KLEIN: Well, what you're hearing is -- and what's been reported in "The New York Times" today is that she was a NOC.
And let me tell just you how serious this is. Aldridge Ames, the very famous American spy, is doing a life sentence right now for exposing NOCs. Now, the question is whether the people in the White House who allegedly exposed this operative knew that she was a NOC. That is going to be the focus of this investigation, because, if they did know, that makes this unbelievably serious.ZAHN: I found it interesting your phraseology just now. You said people in the White House.
There are a number of reports this evening saying that there is one person being looked as the potential leaker. And that's Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby? Can you confirm that?
KLEIN: Right.
Well, yes, Libby is one of the names that you hear most prominently around town. Libby and Karl Rove have been the names that have been out there. And I don't know if they are or not. But here's why people put it together with Libby. Libby is to Dick Cheney as Paul Wolfowitz is to Donald Rumsfeld. He is a very prominent neoconservative, who has -- I've heard and everybody knows -- been very upset with the CIA's performance leading up to Iraq.
And so, therefore, people are putting two and two together and getting 36. But his name is the one that's been around.
ZAHN: Did you get any better sense today on where this investigation is going? We heard a little bit yesterday about some of the details you reported about White House staffers being told they got to make darn sure their phone records are available to investigators, that their computers logs are available to investigators. Anything new on that front?
KLEIN: Well, I understand that the Justice Department has gone over to the CIA and informed them that a lot of those people are going to be subject to questioning as well, which means that an awful lot of people in Washington are having to hire lawyers tonight, which is really unfortunate, because there are very few names that are out there in play.
And the irony of this is that, right now, there are a bunch of journalists in Washington, at least six of them, who are protecting some very prominent people in the Bush White House.
ZAHN: It's a very odd position for a reporter to be in, isn't it?
KLEIN: Well, it's also, given the antipathy that the Bush White House has had for the press, it's particularly ironic. But it's the honor of journalists that is keeping this investigation in play.
And, at this point, with four or five names out there, I just can't imagine why the president of the United States doesn't call these people in and say, "Did you do it?" and get an answer and end it right here and now. This is very serious business. The president has in his power to end it.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: And you know for a fact the president hasn't done that?
KLEIN: I don't know for a fact that he hasn't done that. But if he had done that and if it's true that these names are out there, this would be over."
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http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0310/02/pzn.00.htmlguess if it's three and a half years old, it doesn't count anymore, right, Joe?