WASHINGTON (AP) - Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald met Wednesday with the grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA officer's identity, looking to put finishing touches on a two-year criminal probe that has ensnared two senior White House aides. Fitzgerald and the grand jurors entered the courthouse around 9 a.m. EDT, with just three days left before the jury's term is set to expire. Away from the jury, FBI agents conducted a handful of last-minute interviews to check facts key to the case.
Lawyers representing key White House officials expected Fitzgerald to decide as early as Wednesday whether to charge I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, and top presidential political adviser Karl Rove. Both Rove and Libby joined other officials Wednesday at the daily White House senior staff meeting, as usual.
The grand jury Fitzgerald has used in the investigation is set to expire Friday. Fitzgerald could charge one or more presidential aides with violating a law prohibiting the intentional unmasking of an undercover CIA officer. | Or charge someone with lying to the Grand Jury. Or not charge anyone at all. I'll be soooo glad when this waiting is over. |
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