Ashcroft hands off CIA leak probe
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 30, 2003
WASHINGTON — Attorney General John Ashcroft removed himself Tuesday from the investigation into whether the Bush administration leaked a CIA operative’s name to a newspaper columnist, and a career federal prosecutor from Chicago was named as special counsel to take over.
In a move cheered by Democrats, Deputy Attorney General James Comey announced that Ashcroft had stepped aside to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest after reviewing evidence recently developed in the inquiry. He would not specify the nature of that evidence.
Comey said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago, a veteran of terrorism and political corruption cases, would take over as a special prosecutor and would be given "the tools to conduct a completely independent investigation."
Comey will retain ultimate authority over Fitzgerald as the acting attorney general for the case. Comey rejected choosing a complete outsider to be the special counsel.
Investigators want to know who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA officer, to syndicated columnist Robert Novak in July. Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who has said he believes his wife’s identity was disclosed to discredit his assertions that the Bush administration exaggerated Iraq’s nuclear capabilities to build a case for war.
The leaker could be charged with a felony if identified. The FBI has interviewed more than three dozen Bush administration officials, including political adviser Karl Rove and press secretary Scott McClellan.
Fitzgerald, 43, recently handled the corruption indictment of ex-Illinois Gov. George Ryan.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., a presidential candidate, criticized the decision not to appoint an independent counsel.
"The public will not likely trust the results of an investigation headed by a political appointee, especially when the special counsel is constrained by Department of Justice regulations that severely curtail the prosecutor’s autonomy," Lieberman said.
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