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--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector- http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-cia31.html Chicago's Fitzgerald to probe CIA leak file:home1 December 31, 2003 BY LYNN SWEET SUN-TIMES WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEFWASHINGTON - Patrick Fitzgerald, Chicago's top federal prosecutor, was appointed Tuesday to lead the investigation into who leaked the name of a CIA operative to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak. Fitzgerald landed the assignment of the politically charged probe after Attorney General John Ashcroft Tuesday decided to withdraw from the investigation. Fitzgerald was picked for the job by James Comey, the deputy attorney general who is a close friend of Fitzgerald's. The Chicago lawyer is the ``perfect man for the job,'' Comey said. Fitzgerald's appointment comes just two weeks after his office's probe yielded the indictment of former Republican Gov. George Ryan. Comey said he told Fitzgerald to ``follow the facts, wherever they lead, and do the right thing at all times.'' Ashcroft stepped aside from the investigation out of an ``abundance of caution,'' Comey said. Could lead to White House The attorney general, making his decision after evaluating evidence that emerged, wanted to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, Comey said. The probe could lead to the White House. Investigators have interviewed Karl Rove, Bush's senior adviser, and Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, according to the Associated Press. The sprawling investigation also has touched the CIA, the State Department and the Defense Department. Fitzgerald will be given a free hand in deciding how to conduct the investigation, which was launched in the fall. He could decide to keep the team of career prosecutors already working on the leak case or replace them. ``That's entirely his call,'' said Comey. Comey and Fitzgerald, 43, were federal prosecutors in Manhattan, meeting years earlier through a friend. Comey is a 1985 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. Democratic presidential contenders said Ashcroft's withdrawal was overdue. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Comey and Fitzgerald ``are both Bush political appointees and carry the same baggage as John Ashcroft'' and ``none of the three is acceptable to conduct this investigation.'' Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) said: "the Justice Department has no business overseeing this highly sensitive investigation, which could well implicate the president's closest advisers.'' Investigators want to discover who leaked the name of Valerie Plame to Novak, a Sun-Times columnist whose work is nationally syndicated and who is a political commentator for CNN. In July, Novak disclosed Plame's name in a column centering on her husband, retired diplomat Joseph Wilson, a critic of Bush's Iraq policy. Wilson took the naming of his CIA agent wife as retaliation for writing an op-ed column about his doubts that the Iraqis purchased uranium from Niger, an assertion that laid the groundwork for Bush saying in his 2003 State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to buy uranium. The statement led to a political storm when the administration had to backtrack. It is federal crime to leak the name of a CIA undercover agent, with punishment of up to 10 years in prison. Novak wrote that ``two senior administration officials'' told him that Plame ``suggested sending Wilson to Niger to investigate'' possible Iraqi purchases of uranium. Wilson said he approved of Ashcroft's move. ``The fact that the attorney general recused himself indicates that the administration wants to avoid the potential perception of a conflict of interest. And that's a good thing," he said. "This is crime against the country, not against me.'' Novak, who has never revealed how he learned Plame's name, declined on Tuesday to discuss the case or have his lawyer comment. Comey said that he rejected naming an outside special counsel and kept the probe in the Justice Department because he was convinced that Fitzgerald could keep the confidence of the public and carry out the assignment with ``energy and urgency. That is all the more true when the investigation centers on allegations that there has been a disclosure of national security information.'' Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has called for a special prosecutor. Fitzgerald a top terrorism prosecutor BY STEVE WARMBIR FEDERAL COURTS REPORTEr When the U.S. attorney in Chicago, Patrick Fitzgerald, was appointed as special prosecutor to investigate who leaked the name of a CIA operative, he was told to ''follow the facts wherever they lead, and do the right thing all of the time.'' And people who know Fitzgerald say that's just what he's done before, whether as a prosecutor in New York battling terrorists and mobsters or the top federal prosecutor in Chicago overseeing such sensitive cases as the prosecution of former Gov. George Ryan, charged this month in an 18-count corruption indictment. Fitzgerald is no stranger to criminal investigations involving national security. In New York, he prosecuted the blind terrorist sheik Omar Abdel