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Karl Rove Names Libby as His Source...Maybe

October 20, 2005

The facts underlying Plamegate become more and more murky. The Washington Post reports that Karl Rove told the grand jury in the CIA leak case that it "may have been" I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, that told Rove that CIA operative Valerie Plame worked for the intelligence agency before her identity was revealed. The Post quotes "a source familiar with Rove's account," which probably means a paralegal or attorney who works for Fitzgerald.

In a talk that took place in the days before Plame's CIA employment was revealed in 2003, Rove and Libby discussed conversations they had had with reporters in which Plame and her marriage to Iraq war critic Joseph C. Wilson IV were raised, the source said. Rove told the grand jury the talk was confined to information the two men heard from reporters, the source said. Rove has also testified that he also heard about Plame from someone else outside the White House, but could not recall who.

The account is the first time a person familiar with Rove's testimony has provided clues about where the deputy chief of staff learned about Plame, and confirmed that Rove and Libby were involved in a conversation about her before her identity became public. The disclosure seemed to further undermine the White House's contention early in the case that neither man was in any way involved in unmasking Plame.

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Lawyers in the case have said Rove and Libby are the central focus of Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's 22-month investigation, which is scheduled to end by the time the grand jury expires Oct. 28. But they are not the only officials worried about the uncertain conclusion to the case.

John Hannah, an aide to Cheney and one of two dozen people questioned in the CIA leak case, has told friends in recent months he is worried he may be implicated by the investigation, according to two U.S. officials. It is not clear whether Hannah had any role in unmasking Plame, or why he should fear Fitzgerald's probe. But the eleventh-hour emergence of another possible target shows how Fitzgerald has cast his net so widely over the past two years that it is impossible to know who, if anyone, it might ensnare.

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But many unknowns remain. What role did Hannah play? What, if any, role was played by former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer? Who was the second source for Robert D. Novak, the columnist who first disclosed Plame's name and role in July 2003? Who was the White House official who leaked word about Wilson's wife to The Washington Post's Walter Pincus, who has never publicly revealed his source?

The rest of the lengthy article gives an excellent summary of Plamegate, who's involved and what could happen next. The bottom line is this: until Fitzgerald speaks, no one knows what's going to happen or even if anyone will be indicted.

But at a minimum, the leaked testimony so far shows that Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and other White House aides know a lot more than they're saying publicly. It also shows that either Karl Rove lied to President Bush about his involvement with outing Valerie Plame or -- what would be much worse for the White House -- Rove told Bush the truth from the beginning and the president knew exactly what was going on the entire time.

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