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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (34089)	1/3/2004 2:29:55 AM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Bush Aides Face Request To Free Media To Give Names Federal investigators plan to ask White House officials to release journalists from any pledge of confidentiality given during discussions about CIA operative Valerie Plame, a senior administration official said Friday. The official said that several aides to President Bush whose names have come up in interviews with FBI agents will be asked to sign a one-page form giving permission for journalists to describe any such conversations to investigators, even if the journalists promised not to reveal the source. Bush has said he wants his aides to cooperate fully, and the official said that will result in tremendous pressure on them to sign a form. But the official said that even some of the investigators on the case do not expect the document to prompt journalists to break their pledges of confidentiality. News organizations routinely resist subpoenas asking for information about confidential sources, and reporters have gone to jail rather than testify. The form states that it is the wish of the White House official that "no member of the media assert any privilege or refuse to answer any questions" about the leak, according to a copy of the form obtained by NBC News. Time magazine reported on its Web site that Karl Rove, Bush's senior adviser, had been sent a copy of the form and that other such requests had been made over the past week. The Justice Department launched an investigation Sept. 30, after a July 14 column by Robert D. Novak quoted two senior administration officials as saying Plame was a CIA operative. Her husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, was given a sensitive CIA mission to Africa in 2002 and later became a vocal critic of Bush's case for invading Iraq. Administration officials have said that they believed he got the assignment through nepotism, and some officials apparently hoped to undermine his credibility by disclosing his wife's occupation. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft has recused himself from the inquiry. washingtonpost.com lurqer