Enceladus
2003-10-01 17:39:18 UTC
White House Staff Investigating CIA Leak
2 hours, 18 minutes ago Add White House - AP to My Yahoo!
By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The White House staff began going back through records and
telephone logs Wednesday in search of any information relevant to the
criminal investigation into public disclosure of a CIA (news - web sites)
undercover officer's identity, President Bush (news - web sites)'s spokesman
said.
Press secretary Scott McClellan said he had no knowledge about anyone going
to the Justice Department (news - web sites) with any information about the
case, as Bush had urged. Similarly, he said he did not know of anyone hiring
legal counsel.
"At this point, all the Department of Justice (news - web sites) has asked
us to do is preserve any and all information that could be related," he
said. McClellan indicated the White House would consent, if asked, to
polygraph tests for staff. "We will cooperate fully, at the direction of the
president ... Full cooperation is full cooperation."
One day after the probe was announced, there was no sign of investigators at
the White House, McClellan said.
Bush, on Tuesday, said, "I want to know who the leakers are" and he voiced
confidence that career Justice Department lawyers and FBI (news - web sites)
agents can impartially conduct the investigation.
Bush said he is "absolutely confident" the investigation can be handled
within his administration and reiterated that he has asked the White House
staff to cooperate. The president also maintained there is no need to name
an outside special counsel.
The investigation is aimed at finding who leaked the name of the CIA
operative, possibly in an attempt to punish the officer's husband, former
Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who had accused the Bush administration of
manipulating intelligence to exaggerate the threat from Iraq (news - web
sites).
Faced with increasing demands by Democrats for an independent investigation,
Bush said Tuesday during a fund-raising stop in Chicago: "I have told our
administration, people in my administration to be fully cooperative. Leaks
of classified information are a bad thing. ... I want to know who the
leakers are."
That did not satisfy Democratic leaders, who argued that Attorney General
John Ashcroft (news - web sites) was too close to the White House to run an
independent investigation.
"If there ever was a case for the appointment of a special counsel, this is
it," said California Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the House
Democratic leader.
Ashcroft has not ruled out the possibility of appointing a special counsel,
said a senior law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., said Wednesday he
doesn't believe there has to be an outside investigation, telling NBC's
"Today" show that an effort by career counterespionage lawyers and FBI
agents already is under way.
The probe for now is in the hands of 11 Justice Department lawyers led by
John Dion, chief of the counterespionage section of criminal division.
Dion's team handles all of the roughly 50 referrals a year from the CIA and
other intelligence agencies about leaks of classified information.
As the investigation progresses, FBI counterintelligence agents from the
Washington field office will be conducting the interviews and examining
documents and e-mails, officials said.
The Justice Department told the White House and CIA to preserve any
documents that might be related to the probe, including telephone logs,
e-mails, notes and other documents.
Although Bush said he welcomed the investigation, it was an embarrassing
development for a president who promised to bring integrity and leadership
to the White House after years of Republican criticism and investigations of
the Clinton administration.
Federal law prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of a covert agent's name,
punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The CIA officer's name was published
by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who said he based his report on two
senior administration officials.
News executives expressed concern that the investigation could lead to
subpoenas of reporters' notes and phone records, and the journalists
themselves.
"The question really comes down to whether there are other ways to do this
that do less damage to the idea of the First Amendment," said Bill Felber,
editor of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, who handles freedom of information
issues for the Associated Press Managing Editors. "This ought to be last
resort, not a first resort."
On Monday, McClellan said it was "ridiculous" to suggest Karl Rove, Bush's
chief political strategist, had played any role in disclosing the name of
Wilson's wife.
In an interview with ABC-TV's "Nightline" program, Wilson said he would tell
the FBI, if asked, the names of "everybody who called me and told me" about
conversations with Rove.
Wilson had traveled to Niger in 2002 to investigate allegations of uranium
sales to Iraq. He concluded the allegations were not credible. On July 6,
2003, he wrote a commentary in The New York Times that said some
intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was "twisted to
exaggerate the Iraqi threat."
White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, in two e-mails to White House staff on
Tuesday, ordered the preservation of any documents relevant to the
investigation.
In particular, Gonzales cited any contacts with columnist Robert Novak and
Timothy M. Phelps, Washington bureau chief for Newsday newspaper, and Knut
Royce, a staff writer for the paper.
begin 666 my16.gif
M1TE&.#EA$ `0`-7_`/__S___`/_(D/_(`/^78,__8,__`,_(D,_(`,^7S\^7
MD,^7`,]G_\]GD,]G8,]G`,\PD,\P8)"7SY"7D)"78)"7`)!GD)!G8)!G+Y!G
M`) P8) P+Y `8) `+V"78&!G`& P8& P+V `8& `+V ``"\P+R\`8/___P``
M````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
M`````````````````````````````````"'_"T%$3T)%.DE2,2XP`M[M`"'Y
M! $``"<`+ `````0`! ```:LP)-0J+!H-!;%<'DZ:$2<#E2D.3 GQ\CF."*-
M1%:A4Z,H&I\DDVBHV308C$3#(I*F-R>%!B (0 H%"R!H(B G1AL("!>*&HH9
M&A\@6$<&#@@.!APC%1HE&2(6(0XC"!H!CB"%"((C$A8@! .,%PL9&"(5("8@
M16U4(QHA&A4B"" CAB<;(B(;JH4/QU\48M!?7R8C:LIB(<V%7\TA3$T6V-H@
,'N5#!T4)$V%#00`[
`
end
2 hours, 18 minutes ago Add White House - AP to My Yahoo!
