By contrast, Fitzgerald demanded that journalists who received the Plame leaks provide testimony. Officials in George W. Bush's administration were pressed to sign waivers and otherwise grant reporters permission to talk.
The testimony from these journalists, including New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time correspondent Matthew Cooper, revealed that senior White House officials Lewis Libby and Karl Rove were among the sources disclosing Plame's identity amid a broader campaign to discredit her husband.
The history of the Passport-gate investigation also might help explain why George W. Bush seemed so confident early in the Plame-gate affair that the investigation would fail to identify the senior administration officials who had leaked Plame's identity.
"I have no idea whether we'll find out who the leaker is - partially because, in all due respect to your profession, you do a very good job of protecting the leakers," Bush told reporters at a news conference on Oct. 7, 2003.
Bush's comment, however, came about two months before Attorney General Ashcroft recused himself and the investigation was turned over to Fitzgerald. Because of Fitzgerald's tenacity - in marked contrast diGenova's laxity a dozen years ago - Bush's prediction has not held up too well.
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Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.'
The testimony from these journalists, including New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time correspondent Matthew Cooper, revealed that senior White House officials Lewis Libby and Karl Rove were among the sources disclosing Plame's identity amid a broader campaign to discredit her husband.
The history of the Passport-gate investigation also might help explain why George W. Bush seemed so confident early in the Plame-gate affair that the investigation would fail to identify the senior administration officials who had leaked Plame's identity.
"I have no idea whether we'll find out who the leaker is - partially because, in all due respect to your profession, you do a very good job of protecting the leakers," Bush told reporters at a news conference on Oct. 7, 2003.
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Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.'
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