Thank you. I was just going to ask if there was a way to obtain a roster of the cast of characters.

Why would Bolton, or any State Department official, have the names of covert CIA agents? Is there a need for them to know?

Don't forget about Marc Grossman, former Under Secretary for Political Affairs at State, who's name has come up before...

1) Maybe Tenet or Fleitz?
2) Bolton
3) Cheney
4) David Addington? Cheney's counsel is referred to in the indictment, and I believe that is Addington's position (and he is apparently replacing Libby!).

Shawn,

Bolton was basically loaned Fleitz from the CIA to work for him at State. The idea would be that Fleitz told Bolton about Plame, Bolton told Libby, and according to the facts stated in the indictment, then Libby told Judy Miller of the NYTimes about Plame and confirmed her identity to Matt Cooper of Time magazine.

Any guesses as to Official A?

Any guesses as to Official A?

I'm guessing Rove, or possibly Cheney.

I did not see the news conference. Does anyone know if Fitzgerald asked for a new grand jury to keep the investigation going?

Official A is clearly Rove, based on previous reports.

Steve-

It was interesting how cagey Fitzgerald was about empaneling a new grand jury. If the investigation is still open, one would ordinarily expect that a new grand jury would be needed, and that he wouldn't have any problem acknowledging that fact. The existence of the last grand jury, for instance, was never secret.

This makes your scoop about sealed indictments much, much more interesting. It's pure speculation, but it seems to me entirely plausible that Fitzgerald has filed sealed indictments against Rove, and is still in the process of negotiating with his attorney. That would explain how the investigation could remain open, even without a new grand jury. When Fitzgerald either strikes a plea deal with Rove, or decides how to charge him, he can simply unseal the indictment. Is there any way to run this past your source?

You know we'll all be up tonight cutting and pasting government seating charts on poster board over cider and crumb cake.

I bet it's Bolton. Might explain the jailhouse visit to Judith Miller?

There is a bigger point about this question of who the Under Secretary in question was that we shouldn't lose sight of:

http://lookingforsomeonetolietome.blogspot.com/2005/10/ignore-under-secretary-of-state-behind.html

Andrea Mitchell stated that she had confirmation that Marc Grossman was the undersecretary alluded to in the indicatment. She said this during the MSNBC post press conference gabfest. Not sure who her source(s) was, but she made the statement as if she just recieved confirmation during the broadcast and so could now state it with some assurance.

Cheney said: "In our system of government an accused person is presumed innocent until a contrary finding is made by a jury after an opportunity to answer the charges and a full airing of the facts. Mr. Libby is entitled to that opportunity."

The government currently has a native-born U. S. Citizen in prison for what 3? years now and has yet to be brought to trial: Jose Padilla. If Padella is guilty as the government says then charge him, bring him to trial and either convict or aquit.

Don't believe anything these liars say.

Coincidence or Conspiracy ?

Scooter Libby's false story line is that Tim Russert (TV reporter) told him that Plame-Wilson worked at the CIA

Karl Rove said he first learned about Plame being a CIA employee from a reporter.

What is the chance that both of these liars came up with exactly the same false story ?

If you don't believe this a coincidence, then it is a conspiracy ! Another 10 years behind bars.... or so

I think they were both counting on the reporters respecting their promise of confidentiality.

Evidence gathered and presented to the previous Grand Jury can be summerized and re-presented the new Grand Jury. So if Rove lied to the first Grand Jury, the second GJ can indict on that.

Who is Official A?

Paragraph 4. of the indictment states that the Under Secretary of State directed INR to prepare a report concerning the ambassador's trip: is this the report produced by Marc Grossman? Does this positively ID the Under Secretary of State in question?

Steve:

I don't think there's any way that Fleitz is the Senior CIA Official. He's at best five levels down, not particularly senior. And Alan Foley didn't even know who he WAS when Bolton came asking for him (via Foley's Bolton testimony). There's no way someone "senior" would be unknown to the head of that person's unit.

I wouldn't be surprised at all, however, if it were Foley himself. He is a proclaimed Bolton friend (again from his Bolton testimony). And he's either a space cadet or a willful liar. So he'd fit the MO well. And remember his role in the SOTU story. He first testified early drafts said Niger, then said he forgot when Joseph told him he was mistaken.

To Shawn in RI:

The reason that John Bolton may have known the name of a CIA agent who was working in discovering secret proliferation of WMDs, is because he was the Undersecretary of State for Nonproliferation.

No one else held that post at the time around the outing of Plame.

I see someone else is fingered now as likely by Clemens, but the fact remains only John Bolton was Undersecretary of State over Nonproliferation at the time that an important CIA agent working in that area was outed.

Did anyone ask Fitzgerald at the press
conference if he had other
sealed indictments that he has not opened?