By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The White House staff began going back through records and
telephone logs Wednesday in search of any information relevant to the
criminal investigation into public disclosure of a CIA (news - web sites)
undercover officer's identity, President Bush (news - web sites)'s spokesman
said.
Press secretary Scott McClellan said he had no knowledge about anyone going
to the Justice Department (news - web sites) with any information about the
case, as Bush had urged. Similarly, he said he did not know of anyone hiring
legal counsel.
"At this point, all the Department of Justice (news - web sites) has asked
us to do is preserve any and all information that could be related," he
said. McClellan indicated the White House would consent, if asked, to
polygraph tests for staff. "We will cooperate fully, at the direction of the
president ... Full cooperation is full cooperation."
One day after the probe was announced, there was no sign of investigators at
the White House, McClellan said.
Bush, on Tuesday, said, "I want to know who the leakers are" and he voiced
confidence that career Justice Department lawyers and FBI (news - web sites)
agents can impartially conduct the investigation.
Bush said he is "absolutely confident" the investigation can be handled
within his administration and reiterated that he has asked the White House
staff to cooperate. The president also maintained there is no need to name
an outside special counsel.
The investigation is aimed at finding who leaked the name of the CIA
operative, possibly in an attempt to punish the officer's husband, former
Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who had accused the Bush administration of
manipulating intelligence to exaggerate the threat from Iraq (news - web
sites).
Faced with increasing demands by Democrats for an independent investigation,
Bush said Tuesday during a fund-raising stop in Chicago: "I have told our
administration, people in my administration to be fully cooperative. Leaks
of classified information are a bad thing. ... I want to know who the
leakers are."
That did not satisfy Democratic leaders, who argued that Attorney General
John Ashcroft (news - web sites) was too close to the White House to run an
independent investigation.
"If there ever was a case for the appointment of a special counsel, this is
it," said California Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the House
Democratic leader.
Ashcroft has not ruled out the possibility of appointing a special counsel,
said a senior law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., said Wednesday he
doesn't believe there has to be an outside investigation, telling NBC's
"Today" show that an effort by career counterespionage lawyers and FBI
agents already is under way.
The probe for now is in the hands of 11 Justice Department lawyers led by
John Dion, chief of the counterespionage section of criminal division.
Dion's team handles all of the roughly 50 referrals a year from the CIA and
other intelligence agencies about leaks of classified information.
As the investigation progresses, FBI counterintelligence agents from the
Washington field office will be conducting the interviews and examining
documents and e-mails, officials said.
The Justice Department told the White House and CIA to preserve any
documents that might be related to the probe, including telephone logs,
e-mails, notes and other documents.
Although Bush said he welcomed the investigation, it was an embarrassing
development for a president who promised to bring integrity and leadership
to the White House after years of Republican criticism and investigations of
the Clinton administration.
Federal law prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of a covert agent's name,
punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The CIA officer's name was published
by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who said he based his report on two
senior administration officials.
News executives expressed concern that the investigation could lead to
subpoenas of reporters' notes and phone records, and the journalists
themselves.
"The question really comes down to whether there are other ways to do this
that do less damage to the idea of the First Amendment," said Bill Felber,
editor of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, who handles freedom of information
issues for the Associated Press Managing Editors. "This ought to be last
resort, not a first resort."
On Monday, McClellan said it was "ridiculous" to suggest Karl Rove, Bush's
chief political strategist, had played any role in disclosing the name of
Wilson's wife.
In an interview with ABC-TV's "Nightline" program, Wilson said he would tell
the FBI, if asked, the names of "everybody who called me and told me" about
conversations with Rove.
Wilson had traveled to Niger in 2002 to investigate allegations of uranium
sales to Iraq. He concluded the allegations were not credible. On July 6,
2003, he wrote a commentary in The New York Times that said some
intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was "twisted to
exaggerate the Iraqi threat."
White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, in two e-mails to White House staff on
Tuesday, ordered the preservation of any documents relevant to the
investigation.
In particular, Gonzales cited any contacts with columnist Robert Novak and
Timothy M. Phelps, Washington bureau chief for Newsday newspaper, and Knut
Royce, a staff writer for the paper.
begin 666 my16.gif
M1TE&.#EA$ `0`-7_`/__S___`/_(D/_(`/^78,__8,__`,_(D,_(`,^7S\^7
MD,^7`,]G_\]GD,]G8,]G`,\PD,\P8)"7SY"7D)"78)"7`)!GD)!G8)!G+Y!G
M`) P8) P+Y `8) `+V"78&!G`& P8& P+V `8& `+V ``"\P+R\`8/___P``
M````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
M`````````````````````````````````"'_"T%$3T)%.DE2,2XP`M[M`"'Y
M! $``"<`+ `````0`! ```:LP)-0J+!H-!;%<'DZ:$2<#E2D.3 GQ\CF."*-
M1%:A4Z,H&I\DDVBHV308C$3#(I*F-R>%!B (0 H%"R!H(B G1AL("!>*&HH9
M&A\@6$<&#@@.!APC%1HE&2(6(0XC"!H!CB"%"((C$A8@! .,%PL9&"(5("8@
M16U4(QHA&A4B"" CAB<;(B(;JH4/QU\48M!?7R8C:LIB(<V%7\TA3$T6V-H@
,'N5#!T4)$V%#00`[
`
end