CIA Leak Scandal Criminal Investigation - Further Action

Further Action

On October 6, 2005, Fitzgerald recalled Karl Rove, for the fourth time, to take the stand before the grand jury investigating the leak of Plame's identity. Fitzgerald had indicated that the only remaining witnesses to call were Cooper and Miller before he would close his case. On November 18, 2005, Fitzgerald submitted new court papers indicating that he would use a new grand jury to assist him in his ongoing investigation. The grand jury's term expired on October 28.

On April 26, 2006, Rove testified for a fifth time. It was his first appearance before the newly impanelled grand jury.

Rove's attorney Robert D. Luskin told reporters that he has since received a fax from Fitzgerald indicating that, in the words of Mike Allen of TIME Magazine, "absent any unexpected developments, he does not anticipate seeking any criminal charges against Rove." John Solomon of Associated Press reported that the news came by telephone rather than fax. And the New York Times reported that the news was announced by Fitzgerald "in a letter to Mr. Luskin." Luskin's own public statement indicates only that he was "formally advised" of this news by Fitzgerald, and Luskin's office has so far refused to comment further on that statement.

On June 13, 2006, Robert Luskin released the following statement:

"On June 12, 2006, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald formally advised us that he does not anticipate seeking charges against Karl Rove. In deference to the pending case, we will not make any further public statements about the subject matter of the investigation. We believe that the Special Counsel's decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr. Rove’s conduct."

On June 14, 2006, Joe Wilson responded to Luskin's statement by stating that "this is a marathon... it's not over." He referred other questions to a statement released by his lawyer, Christopher Wolf. In the statement, Wolf stated that "while it appears that Mr. Rove will not be called to answer in criminal court for his participation in the wrongful disclosure of Valerie Wilson's classified employment status at the CIA, that obviously does not end the matter. The day still may come when Mr. Rove and others are called to account in a court of law for their attacks on the Wilsons."

Following the revelations in the Libby indictment, sixteen former CIA and military intelligence officials urged President Bush to suspend Karl Rove's security clearance for his part in outing CIA officer Valerie Plame.