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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (471219)	10/5/2003 1:20:10 AM
From: Doug R	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

July 14, 2003. President Bush discovers a breach of national security. Two "senior administration officials" have apparently exposed the identity of a covert CIA operative while attempting to discredit one of Bush's critics. President Bush immediately swings into action to cure this shocking, illegal breach. Here is a detailed, day-by-day chronology of the president's decisive action: Day 1: Nothing Day 2: Nothing Day 3: Nothing Day 4: Nothing Day 5: Nothing Day 6: Nothing Day 7: Nothing Day 8: Nothing Day 9: Nothing Day 10: Nothing Day 11: Nothing Day 12: Nothing Day 13: Nothing Day 14: Nothing Day 15: Nothing Day 16: Nothing Day 17: Nothing Day 18: Nothing Day 19: Nothing Day 20: Nothing Day 21: Nothing Day 22: Nothing Day 23: Nothing Day 24: Nothing Day 25: Nothing Day 26: Nothing Day 27: Nothing Day 28: Nothing Day 29: Nothing Day 30: Nothing Day 31: Nothing Day 32: Nothing Day 33: Nothing Day 34: Nothing Day 35: Nothing Day 36: Nothing Day 37: Nothing Day 38: Nothing Day 39: Nothing Day 40: Nothing Day 41: Nothing Day 42: Nothing Day 43: Nothing Day 44: Nothing Day 45: Nothing Day 46: Nothing Day 47: Nothing Day 48: Nothing Day 49: Nothing Day 50: Nothing Day 51: Nothing Day 52: Nothing Day 53: Nothing Day 54: Nothing Day 55: Nothing Day 56: Nothing Day 57: Nothing Day 58: Nothing Day 59: Nothing Day 60: Nothing Day 61: Nothing Day 62: Nothing Day 63: Nothing Day 64: Nothing Day 65: Nothing Day 66: Nothing Day 67: Nothing Day 68: Nothing Day 69: Nothing Day 70: Nothing Day 71: Nothing Day 72: Nothing Day 73: Nothing Day 74: Nothing Day 75: Nothing Day 76: "I want to know the truth."

To: calgal who wrote (471219)	10/5/2003 5:36:15 AM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

FBI Narrowing List of CIA Leak Suspects Thursday, October 02, 2003 WASHINGTON — The FBI's first task in the investigation of a leak that disclosed the name of a CIA employee is to narrow the list of government officials who may have known her identity, a number that could be in the hundreds. The FBI (search) spent Wednesday assembling a team of experienced agents to handle the investigation, which probably will include interviews with senior members of President Bush's staff. Investigators want to find out who leaked the name of a CIA employee married to former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson (search), who had accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq. The employee's name, Valerie Plame, first appeared in a July 14 story by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, and she was identified later by Newsday as an undercover officer. The White House reported no contact from investigators Wednesday, even as staffers combed through phone logs, e-mails and other documents to make sure potential evidence was preserved. In Congress, Democrats and Republicans sparred over whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate. Democrats contend an agency headed by Bush appointees cannot adequately investigate the administration, a claim Republicans have labeled politically motivated. Overseeing the investigation is John Dion, a 30-year career prosecutor who has headed the counterespionage section at the Justice Department since 2002. FBI agents from the counterintelligence and inspections division and from the Washington field office will do the legwork. The FBI, which can use grand jury subpoenas to compel disclosure of any evidence, has regularly used polygraph tests in investigations involving classified information. Asked if White House staff members would submit to lie detector tests if requested, spokesman Scott McClellan (search) called the question "hypothetical." "We will cooperate fully with the investigation and make sure that we preserve the integrity of the investigation," he said. The White House and the Republican National Committee turned up the heat Wednesday on Wilson. The GOP's communication office highlighted remarks in which Wilson backtracked from his original assertion that Karl Rove (search), Bush's chief political strategist, was responsible for the leak. McClellan said Wilson "has said a lot of things and then backed away from what he said. So I think part of your role is to do some further questioning there." Novak, in a column published Wednesday, wrote that he discovered Plame's identity when talking with a senior administration official about why Wilson, who had been part of President Clinton's National Security Council, had been chosen to investigate allegations that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger. A second official confirmed that Wilson's wife was a CIA officer, Novak wrote, adding that the CIA itself never suggested to him that publication of her name would endanger anyone. Novak also wrote that the employee's identity was widely known in Washington. Former Attorney General Janet Reno, in June 2000 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the pool of potential leakers in any administration is extremely big. "Almost inevitably, we find that the universe of individuals with authorized access to the disclosed information is so large as to render impracticable further efforts to identify the leaker," Reno said. "Almost all leak investigations are closed without having identified a suspect." Justice Department guidelines allow for journalists to be subpoenaed only on rare occasions, after all reasonable attempts are made to obtain the information from other sources. "The prosecutorial power of the government should not be used in such a way that it impairs a reporter's ability to cover as broadly as possible controversial public issues," the guidelines say. Newsday Editor Howard Schneider said the newspaper had not been contacted by the Justice Department and that its reporters were continuing to pursue the leak story. On Capitol Hill, a meeting was canceled Wednesday between Wilson and House Democrats, who said it could give greater weight to Republican claims that the controversy is political. Some Democrats repeated calls for Attorney General John Ashcroft to appoint a special counsel to handle the probe independently, an option that remains open. An ABC-Washington Post poll found 69 percent of Americans, including 52 percent of Republicans, believe a special counsel should be appointed. A substantial majority, 72 percent, said it's likely that someone in the White House leaked the classified information, but only 34 percent think it's likely Bush knew about the leak beforehand. McClellan defended the administration's failure to take action when the CIA employee's name first appeared in Novak's column in July. "There was no information brought to our attention beyond an anonymous source in media reports to suggest that there was White House involvement," he said. Justice Department officials say they received a CIA "crime report" about possible disclosure of classified information soon after Novak's column, then sent the agency a list of 11 standard questions to answer about the case. Those answers were received last week, leading to the decision to begin a probe.