Latest Plame affair Stories

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's spokesman on Wednesday dismissed calls for a White House shake-up as "inside-Washington pontificating" after a series of controversies that have pushed his approval ratings to new lows. "The president has a smart, capable and experienced team that is fully committed to helping him advance his agenda and get things done for the American people," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. A variety of critics, including...

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday urged lawmakers to begin wrapping up the second phase of its investigation into U.S. intelligence on prewar Iraq, despite fresh demands from Democrats for further scrutiny. Sen. Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican, laid out a schedule for completing four of the investigation's five segments by the end of April and pledged to release much of the findings to the public. The largest segment...

By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA must provide summaries of its top-secret intelligence briefings to a former vice presidential aide so he can defend himself against perjury charges, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday. The ruling is a surprise victory for Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is charged with lying to the FBI and a federal grand jury during an investigation into who disclosed the identity of a CIA operative in 2003 after her husband criticized the Bush administration....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA would have a hard time advising President George W. Bush on security threats if a judge forced it to provide all documents sought by a former vice presidential aide accused of perjury, the agency said in a court filing made public on Tuesday. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is charged with lying to the FBI and a grand jury during an investigation into who disclosed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to news reporters in 2003 after her husband accused the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration has launched several investigations to discourage government employees from leaking classified information to news reporters, The Washington Post reported in its Sunday edition. FBI agents have interviewed dozens of employees at the CIA, the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies in recent weeks as they investigate possible leaks that led to reports about the NSA's domestic spying program and secret CIA prisons in...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, who faces perjury charges, asked a judge on Thursday to throw out the case on the grounds that the prosecutor was appointed improperly. Since both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former Attorney General John Ashcroft removed themselves from the investigation because of their close ties to the White House, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald reports to David Margolis, a career Justice Department lawyer....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush would accept a slight delay in permitting Dubai Ports World to acquire a British company that operates six key U.S. ports, senior White House adviser Karl Rove told Fox News. When asked if Bush would accept a slight delay in implementing the takeover of P&O, Rove said: "Yes, look, there are some hurdles, regulatory hurdles, that this still needs to go through on the British side as well that are going to be concluded next week. "There's...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney said on Wednesday he may be called as a witness in the case of his former aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who faces perjury and other charges in the leak of a CIA operative's identity. Cheney refused to comment on reports that he directed Libby to use classified material to discredit a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq war effort, saying: "It's nothing I can talk about." "I've cooperated fully, including being interviewed, as well,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney, publicly silent since accidentally shooting a Texas lawyer while hunting last week, will offer his first words on the incident on Wednesday, the White House said. Cheney will be interviewed by Fox News at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT), White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters.

By Christine Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was back in court seeking information about the New York Times' anonymous sources on Monday, this time appealing his setback in a lower court. Fitzgerald is best known for being the special prosecutor whose investigation led to the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Former Times reporter Judith Miller spent 85 days in jail in that case last year for resisting...