Date: September 10, 2005 4:39:43 AM PDT
Subject: [Spy News] CIA leak probe may be nearing end game: lawyers
08T213913Z_01_DIT865583_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-BUSH-LEAK-DC.XML&archived=False
CIA leak probe may be nearing end game: lawyers
Thu Sep 8, 2005 5:38 PM ET
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York Times reporter Judith Miller, locked up for
refusing to reveal who told her a covert CIA operative's name in a probe
that may be nearing a conclusion, works part time at the jail laundry
helping clean fellow inmates' green jumpsuits and dirty linens.
Between shifts at the laundry, Miller works at the library on a card catalog
of the jail's books, said attorney Floyd Abrams, offering new details about
Miller's life behind bars after meeting with her on Wednesday.
Abrams, who represents The New York Times, said Miller was "safe" but that
conditions in jail were "grim."
This week Miller marked two months -- 65 days as of Thursday -- at the
Alexandria Detention Center just outside Washington for refusing to testify
to a grand jury trying to determine who in the Bush administration leaked
CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.
Abrams said Miller remained "resolute" and would not reveal her confidential
source to a grand jury in the case, which could shake up an administration
already reeling from criticism over its response to Hurricane Katrina. The
probe has ensnarled President George W. Bush's top political adviser, Karl
Rove.
But lawyers close to the investigation say there are signs that the
20-month-long inquiry could be wrapped up within weeks in a final flurry of
negotiations and legal maneuvering.
Asked if talks were under way with special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, a
Justice Department prosecutor, to secure Miller's testimony and release,
Abrams said: "If there are any discussions, they would be private."
"She is there (in jail) for a reason. At this time, the reason is still
there. She made a promise and, unless properly released from her promise by
her source, she has no choice but to continue to take the position that
she's taking," Abrams said.
He declined comment when asked if Miller, who was sent to jail on July 6
though she never wrote an article about the Plame matter, had reached out
anew to her source for a clear release from confidentiality that would allow
her to testify.
Attorney Theodore Boutrous, who represents Time magazine and its reporter,
Matthew Cooper, said Miller's "standoff" with Fitzgerald may be coming to a
head.
"Either Fitzgerald still needs Miller or he doesn't," Boutrous said. "It's
who blinks first. ... You would think something needs to happen soon, one
way or another."
Unlike Miller, Cooper avoided jail by agreeing to testify after saying he
received the "express personal consent" of his source to reveal his
identity. The first person to tell him about Plame was Rove, Cooper said.
Plame's husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, said the leak was meant to
discredit him for criticizing Bush's Iraq policy in 2003 after a CIA-funded
trip to investigate whether Niger helped supply nuclear materials to
Baghdad.
FITZGERALD'S END GAME?
Several lawyers involved in the case say Fitzgerald was likely to wrap up
his inquiry this fall, if not sooner, though they say they have not heard
from his office in weeks.
The outcome could have political implications for Bush, whose approval
ratings are already the lowest of his presidency.
After initially promising to fire anyone found to have leaked information in
the case, Bush in July offered a more qualified pledge: "If someone
committed a crime they will no longer work in my administration."
Prominent Democrats have called on Bush to fire Rove, the architect of his
two presidential election victories and now his deputy chief of staff, or
block his access to classified information.
Rove's attorneys said Rove did nothing wrong and has been repeatedly assured
he is not a target of Fitzgerald's investigation.
When Miller was jailed, chief U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said she must
stay there until she agreed to testify or for the rest of the grand jury's
term, which lasts into October.
But if no deal is reached, lawyers say, Fitzgerald could step up pressure by
threatening Miller with a longer sentence. Miller's attorneys, in turn,
could argue she has no intention of testifying and that her continued
incarceration is of little consequence to Fitzgerald's case since others
have revealed their sources.
LIVING A FLOOR BELOW MOUSSAOUI
An investigative reporter who covers national security and foreign policy
issues, Miller is one of about 440 inmates at the Alexandria Detention
Center, according to its spokesman, Capt. Tony Davis.
Miller has been in a U.S. jail longer than any other newspaper journalist to
protect a source, according to Abrams. The previous record-holder, he said,
was a journalist from The Los Angeles Times who served for 48 days.
The Alexandria facility where Miller is being held has housed some of the
nation's most notorious spies and terror suspects. One floor above Miller's
cell is Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in connection with the
September 11, 2001, attacks.
Like other inmates, Miller has a small cell, which gets some natural light
through a window and is "locked down" for the night at about 11:00 p.m. The
cell is equipped with a toilet, a sink and a bed.
Davis declined to discuss Miller's daily routine. Speaking generally, he
said, inmates assigned to laundry detail help wash jail linens and blankets,
as well as green jumpsuits marked with the word "PRISONER."
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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