Senior White House aide Karl Rove denied to US President George W. Bush that he engaged in an effort to disclose the identity of a covert CIA operative to discredit her husband's criticism of the administration's Iraq policy, according to people familiar with Rove's statements in a criminal investigation.
Rove's brief discussion with Bush has been a mystery for two years because the White House publicly referred to it, but refuses to say anything about it.
Beginning two years ago, the White House flatly denied that Rove had been involved in unlawfully leaking the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, the wife of former US Ambassador Joseph Wilson.
The White House denials collapsed in July amid the disclosure of Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper's conversations in July 2003 about Wilson's wife with Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.
Bush asked Rove in the fall of 2003 to assure him he was not involved in an effort to divulge Plame's identity and punish Wilson, and the longtime confidant assured the president so, people familiar with Rove's account say.
Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff, answered similarly when press secretary Scott McClellan asked him a similar question.
Those with direct knowledge of evidence gathered in the criminal investigation spoke to reporters only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy.
Bush's discussion with Rove did not get into specifics concerning Rove's conversations in July 2003 with syndicated columnist Robert Novak and Cooper, who wrote stories identifying Plame, the people familiar with Rove's account said.
Rove's meeting with Bush occurred amid a public uproar over the Justice Department launching a criminal investigation of who in the administration leaked Plame's identity. At the time, spokesman McClellan was so adamant in his denials that he told reporters the president himself knew that Rove was not involved in the leak.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is wrapping up an investigation into whether Rove, Libby or other White House aides divulged Plame's identity in violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.
The probe is examining whether aides mishandled classified information, made false statements or obstructed justice. Rove is slated to testify soon to the grand jury for the fourth time. Prosecutors told him they no longer can assure that he will escape indictment.
Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, declined to comment Friday on the specifics of the discussion with Bush. But he confirmed that his client maintains -- then and now -- he did not engage in an effort to disclose Plame's identity.
"He always truthfully denied that he was ever part of any campaign to punish Joe Wilson by disclosing the identity of his wife," Luskin said.
In addition to Rove's discussions with reporters, investigators are looking into a delay in learning about Rove's contact with Cooper and an e-mail between Rove and now-national security adviser Steve Hadley that referred to the conversation.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he would make a decision about how the US government would refer to the body of water commonly known as the Persian Gulf when he visits Arab states next week. Trump told reporters at the White House that he expects his hosts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will ask him about the US officially calling the waterway the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia. “They’re going to ask me about that when I get there, and I’ll have to make a decision,” Trump said. “I don’t want to hurt anybody’s
RSS