Testifying poses risk to Bush aide
Published 9:00 pm Friday, October 7, 2005
WASHINGTON – Presiden-tial aide Karl Rove’s upcoming fourth appearance before a federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA officer’s identity is a risky legal move, because it opens him up to making statements that are inconsistent with what he previously has said, legal experts say.
Rove offered in July to return to the grand jury, and special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald accepted the offer Sept. 30, lawyers familiar with the investigation said Thursday.
“In a normal criminal investigation, most defense lawyers are extremely cautious about their clients testifying even once before a grand jury, and are generally loathe to let them testify more than once,” said former federal prosecutor Lawrence Barcella.
“This is a classic example of what happens when there’s a large political overlay to a criminal investigation.”
At the same time, it may be risky for Rove not to testify, since Fitzgerald warned Rove that prosecutors can no longer guarantee he won’t be indicted. The warning came in a letter accepting Rove’s offer to testify one more time.
Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor, said it is unusual for a witness to be called back to a grand jury four times, and that the prosecutor’s warning is “an ominous sign” for the presidential adviser.
“It suggests Fitzgerald has learned new information that is tightening the noose,” Gillers said.
After last week’s appearance before the grand jury by New York Times reporter Judith Miller, Gillers said Fitzgerald may now suspect that Rove was in some way implicated in the release of Valerie Plame’s identity, or that he is investigating various people for obstruction of justice, false statements or perjury.
“That is the menu of risk for Rove,” Gillers said.
While the outcome of the criminal investigation is uncertain for Rove, the legal status of another key figure, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis Libby, isn’t publicly known.
Rove and Libby had conversations with reporters in July 2003 about the identity of Plame, a covert CIA officer, days after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, suggested the Bush administration had misrepresented prewar intelligence on Iraq.
On Sept. 30, Miller testified about her conversations with Libby, while Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper testified in 2003 about a conversation with Libby and in July about a conversation with Rove. Miller’s testimony came after she spent 85 days in jail for refusing to cooperate with Fitzgerald’s probe.
Leaking the identity of a covert agent can be a crime, but it must be done knowingly, and the legal threshold for proving such a crime is high. Fitzgerald could also seek charges against anyone he thinks lied to investigators or tried to obstruct the case.
