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Date Posted: Friday, October 28, 12:52:27pm
Author: BJ
Subject: Scooter is Indicted on obstruction of justice, false statement and perjury

(CBS/AP) Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was indicted Friday on obstruction of justice, false statement and perjury charges in the CIA leak investigation.

President Bush's top political adviser Karl Rove escaped charges for the time being but will remain under investigation by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

Libby is considered Cheney's alter ego, a staunch conservative who pushed for war with Iraq. Any trial of Libby would be likely to shine a spotlight on Cheney and the vice president's role in building a case for war against Iraq.

Though he has worked in relative obscurity, Libby is one of the most influential advisers in the West Wing because of his proximity to Cheney, one of the most powerful vice presidents in the nation's history.

Fitzgerald scheduled a news conference to discuss the case for 2 p.m. EDT and CBSNews.Com will provide a live Webcast.

Rove's lawyer said he was told by the prosecutor's office that investigators had "made no decision about whether or not to bring charges" and would continue their probe into Rove's conduct.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said any White House staffer under indictment is expected to resign.

Fitzgerald and his investigators have been trying to determine whether Rove, Libby or any other administration officials knowingly revealed CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity or lied about their involvement to investigators. Her husband is diplomat Joseph Wilson, an opponent of the Iraq war who challenged Mr. Bush's assertion that Saddam Hussein was trying to secure nuclear materials.

The lack of an indictment against Rove is a mixed outcome for the administration. It keeps in place the president's top adviser, the architect of his political machine whose fingerprints can be found on virtually every policy that emerges from the White House.

But leaving Rove in legal jeopardy keeps Mr. Bush and his team working on problems like the Iraq war, a Supreme Court vacancy and slumping poll ratings beneath a dark cloud of uncertainty.

Rove's legal problems stem in part from the fact that he failed initially to disclose to prosecutors a conversation in which he told Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper that Plame worked for the CIA.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports Rove's lawyers are working to convince the prosecutor that he never intended to mislead the grand jury when he failed to remember the conversation with Cooper.

"Mr. Rove will continue to cooperate fully with the special counsel's efforts to complete the investigation," said attorney Luskin. "We are confident that when the special counsel finishes his work, he will conclude that Mr. Rove has done nothing wrong."

Rove and Libby both arrived for work at the White House early Friday. As he left his house, Rove said, "I'm going to have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend," and he wished reporters the same.

Trying to put a brave face on one of the darkest days of his presidency, Mr. Bush traveled to Norfolk, Va., to deliver a speech on terrorism. "Thanks for the chance to get out of Washington," he said.

Senior Republicans inside and outside the White House have wondered whether the case has been a distraction for Rove, who testified four times before the leaks grand jury. They point to the failed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers, which was derailed by conservative activists, many of them allies of Rove. He helped build Mr. Bush's political career on the strength of ties to the religious conservative movement.

Both charming and sharp-tongued, Rove is well liked by his colleagues and respected by his opponents, a take-no-prisoners political operative who is steadfastly loyal to his boss and relentlessly partisan in his approach. He didn't graduate from college, but is one of the most well-read White House advisers. He spent most of his career in Texas, but quickly established himself as a Washington insider.

White House credibility has been on the line from the start. Spokesman Scott McClellan, after checking with Rove and Libby, assured reporters that neither man was involved in the leak. Months later, reports surfaced that suggested they were involved.

On July 7, the president told reporters that if anyone in his administration committed a crime in connection with the leak, that person "will no longer work in my administration." Weeks later, he backpedaled from that assertion.

Columnist Robert Novak revealed Plame's name and her CIA status on July 14, 2003. That was five days after Novak talked to Rove and eight days after Plame's husband, former ambassador Wilson, published an opinion article in The New York Times accusing the Bush administration of twisting intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq.

Wilson has accused the White House of revealing his wife's identify to undercut his allegations against Mr. Bush.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/28/politics/main990068.shtml

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