WP: Justice to Begin Leak Interviews Within Days [View All]

[kskiska]

Friday, October 3, 2003; Page A01

Justice Department investigators plan to begin interviewing Bush administration officials within days in an effort to swiftly identify anyone who may have leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent, a department official said yesterday.

"We will move quickly to interview likely suspects in the next few days," the official said. He declined to provide names, but said the first interviews will be with officials whose names have surfaced in news reports as possible sources of the information.

The move appears intended to short-circuit Democratic calls for the appointment of a special counsel and avoid what could otherwise be a long and politically damaging investigation. Moreover, a decision to begin interviewing officials immediately could increase pressure on a leaker to step forward promptly or risk charges of lying to investigators.

Justice officials also said they plan to add the Defense and State departments to the list of agencies that will be the focus of the criminal investigation. Officials in those departments will be sent letters, like the one the White House received this week, asking them to preserve phone logs, e-mail and other records that could relate to the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to columnist Robert D. Novak.

(snip)

"Everybody needs to have a good abogado," Bush said, drawing laughter as he used the Spanish word for "lawyer." "I've got a really good one," he added, to more laughter. "Al Gonzales is my lawyer and close friend."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34898-2003Oct2.html