[Mb-civic] CBC News - CHENEY AIDE RESIGNS AFTER INDICTMENT

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CHENEY AIDE RESIGNS AFTER INDICTMENT
WebPosted Fri Oct 28 06:16:27 2005

---I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff,
has been indicted for perjury, making false statements and obstruction of
justice for his role in the leaking of a covert CIA agent's identity to
the media in 2003.

Immediately after the indictments were handed down Friday, Libby handed
in his resignation.

But George W. Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove, apparently
escaped indictment.

However, Rove is not in the clear yet, as investigators for Special
Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald have not completed their investigation into
Rove's role in the case.

The five-count indictment against Libby charged him with one count of
obstruction of justice, two of perjury and two false statement counts.
Libby, 55, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.25
million fine if convicted, prosecutors said.

Libby is accused of lying about how and when he learned about agent
Valerie Plame's identity in 2003 and told reporters about it. The
information on Plame was classified.

He is also accused of lying when he told Fitzgerald's investigators that
he learned about Plame's CIA status from Tim Russert of NBC. The
indictment alleges that Libby learned it from Cheney.

Fitzgerald and a grand jury have been investigating the leak of Plame's
name for 22 months. The grand jury's term expired Friday, along with its
power to recommend criminal charges.

Their probe has zeroed in on Rove and Libby.

They have been accused of telling reporters about Plame's identity in
June or July of 2003. The conversations are alleged to have occurred
just before conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote a piece
speculating that Plame's husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, had
received a government consulting contract because his wife worked for
the Central Intelligence Agency.

Wilson had just written a New York Times op-ed piece challenging the Bush
administration's evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
leading up to the 2003 invasion by a U.S.-led coalition.

Both Libby and Rove initially denied ever mentioning Plame's identity to
reporters for Time magazine and the New York Times, before later
admitting that conversations on the topic did take place.

For the past two years, Wilson has pointed the finger at Rove for ending
his wife's ability to perform undercover work for the CIA.

"I believe Karl Rove should be fired," he said. "I believe Karl Rove
should be fired because I believe it's an outrageous abuse of power for
somebody sitting in an office next to the President of the United
States to be personally engaged in a smear campaign against citizens of
this country."

Bush has shown open irritation whenever reporters toss questions at him
about the affair.

"This may be the fourth time I've been asked about this, which I
appreciate, you're doing your job," he said at a recent news conference.
"I'm not going to comment about it. This is a very serious
investigation."

Possible charges range from obstruction of justice to perjury to
violating a law barring disclosure of the identity of a covert
intelligence agent. Conspiracy charges are considered less likely but
still possible.

Bush initially said anyone involved in the leak would be fired. But he
later appeared to backtrack, saying "If someone committed a crime, they
will no longer work in my administration."

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