As Time Passes in Leak Probe, Rove is Seen as Less Vulnerable (WSJ) [View All]

[CoffeeCat]

WASHINGTON -- Two weeks after a White House aide's indictment in the CIA-leak case, political adviser Karl Rove and possibly other Bush administration officials remain at risk of being charged in the investigation.

But some lawyers believe that with each passing day, the odds of further indictments are diminishing. Unless the indicted aide, I. Lewis Libby, implicates others, or special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald gains some other new evidence, the investigation could end with no one else being charged, they say.

"The longer this goes without any other action by the special prosecutor, the higher the likelihood" that no additional charges will be filed, said Frank Zimring, a criminal-law expert at the University of California at Berkeley.

Some lawyers believe that Mr. Fitzgerald might be hoping to obtain evidence against Mr. Rove from Mr. Libby. Mr. Rove's camp believes he is likely to learn the prosecutor's final decision on an indictment within a matter of weeks, not months, a person familiar with the situation said last week.

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