegations of perjury, they said.

Rove declined to plead guilty to the reduced charge, the sources said,
indicating through his attorney Robert Luskin that he intended to fight the
charges. A call placed to Luskin was not returned.

Those familiar with the case said that Libby did not inform Rove that
Plame was covert. As a result, Rove may not be charged with a crime in
leaking Plame’s identity, even though he spoke with reporters.

A Wall Street Journal report Wednesday suggests Fitzgerald’s primary
focus is Cheney’s office. An L.A. Times story last week indicated that Libby
mounted an “aggressive campaign” against Joseph Wilson, the husband of the
outed CIA agent, who questioned the Administration’s claims that Iraq sought
to obtain uranium from Niger.

Richard Sale, a former UPI intelligence reporter, wrote on a blog
Wednesday that two White House officials were likely to be indicted, citing
federal law enforcement and senior intelligence officials. Sale was the
first to finger Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin in the Israel-AIPAC
espionage case.

Rove’s charges appear to stem from allegations that he lied to FBI
investigators in 2003, the sources said. Perjury and obstruction charges
leveled against Libby center around conflicting testimony to the grand jury,
they added.

The lawyers said Fitzgerald needed more evidence to convince the grand
jury that Plame was in fact an undercover agent. On Monday, he sent FBI
agents to her residential neighborhood to obtain testimony from neighbors
that they were unaware of Plame’s employment prior to her outing.

Evidence collected in these inquiries was aimed at convincing the jury
that she was covert, the lawyers said. A Reuters story indicated that
Plame’s neighbors were not aware that she was working at the agency.

Any indictments are expected to be handed down today or Thursday. It is
unclear how much information Fitzgerald will make public when they are
announced.

Added in revision: “The grand jury had not yet decided on whether to make
indictments at the time this article was published. It appears more likely
that the jury would hand down indictments of perjury and obstruction than a
charge that Plame was outed illegally. ”

The latest rumor is that we will not here the actual outcome today as the
grand jury will need time to deliberate and vote on the actual indictments. Now
the big question is – who are the two officials not at the White House?

Like I said, this story is developing fast.

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