Though Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, has been indicted in the CIA leak investigation, there are still more questions that must be answered, which makes it seem unlikely that the investigation is anywhere near conclusion.On Oct. 28, Libby was indicted on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
The same day that Libby was charged with the crimes, he resigned. The special prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, held a press conference on Oct. 28, which was televised on all major networks and he said that the investigation is not over. The investigation must continue because there are still several questions left unanswered.
For instance, when the president made his infamous remark in his State of the Union address in 2003 about Saddam Hussein seeking to obtain material from Niger to make weapons of mass destruction, who told him to make such a statement?
Former ambassador Joe Wilson went to Niger and discovered that Hussein was not getting any weapons material from Niger. Wilson published an article in the New York Times on July 6, 2003, which stated that the president’s claim about Niger and Iraq in the State of the Union speech was wrong.
A few days after Wilson’s article was published, Robert Novak revealed the undercover identity of the former ambassador’s wife, Valerie Plame, in his column.
Because Plame worked for the CIA, publishing her identity threatened her life and the security of the country. No one knows who leaked Plame’s identity to Novak. Fitzgerald said during the press conference that Libby leaked information about Plame to Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, but he did not say that Libby leaked any information to Novak.
Also, why was Plame’s identity leaked to the press? Was the administration trying to smear a reliable critic of the war by attacking his wife? Fitzgerald and the grand jury must look at the larger picture concerning the leak case, which is the war in Iraq.
It could be possible that Fitzgerald is not ending the investigation yet because he has stumbled upon larger issues. As someone who has a deep respect for the law and justice, Fitzgerald could be investigating what was done to sell the war to the American public.
After the war began, no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and no one has discovered if the administration purposefully lied to the American people to launch a war. Perhaps that is what Fitzgerald is investigating. It may also be possible that Fitzgerald is still investigating the vice president’s office.
Since Libby lied about what he knew concerning Valerie Plame and told members of the press about her, perhaps Fitzgerald is continuing his investigation to see if the vice president or any of his aides were also involved with the leak.
It is also still uncertain what role Karl Rove had in the leak. Though Rove was not indicted on Oct. 28 like Libby, he is still under investigation. Matt Cooper of Time magazine said during his testimonies that he spoke with Rove about Plame. If Rove had any involvement with the leak or made any false statements, then he should also be indicted.
No one knows what Fitzgerald will do or where the investigation will go. During the press conference, the special prosecutor vowed that the rest of the investigation would remain quiet and leak-free, which is necessary for the grand jury to do its work.
Hopefully, once the investigation is finally over, Fitzgerald and the grand jury will address the various questions left unanswered and punish anyone else who could be involved in the leak case. The American people deserve truth and justice.
Brian Fanelli is a senior majoring in comparative literature with minors in creative writing and journalism.