White House Waiting Game
No Announcement Of Any Charges Yet As Prosecutor Meets With Judge
-
Play CBS Video Video CIA Leak Indictments Expected The special prosecutor investigating the CIA leak is expected to announce indictments against senior White House officials in the next day or so. Bill Plante reports.
-
Video Cheney's Role In CIA Leak Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff reportedly first heard Valerie Plame's name from Cheney himself. Democratic strategist James Carville and Republican strategist Ed Rollins commented.
-
Video Clock Ticks In CIA Leak Probe The prosecutor investigating who blew the cover of a CIA agent is winding down his probe and indictments, if any, will come soon. John Roberts and Gloria Borger report on the buzz in Washington.
-
-
Left to right: Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. (CBS)
-
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005. (AP)
-
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, walks into the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005, using crutches. (AP)
-
Karl Rove walks into the White House to attend meetings, Wed., Oct. 26, 2005. (AP)
-
Vice President Dick Cheney looks on during a photo opportunity in the Oval Office at the White House, Oct. 26, 2005. (GETTY IMAGES/Jim Watson)
-
-
Interactive The Leak People and events surrounding the leak of a CIA officer's name.
-
Interactive Bush Presidency The president's agenda, plus facts, figures, major events and key personalities.
-
Interactive History Of Press Freedom Follow the evolving struggles over press freedom in the United States.
One set of interviews occurred in the neighborhood of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, whose wife Valerie Plame was revealed as an undercover CIA officer. Roberts reports that investigators talked to Plame's neighbors, including Marc Lefkowitz who was interviewed Monday night.
"They said, 'Did you know Valerie Plame's identity?' and I said, 'No,'" Lefkowitz said.
Two lawyers familiar with the activities said the interviews involved basic fact-checking and did not appear to plow new ground.
Fitzgerald may want to establish that Plame had carefully protected her CIA identity, part of the process of determining whether the disclosure of her name amounted to a crime.
Adding to the administration's discomfort, Vice President Dick Cheney is now alleged to be a player in this case, reports CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante.
According to some who have testified, Libby told the grand jury that he first learned Plame's name from reporters. But it was the vice president, according to a New York Times report, who mentioned Plame's CIA connection to Libby on June 12, 2003, a month before her name became public.
The name of Rove, the president's most powerful adviser, is also in the mix of top officials who may be slapped by the grand jury. The Los Angeles Times reports that prosecutors questioned a former West Wing colleague of Rove's about contacts he had with reporters leading up to the leak.
If such officials as Rove or Libby are named by the grand jury, President Bush will need to get replacements quickly, GOP strategist Ed Rollins (video) said on The Early Show.
"Historically there have been a lot of turnovers in the White House. This one hasn't had many," Rollins said.
Columnist Robert Novak disclosed Plame's name on July 14, 2003, eight days after Wilson said publicly that the Bush administration had twisted intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
The timing of Wilson's criticism was devastating for the Bush White House, which was struggling to come to grips with the fact that no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq.
President Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction was the administration's main argument for going to war.
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From Politics
Grammy winner Shakira on her music career, philanthropy and being sexy.
