Leak Inquiry Embarks on a Long Road

[kskiska]

• At the outset of a process expected to take months, the FBI says it is not viewing the probe as an investigation of the White House.

WASHINGTON — A handful of federal investigators on Wednesday began looking into the suspected outing of a CIA operative by a Bush administration official, adopting a deliberate approach to a politically charged case that is apt to prove complex and take months.

(snip)

But in addition to Ashcroft, among the political appointees who may help decide the fate of the case is the department's new second-in-command, acting deputy Robert McCallum. He is an old friend and Yale classmate of the president's; both were members of the secret Skull & Bones Society at Yale.

(snip)

Politics aside, the task facing investigators is deceptively complex. Obtaining phone records of administration officials, for instance, is often the stuff of a delicate political negotiation between prosecutors and White House lawyers, who are likely to argue that some sensitive materials are irrelevant to the case and should be kept under wraps.

"It is going to take them several weeks just to get the relevant records from the CIA and the White House," a former Justice Department criminal division official said, requesting anonymity. "The White House is not going to turn over all of Karl Rove's phone logs. There is going to be a negotiation over it. You have to negotiate the terms and conditions. It is going to take some time."

more…
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-leak2oct02,1,5400691.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[lanlady]

1. oh, so they WON'T be cooperating fully

I guess McClellan told the press a little fib yesterday?

[shockingelk]

7. needs bunp!

bump

[diplomats]

2. They're going to drag this out till the cows come home

[priller]

3. But but but Dubya said he's ready to fully cooperate

I guess that's just for the cameras.

[pw]

4. Full Cooperation means

that they'll turn over anything that they feel legally obliged to turn over.

[Flubadubya]

5. The longer they drag this out...

the worse it will go for them... and the better for us. Just let them drag their feet. Even the somnolent American public will stir over time. It ain't goin' away Bushies!!!

[judge_smales]

6. It just keeps getting better

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CIA-Leak.html?hp


The investigation into the disclosure of a C.I.A. officer's name is likely to expand to other Bush administration agencies, officials said today.---------------------------------------


Oh goody!!

[MoonAndSun]

8. kick

[proud patriot]

9. grrrrrrrrrr

:mad: