Indictments galore!

Fitzgerald’s indictment of Scooter Libby is very interesting in terms of what information it provides on his role in the White House. As Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo notes that he is not simply working in the Office of the Vice President. He is listed in the indictment as “Assistant to the President of the United States” in addition to his roles as chief of staff and assistant to the VP for national security affairs. In contrast to what the right-wing pundits claim, the indictment states that “Valerie Wilson was employed at the CIA, and her employment status was classified. Prior to July 14, 2003 [the date of Novak’s first column exposing her identity], Valerie Wilson’s affiliation with the CIA was not common knowledge outside the intelligence community [italics added]”. It also notes that on May 29, 2004, Libby asked an (unnamed) Undersecretary of State for information on Wilson’s trip to Niger (he was named as just an ambassador at this point). This is interesting because the claims investigated were for weapons of mass destruction, and Wilson’s wife worked on these issues. And who was the Under Secretary of State for WMD proliferation issues? John Bolton, now the Ambassador to the U.N. What is his role in the scandal and was he moved to the U.N. to isolate him from the investigation?
One of the most puzzling parts refers to a conversation with an unnamed senior official in the White House (Karl Rove). The indictment notes that “on or about July 10 or July 11, 2003, Libby spoke to a senior official in the White House (“Official A”) who advised Libby of a conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson’s wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson’s trip. Libby was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson’s wife.” Could this be information that was spilled first by Novak and then was corroborated by Karl Rove in his desperate attempts to avoid indictment? Libby’s obstruction of justice charge relates to “when, and the manner and means by which, Libby acquired and subsequently disclosed to the media information concerning the employment of Valerie Wilson by the CIA”. Now it remains to see how far the cover-up extends within the White House and whether Rove will be indicted and whether either Rove or Libby will squeal about the role of Bush and Cheney in the leaking of Valerie Wilson’s identity. I anticipate at least another year of testimony and drama in the criminal trial or trials. Bad news for Republicans.