Report: Fitz Investigating White House Iraq Group and Niger Docs in PlameGate
Posted on Mon Jan 23, 2006 at 02:43:44 PM EST
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Reporter Jason Leopold has new details of the current focus of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into PlameGate, many of which were provided to him by those with personal knowledge of the investigation and who have appeared before the grand jury. He writes that the Niger documents are an issue, as are the activities of the White House Iraq Group and Karl Rove. In other words, a conspiracy investigation is very much underway.
Rove first:
All of the sources interviewed separately for this story said they were told that Karl Rove was the person who first suggested using the media to "turn the tables on Wilson." The officials wouldn't identify the person who told them this. The decision, however, was made during a meeting that took place between the White House Iraq Group.
...Lawyers close to the leak case said Fitzgerald seems to be pursuing conspiracy charges against some of the higher-profile suspects in the leak, such as Rove.
As I have opined countless times on TalkLeft, all roads lead back to the White House Iraq Group.
On to the Niger docs, from Jason:
The State Department officials said they were asked by Fitzgerald how important they thought the Niger uranium claims were in making a case for war. He also asked them why they doubted the authenticity of the Niger documents, why the reports appeared to be dubious, if they knew how Wilson was picked to investigate it, whether they heard about his verbal report upon his return, how and why the INR memo was prepared, and whether it was done in response to Wilson's claims about the Niger intelligence or so officials could find out how Wilson was chosen for the trip, and why any reference to his wife was made in the memo.
The one downer in Jason's article:
There is no indication that Fitzgerald is investigating Cheney.
Maybe that will change after Libby's case is over and he has no more 5th Amendment privilege. Hopefully, media appeals over Libby's lawyers' intended supboenas won't result in delaying that date past the expiration of the statute of limitations for Cheney.
Update: The AP reports Libby's lawyers filed sealed documents today announcing they want classified information brought before the jury, which could delay proceedings even longer. [Via Raw Story.]
In the filings made under seal in federal court, lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby put the judge and prosecutors on notice that they want a jury to hear evidence the government now says is classified.
Their action puts the Libby case on a dual track -- one public, the other secret -- that often can delay criminal cases from going to trial.
[Graphic created exlcusively for TalkLeft by CL.]
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