Democrat Calls on Rove to Make Statement on Probe
July 3 (Bloomberg) -- A Senate Democrat called on Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's top political adviser, to make a public statement denying any role in the 2003 leak of an undercover intelligence agent's identity.
Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said that while there is no evidence that Rove leaked the identity of Central Intelligence Agency operative Valerie Plame to reporters, Rove should address the matter himself instead of issuing denials through his attorney.
``I think the American people would feel a whole lot better if Karl Rove himself got up and made a statement that he did not leak the information, nor did he order anybody else to leak the information,' Schumer said on ABC's ``This Week.' ``That would totally clear his name.'
Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, said Sunday that Rove spoke with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper for a story about a CIA- sponsored trip to Africa that diplomat Joseph Wilson made to learn more about Iraq's alleged attempts to buy uranium there. Columnist Robert Novak got the story out first, which stated that Wilson was sent at the suggestion of his wife, Plame.
Luskin said in an interview that Rove ``did nothing wrong, did not disclose Plame's identity, and did not reveal any confidential information.'
Luskin said that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's office asked that any matters related to the investigation not be discussed, and Luskin is ``trying to respect that request while still asserting as vigorously as possible that Karl did nothing wrong, and has been assured repeatedly by Fitzgerald's office that he is not a target of the investigation.'
Defending Rove
Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, defended Rove on ``This Week.'
``Mr. Rove has cooperated with the investigation, he's done what he should do, and there's nothing that I've seen or that anyone has pointed out that indicates he did anything other than conduct himself appropriately,' Cornyn said.
Computer files Time turned over to prosecutors as part of a U.S. investigation show Cooper interviewed Rove three or four days before Novak's story ran, Newsweek reported Saturday.
Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller face possible jail sentences for refusing to divulge the sources they used while reporting on the issue. A federal judge plans to consider penalties on July 6. Time Inc., seeking to keep its reporter out of jail and avoid fines, said last week that it will hand over subpoenaed records.
Classified
Plame was a classified agent monitoring the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction for the CIA. It's a crime to knowingly identify an undercover CIA official. The White House on Sunday said Bush is still committed to finding out the truth from the investigation.
``The president's instructions from the beginning were to fully cooperate with the investigation,' White House spokesman Taylor Gross said. ``As part of cooperating, we are not going to comment on any matters that come up during the investigative process.'
Wilson has charged that the leak was orchestrated by the White House to intimidate anyone who might challenge the Bush administration's rationale for going to war against Iraq. He charged that Rove leaked the information, then backed off the accusation. White House spokesman Scott McClellan has denied that Rove was a source of the leak.
Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney from Chicago, was appointed in 2003 by Bush to investigate who leaked Plame's identity.
