VALERIE PLAME UPDATE….Finally, a bit of news about the investigation into the outing of Valerie Plame:
The Justice Department has added a fourth prosecutor to the team investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer’s identity, while the FBI has said a grand jury may be called to take testimony from administration officials, sources close to the case said.
….Sources said the CIA is angry about the circulation of a still-classified document to conservative news outlets suggesting Plame had a role in arranging her husband’s trip to Africa for the CIA. The document, written by a State Department official who works for its Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), describes a meeting at the CIA where the Niger trip by Wilson was discussed, said a senior administration official who has seen it.
CIA officials have challenged the accuracy of the INR document, the official said, because the agency officer identified as talking about Plame’s alleged role in arranging Wilson’s trip could not have attended the meeting.
The “still classified document” was apparently leaked to Talon News, part of a conservative group called GOP USA. Their interview with Joseph Wilson is here.
So when will the investigation wrap up? According to a “Republican legal source” who has talked to White House officials, “The only fear I’ve heard expressed is that the investigation will be too slow or too fast and will kick into a visible mode in a way that is poorly timed for the election.” Glad to see they’re keeping their eyes on the ball.
