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Cheney Aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Indicted
SCOOP NEWSFLASH: Cheney Aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Indicted
US Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been charged with perjury, making a false statement and obstruction of justice in relation to the investigation into the outing of Valerie Plame a CIA agent in an act of retaliation against administration critic Ambassador Joe Wilson.
Mr Libby has stepped down from his role in the White House pending the outcome of the case against him.
The case arises out of a 2003 column by political commentator Bob Novak which named Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson's wife, as a CIA agent. Mr Novak quoted senior administration sources implying that there had been an element of nepotism in Mr Wilson's appointment to travel to Niger to investigate allegations that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium yellow cake to make a nuclear weapon.
Mr Wilson's trip in turn was prompted by a series of documents which Mr Wilson reported had been forged.
However in spite Mr Wilson reporting back that the allegations were flawed they were nevertheless included in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address immediately prior to the beginning of the war against Iraq.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is currently holding a press conference to describe the decision to indict Mr Libby.
FURTHER BACKGROUND:
PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO (1hr 5 mins):
STREAM: http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/audio/0510/FitzgeraldLibbyPresser.m3u
DOWNLOAD: http://S2.r2.co.nz/~scoop/200510/FitzgeraldLibbyPresser.mp3
FULL TEXT OF STATEMENTS
Office Of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald
WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL I. LEWIS LIBBY INDICTED ON OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, FALSE STATEMENT AND PERJURY CHARGES RELATING TO LEAK OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REVEALING CIA OFFICER’S IDENTITY
White House Official I. Lewis Libby Indicted
[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0510/S00421.htm]
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Full Text Of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Indictment
[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0510/S00422.htm ]REACTION:
President's Remarks on the Resignation of Libby Ambassador Joe Wilson On Libby Indictment Vice President's Statement on Libby Resignation Senate Dem. Leader Harry Reid On Libby Indictment Senator John Kerry Statement On Libby Indictment
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Alastair Thompson
Scoop Publisher
Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.
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