Rahman as well as the al-Qaida terrorists who blew up two U.S. embassies in Africa. In Chicago, Fitzgerald personally handled the prosecution of Muslim charity leader Enaam Arnaout, who was sentenced to 11 years in August for diverting donations meant for widows and orphans to fighters in Bosnia and Chechnya. Fitzgerald's prosecution suffered a serious setback, though, when the federal judge hearing the case refused to link Arnaout to terrorism, a critical component to the prosecution's case. Still, Fitzgerald is considered one of the most knowledgeable prosecutors around on al-Qaida and is routinely called on for advice. Fitzgerald has received high marks for his leadership in the Chicago office by the people who work under him. Fitzgerald, who has no political aspirations, has often said at news conferences when the question comes up that politics has zero influence on prosecution decisions in his office. And the people who work with him have confirmed that's the case. ================== Timeline: Leak case began when Bush said Iraq sought uranium The case of the CIA leak began with 16 words in a State of the Union speech by President Bush on Jan. 28, 2003. uIn the speech, Bush said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." uOn July 6, former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson wrote in the New York Times that he investigated the uranium claim in the West African state of Niger for the CIA in 2002 and determined a purchase by Iraq was "highly unlikely." He concluded the White House was twisting facts "to exaggerate the Iraqi threat." uOn July 8, the White House said the allegation should not have been in Bush 's speech. It blamed "flawed intelligence." uOn July 11, CIA director George Tenet took responsibility for the claim. uChicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak wrote on July 14: "Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction." Novak added that "two senior administration officials" told him Plame pushed for Wilson to probe uranium claims. uDemocrats called for an investigation into whether White House leaked Plame 's position to Novak to retaliate against Wilson. Knowingly disclosing a covert agent's name is illegal under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. The act carries penalties of 10 years in prison and $50,000 in fines, but prosecutions are rare. It applies to government employees who have access to classified information. uOn Sept. 27, the Justice Department launched an investigation of the leak. uNovak vowed not to reveal his sources. "That would be the end of my journalistic career - reporters don't divulge sources." uAmid reports the investigation may be headed to a grand jury, Attorney General John Ashcroft removed himself from the probe Tuesday. Risk to agent matter of debate The outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame enraged the intelligence community, but its practical effect is open for debate. Some argue the revelation by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak in July about Plame, the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, put her life in jeopardy and wasted millions in secret training costs. Others, however, say Plame's undercover days were mostly over and she was moving into management. Claims that her career is ruined have been exaggerated, they say. Her husband has expressed confidence she will continue to be a national security officer. Nonetheless, the CIA has been forced to assess the damage done because Plame and other agents used the same front company, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, as a cover for their spy work. Some people in the intelligence community believe agents linked to Plame or the company could be compromised. Setting up a front company and establishing believable stories about its actions is expensive and time-consuming. Plame, 40, had used the company to disguise her true job as a CIA energy analyst operating under "nonofficial cover." That designation meant she would have little protection from the government if she was caught. Plame's husband says his wife's cover was disclosed by her own government in retaliation for his criticism of the president's reasons for going to war with Iraq. Knowingly revealing the identity of a covert agent is a crime. Shamus Toomey, Sun-Times wires -__ ___ _ ___ __ ___ _ _ _ __ /-_|-0-\-V-/-\|-|-__|-|-|-/-_| \_-\--_/\-/|-\\-|-_||-V-V-\_-\ |__/_|--//-|_|\_|___|\_A_/|__/ SPY NEWS is OSINT newsletter and discussion list associated to Mario's Cyberspace Station - The Global Intelligence News Portal http://mprofaca.cro.net ######## CAUTION! ######### Since you are receiving and reading documents, news stories, comments and opinions not only from so called (or self-proclaimed) "reliable sources", but also a lot of possible misinformation collected by Spy News moderator and subscribers and posted to Spy News for OSINT purposes - it should be a serious reason (particularly to journalists and web publishers) to think twice before using it for their story writing, further publishing or forwarding throughout Cyberspace. To unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE: This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
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