http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usfitz234481553oct23,0,254245.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlinesCounsel has special power
BY TOM BRUNE
WASHINGTON BUREAU
October 23, 2005
WASHINGTON - The federal prosecutor investigating the leak of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity has extraordinarily broad authority to pursue the case, with powers much greater than most special counsels.
According to the letters outlining his role, he was granted "all the authority of the attorney general" and was directed to exercise that power "independent of the supervision or control" of any official at the Justice Department.
Unlike other special counsels, he does not have to report on his probe to anyone, he has no pre-set budget and he does not have to seek approval for his actions, whether issuing subpoenas to reporters, filing appeals in related litigation or, in the end, issuing indictments.
That is the charge for pursuing the case that was given to Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago, when he was appointed special counsel two years ago to insulate the Justice Department from charges of conflict of interest.
"The appointment gives Pat very broad authority to conduct the investigation," said Eric Holder, who was deputy attorney general in the late 1990s.
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another article published today,
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/23/MNGAQFCQJ61.DTL
The man behind CIA leak inquiry
Special prosecutor said to be immune to political pressure
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Washington -- When runners in Chicago's legal community finished their annual 5-kilometer Race Judicata this past August, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald had done quite respectably. But while the other runners gathered to kibitz over post-race beers on a Thursday evening, the driven Fitzgerald returned to his Loop offices to put in more hours.
That in a nutshell is the 44-year-old Fitzgerald, the little-known special prosecutor at the center of the investigation into the public disclosure of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Acquaintances, colleagues and legal observers describe Fitzgerald, the 6-foot, 2-inch tall, still-slim former rugby player, as a straight arrow, a workaholic dedicated to doing the right thing.
And, they added, he doesn't concern himself with the political fallout.
So far, he has led the CIA-leak special investigation, which involves top aides to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, without becoming a lightning rod for partisan criticism as did special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh in the Iran-Contra probe of President Ronald Reagan's administration and Kenneth Starr in his dogged legal pursuit of President Bill Clinton. All the while, he has continued as U.S. attorney in Chicago, a busy job that has him overseeing another politically charged case -- the prosecution on corruption charges of former Republican Gov. George Ryan.
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