Jury Said to Hear Evidence in C.I.A. Leak (Plame) [View All]

[dutchdemocrat]

Fitzbull on the rampage

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Jury Said to Hear Evidence in C.I.A. Leak
By ERIC LICHTBLAU and DAVID JOHNSTON

Published: January 25, 2004


ASHINGTON, Jan. 23 — A special prosecutor has begun presenting evidence to a grand jury about the improper disclosure of an undercover C.I.A. officer's identity and has advised several people who have been employed at the White House that they could be summoned to testify, senior officials said on Friday.


The prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, began submitting evidence this week to a grand jury at the federal courthouse here. It was not immediately clear who faced subpoenas. At least some White House employees have been asked to meet informally with the prosecutor in what appeared to be a possible effort to obtain voluntary admissions of wrongdoing in exchange for offers of immunity, the officials said.

Mr. Fitzgerald's decision to use a criminal grand jury, first reported by Time magazine on its Web site, www.time.com, was not unexpected, but it did ratchet up the seriousness of the criminal inquiry, raising a possibility of courthouse appearances by Bush administration officials compelled to testify under oath.

Mr. Fitzgerald has been pushing to obtain the cooperation of witnesses close to the White House who might otherwise be subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, officials said. Such a tactic is routine in criminal cases. It often results in agreements in the form of immunity pledges or plea deals that can provide prosecutors with additional evidence to use against other suspects.

Law enforcement officials said few details were known about the status of the case, because Mr. Fitzgerald had operated in secrecy, remaining United States attorney in Chicago. At times, he has refused to tell associates when he would arrive in Washington. As a result, it was not clear who at the White House had been invited to meet Mr. Fitzgerald. Nor was it clear how many were current or former employees, although the list does include relatively high-level staff members, the officials said. A spokesman for Mr. Fitzgerald declined to discuss the case.


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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/24/politics/24LEAK.html?ex=1075611600&en=23136111e305cd1b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE