Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Another big break in the Fitzgerald investigation by Jason Leopold (formerly of Raw Story, but now apparently working exclusively for TruthOut)...

Fitzgerald Will Seek New White House Indictments:

"It may seem as though it's been moving along at a snail's pace, but the second part of the federal investigation into the leak of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson is nearly complete, with attorneys and government officials who have remained close to the probe saying that a grand jury will likely return an indictment against one or two senior Bush administration officials.

These sources work or worked at the State Department, the CIA and the National Security Council. Some of these sources are attorneys close to the case. They requested anonymity because they were not permitted to speak publicly about the details of the investigation.

In lengthy interviews over the weekend and on Monday, they said that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has started to prepare the paperwork to present to the grand jury seeking an indictment against White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove or National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

Although the situation remains fluid, it's possible, these sources said, that Fitzgerald may seek to indict both Rove and Hadley, charging them with perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy related to their roles in the leak of Plame Wilson's identity and their effort to cover up their involvement following a Justice Department investigation."
Oh, and if you've some free time and really really interested in the proceedings of the Plame investigation, check out the complete court transcript of the latest pre-trial hearing Feb. 24, 2006. Amazingly easy to follow, even for lay folks. One notable thing: The Judge is clearly skeptical about allowing the "my memory sucks because my job is so important because some academics can tell you that people with important jobs forget stuff" defense that was floated in the press some time back. Even Libby's lawyer had to admit that he wasn't even sure he was going to go down that road...

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