WASHINGTON -- Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor rumored to be wrapping up the long-running investigation of the leak of a CIA agent's identity, set up a website this week posting previously filed documents in the case.
Fitzgerald's spokesman, Randall Samborn, said he "strongly cautions against reading anything into the timing" of the website launch.
However, others familiar with the case said it was unlikely that the prosecutor would set up an Internet page if his investigation was going to close without indictments.
Fitzgerald's site, which appeared Wednesday, has an American flag with the words "Department of Justice" emblazoned over it. Underneath is the prosecutor's name in large type. Beneath that are five documents, including the Dec. 30, 2003 letter from acting Atty. Gen. James Comey appointing Fitzgerald to investigate the leak. Another entry includes a letter from Comey permitting Fitzgerald to expand his investigation to look into other possible federal crimes, among them perjury, destruction of evidence, intimidation of witnesses or obstruction of justice
Here is the Patrick Fitzgerald's website:
Fitzgerald's crossing his t's and dotting his i's. If he is going to hand down indictments, he'll certainly post them on the site--as well as any grand jury report. This has been one of the most talked-about stories over the past two years, not just in the press but also in the blogosphere. There has been plenty of accusations, suspicions, charges and counter-charges made over this scandal on both sides of the political spectrum. So whatever Fitzgerald is going to do, you can bet he's going to post it on this website, due to the intense interest in the scandal.
On another note, the Bush White House has been pretty quiet lately. Here's an interesting story from the Washington Post:
At 7:30 each morning, President Bush's senior staff gathers to discuss the important issues of the day -- Middle East peace, the Harriet Miers nomination, the latest hurricane bearing down on the coast. Everything, that is, except the issue on everyone's mind.
With special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald driving his CIA leak investigation toward an apparent conclusion, the White House now confronts the looming prospect that no one in the building is eager to address: a Bush presidency without Karl Rove. In a capital consumed by scandal speculation, most White House senior officials are no more privy than outsiders to the prosecutor's intentions. But the surreal silence in the Roosevelt Room each morning belies the nervous discussions racing elsewhere around the West Wing.
Out of the hushed hallway encounters and one-on-one conversations, several scenarios have begun to emerge if Rove or vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis Libby is indicted and forced out. Senior GOP officials are developing a public relations strategy to defend those accused of crimes and, more importantly, shield Bush from further damage, according to Republicans familiar with the plans. And to help steady a shaken White House, they say, the president might bring in trusted advisers such as budget director Joshua B. Bolten, lobbyist Ed Gillespie or party chairman Ken Mehlman.
These tentative discussions come at a time when White House senior officials are exploring staff changes to address broader structural problems that have bedeviled Bush's second term, according to Republicans who said they could speak candidly about internal deliberations only if they are not named. But it remains unclear whether Bush agrees that changes are needed and the uncertainty has unsettled his team.
"People are very demoralized and unhappy," a former administration official said. "The leak investigation is [part of it], but things were not happy before this took preeminence. It's just been a rough year. A lot has gotten done, but nothing is easy."
You can bet Fitzgerald's new website isn't making the White House staffers any more happy or relaxed.
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