Fitzgerald announces new grand jury
Court filing says probe 'is ongoing'
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Washington -- The special counsel in the CIA leak case said Friday that he will use a new grand jury in his continuing investigation, a development that seems certain to extend the political cloud hanging over the Bush administration and could draw new players into the investigation.
The counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald, told a federal judge in a court filing that he will begin additional proceedings before a grand jury different from the one that brought an indictment last month against Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.
The 18-month term of the previous grand jury expired last month. In his previous statements, Fitzgerald had left the door open to using a new grand jury in the case.
The counsel also made clear in the new court filing that "the investigation is ongoing," after saying last month that "the substantial bulk of the work in this investigation is concluded."
Fitzgerald would not comment after the hearing on his decision to go before a new grand jury, but legal analysts and law enforcement officials said the development suggests that he might be considering calling new witnesses to look at fresh evidence.
The case generated even greater scrutiny and speculation this week after the disclosure by Bob Woodward of the Washington Post that a confidential source told him in June 2003 that the wife of former diplomat Joseph Wilson, who became a vocal critic of the Bush administration's Iraqi intelligence, worked at the CIA.
Woodward said he gave sworn testimony to Fitzgerald on Monday after his source went to the counsel, for reasons still unexplained, to disclose their 2-year-old conversation.
Legal experts said it was possible that Fitzgerald might want to take Woodward and his source before a grand jury to explore the episode, which alters the time line of events that the prosecutor laid out last month against Libby.
The identity of Woodward's source remains a mystery. More than a dozen top Bush administration officials, including the president and vice president, have directly or indirectly denied telling Woodward of Wilson's wife's role at the
CIA.
But a handful of officials have declined to comment, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is traveling in Asia with President Bush. Richard Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state, has not replied to messages.
The use of a new grand jury, perhaps to explore the Woodward issue, does not necessarily indicate that Fitzgerald plans to bring additional charges against anyone. But current and former prosecutors noted that the process was time-consuming -- the new grand jury will probably have to be read at length from the transcript from the last grand jury on any relevant issues -- and that the prosecutor would be unlikely to take such a step lightly.
"If he's taking the affirmative step of going before a new grand jury, he clearly has more evidence he wants to present," said Nicholas Gess, a senior Justice Department official in the Clinton administration. "That's not just a fishing expedition."
The prospect of a prolonged investigation seems likely to focus increased attention on Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser who has acknowledged having conversation with reporters about Wilson.
The White House declined comment on the issue Friday, as did Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, who has said he believes his client will ultimately be exonerated.
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