Jump to content

Plame affair grand jury investigation

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.115.176.41 (talk) at 22:50, 16 November 2005 (→Court Preceeding). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

File:Patrick Fitzgerald 18380357.jpg
Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois

CIA leak grand jury investigation (rel. Valerie Plame affair) is an on going federal inquiry about the unauthorized release of a covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer's identity, a possible violation of criminal statutes, including the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 793.

In September 2003, the CIA requested that the Justice Department investigate the disclosure of a covert CIA officer’s identity. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself and named Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, to be "acting attorney general" for the case. Comey in turn named U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald to the case on December 30, 2003.

Basic Facts

See articles, Plame scandal timeline and Plame affair for additional details.

In his July 14 2003 newspaper column, Robert Novak revealed the name of a covert CIA agent. Novak identified Valerie Plame, wife of Joseph C. Wilson IV, as an agency operative. Wilson, a former U.S. Ambassador, criticized the Bush Administration in a July 6, 2003 editorial in The New York Times. Wilson argued that the Bush Administration misrepresented intelligence prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In his column, Novak diminished Wilson’s claims, writing:

Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate...

Grand jury

Grand Jury Sworn in on October 31, 2003. On September 26, 2003, the Department of Justice and the FBI began a criminal investigation into the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Valerie Wilson’s CIA affiliation to various reporters in the spring of 2003. I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Jr., a senior White House official, was indicted on October 28, 2005.

Indictment of Libby

Lewis "Scooter" Libby

On October 28, 2005, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Jr., a senior White House official, was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation into the Plame affair. Libby was charged with lying to FBI agents and to the grand jury about two conversations with reporters, Tim Russert of NBC News and Matt Cooper of Time magazine. According to the Indictment[1], the obstruction of justice count alleges that while testifying under oath before the grand jury on March 5 and March 24 2004, Libby knowingly and corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct and impede the grand jury’s investigation by misleading and deceiving the grand jury as to when, and the manner and means by which, he acquired, and subsequently disclosed to the media, information concerning the employment of Valerie Wilson by the CIA.

Since January 20, 2001, Libby has served as Assistant to the President, Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs. After the indictment was released to the public, Libby resigned his position in the White House.

Court Preceeding

On November 3, 2005, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby entered a not guilty plea in front of U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, a former prosecutor who has spent two decades as a judge in the nation's capital.h

Federal Laws

Crimes

Fitzgerald's position

Known Grand Jury Witnesses

Karl Rove
File:George Tenet.gif
George Tenet
Colin Powell

Cabinet

CIA

Vice-President's Office

President

White House Press Office

Other Government Officials

Media


Attorneys of Record

Judges, Special Counsel Attorneys, Courthouses

Judges

Special Counsel Office Attorneys

  • Patrick Fitzgerald, Special Counsel, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
    • Debra Riggs Bonamici, Deputy Special Counsel, from US Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois
    • Kathleen Kedian, Deputy Special Counsel
    • James Fleissner, Deputy Special Counsel, Department of Justice (DOJ)
    • Ron Roos, Deputy Special Counsel, DoJ prosecutor -- National Security Section.
    • Peter Zeidenberg, Deputy Special Counsel, DoJ prosecutor -- Public Integrity Section.

Courthouses

Location of CIA leak grand jury

E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

References

Government Letters or Memos

  • Letter from James B. Comey, Acting Attorney General, to Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney, Dec. 30, 2003. United States Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel [3]

"By the authority vested in the Attorney General by law, including 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, and 515, and in my capacity as Acting Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 508, I hereby delegate to you all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department's investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity, and I direct you to exercise that authority as Special Counsel independent of the supervision or control of any officer of the Department."

Wilson and Novak Newspaper Opinion Pieces

U.S. Court Sites

  • United States Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel [4]
  • Judge Thomas F. Hogan, biography [5]
  • United States District Court for the District of Columbia [6]
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [7]
  • Libby Indictment [8]
Wikinews has related news:
Wikinews has related news:
Wikinews has related news:
Wikiquote has quotations related to Plame affair grand jury investigation.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Plame_affair_grand_jury_investigation&oldid=28540665"