The Plame Affair investigation appears to have entered a new phase, with investigators
convening a grand jury to elicit testimony.
[A] grand jury began hearing testimony Wednesday in the investigation of who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak and other journalists.
Prosecutors are believed to be starting with third-party witnesses, people who were not directly involved in the leak of Plame's identity. Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, claims that the leak was an act of retaliation against him for undercutting Bush's weapons-of-mass-destruction rationale for going to war in Iraq. Soon enough, witnesses with more direct knowledge will be called to testify, and a decision to subpoena journalists for their testimony will also be made.
No blockbuster breakthrough, but hopefully the wheels of justice are grinding in the right direction. And if nothing else, we are told the administration is terrified about what might emerge:
But true to form, the Bush administration continues to be extremely tight-lipped about the investigation -- even internally. "No one knows what the hell is going on," says someone who could be a witness, "because the administration people are all terrified and the lawyers aren't sharing anything with each other either."
This investigation, the 9-11 commission, the Cheney Energy Task Force commission lawsuits -- these are all wild cards, and Rove can't be all too pleased. Given Bush's latest numbers and the way Bush's SOTU address was buried by Dean's Rebel Yell, Rove doesn't have a lot of room to maneouver. 500 dead in Iraq aren't helping, nor is the nation's anemic job growth.
Now he has to worry about possible fallout from the myriad investigations his administration faces. Can Rove stonewall them all? He's trying hard as he can.