The first one I read this morning mentions "staff changes" at the WH as early as next week.
The second one I read states that Libby's legal team is requesting a dismissal of the charges against Libby citing that Fitzgerald's appointment violates federal law.
Me thinks someone is trying to get out in front of shit hitting the fan and the fan being on high.
What say you??
Libby Says Prosecutor Trying to Keep Post
By PETE YOST
The Associated Press
Friday, March 31, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is narrowing the description of his powers in an effort to counter calls for dismissal of the criminal case he brought against Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, defense lawyers said Friday.
In a 24-page filing in federal court, the legal team for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby said Fitzgerald and the former Justice Department official who appointed him, James Comey, are changing the broad mandate the prosecutor was handed to probe the leak in the Valerie Plame affair.
Libby is under indictment on five counts of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI about how he learned of Plame's CIA identity and what he told reporters about her. Plame's CIA status was exposed on July 14, 2003, by conservative columnist Robert Novak, eight days after Plame's husband accused the Bush administration of twisting prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat from weapons of mass destruction.
The defense attorneys say assignment of unsupervised and undirected power to Fitzgerald requires that he be relieved of his duties in the investigation and that all actions he has taken be voided.
Fitzgerald's appointment violates federal law, the defense attorneys say, because his investigation was not supervised by the attorney general. They say only Congress can approve such an arrangement....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...Text
And this one
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...The White House is planning additional staff changes that could come as early as next week as part of a broader effort to repair relations with Congress and revive the Bush presidency, according to several Republicans familiar with the emerging strategy.
Joshua B. Bolten, who takes over April 15 as White House chief of staff, is developing a proposal to overhaul West Wing operations with the twin aims of bringing more voices into the policymaking process and avoiding staff breakdowns such as the slow response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Republicans inside and outside the White House said Bush is under pressure to do more to reshuffle his staff than simply move Bolten over from the budget office to replace Andrew H. Card Jr. As he prepares to assume the top staff job, Bolten has focused heavily on rebuilding ties with Congress, telephoning 30 key members in the first 24 hours after his appointment. And Republicans said he may bring in a new ambassador to Capitol Hill, possibly former representative Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.).
Bolten is focused on "making sure there's clear lines of authority and responsibility on issues" and "making sure the president is provided with stimulating debate on the big issues," said a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging Bolten. "He has a very open mind about looking outside the family."
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