Special Counsel to Investigate CIA 'Leak' Allegation
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
December 30, 2003 3:43PM EST

Special Counsel to Investigate CIA 'Leak' Allegation
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
December 30, 2003

(CNSNews.com) - The Justice Department turned its investigation of an alleged White House leak of a CIA operative's name over to a special counsel Tuesday as Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from the probe.

The U.S. attorney in Chicago, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, will head the investigation, while Ashcroft's deputy, James Comey, will oversee operations regarding the case at the Justice Department.

The probe was launched this summer after syndicated columnist Robert Novak disclosed in a July column the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, accused the Bush administration of "outing" Plame in an attempt to discredit his criticisms of the war in Iraq.

Comey said Ashcroft's concern about the appearance of impropriety led him to recuse himself from the investigation. Although Comey and other Justice Department officials could have handled the probe internally, he said a special counsel was more appropriate.

"The attorney general made this judgment based on a totality picture - looking at all the circumstances and facts and evidence in the case," Comey said. "The investigation ... reached a point where we simply thought these judgments were appropriate."

Fitzgerald has experience in both national security and government misconduct investigations. As a U.S. attorney in Chicago, he directed a probe that led to the indictment of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on corruption charges earlier this month.

President Bush nominated Fitzgerald to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The U.S. Senate confirmed him in October 2001. Prior to his appointment, Fitzgerald was co-chief of the DOJ's Organized Crime and Terrorism Section for the Southern District of New York. He is not related to Illinois Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R).

Although Fitzgerald will have broad authority in the investigation, he will still report to Comey.

"He has the power and authority to make whatever prosecutive judgments he believes are appropriate without having to come back to me or anybody else at the Justice Department for approvals," Comey said.

Comey called Fitzgerald "a friend" who was "a total pro." He said the department had no timeline for the investigation and would provide Fitzgerald with all of the resources he needed.

"My mandate to him was very simple: Follow the facts wherever they lead and do the right thing at all times," Comey said. "That's something, if you know this guy, is not something I even needed to tell him."

Email this Article

Printer Friendly Version