New reports today indicate that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is zeroing in on
conflicting stories officials and reporters have provided his grand jury, lending credence
to the theory that he may be considering obstruction of justice or perjury charges against
top White House officials.
White House chief political strategist Karl Rove told the grand jury that he first learned
of Valerie Plame's identity from columnist Robert Novak -- but Novak's version of the story
is that Rove already knew about her when the two spoke.
Rove didn't mention his conversation with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to
investigators at first and then said it was primarily about welfare reform. But Cooper has
testified that the topic of welfare reform didn't came up.
Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told prosecutors he first
heard about Plame from NBC's Tim Russert, but Russert has testified that he neither offered
nor received information about Plame in his conversation with Libby.
And former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told prosecutors that he never saw a
classified State Department memo that disclosed Plame's identity, but another former
official saw him perusing it on Air Force One.
yrs, andreas www.andreas.com
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