Fitz To Plame Leak Court: Keep Some Grand Jury Records Sealed

By: Mark Fitzgerald and The Associated Press The prosecutor in the CIA leak case on Friday opposed public release of some details about the criminal investigation, while supporting the disclosure of information regarding I. Lewis Libby, the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

In court papers, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said continued secrecy is not necessary with respect to portions of a federal appeals court ruling from 10 months ago that "directly relate to Mr. Libby." Libby was indicted on Oct. 28 on five counts of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI.

Secrecy is necessary for other material in the court ruling to protect witnesses or subjects of the investigation from public embarrassment or ridicule "as well as to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation," Fitzgerald argued.

Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, is seeking release of redacted portions of an appeals court decision from Feb. 15, 2005. In it, Judge David Tatel affirmed that New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper were in contempt of court for refusing to testify in Fitzgerald's investigation. Both subsequently testified.

In the months before the courts moved against Miller and Cooper, the prosecutor provided the federal judiciary detailed descriptions of the investigation's progress, and some of those details became part of Tatel's written opinion. The investigative material was removed from the opinion before it was released.

Fitzgerald's response states: "However, the Special Counsel has concluded that secrecy continues to be necessary with respect to the remainder of the redacted pages, in order to protect from public embarrassment or ridicule individuals whose status as grand jury witnesses or subjects has not been publicly disclosed, as well as to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation."

The response filed Friday describes the "redacted" pages this way:

"The redacted pages of Judge Tatel's separate opinion contain a detailed analysis of evidence collected by the grand jury with respect to the grand jury's need for the information sought by the challenged subpoenas to reporters, the existence of alternative sources of that information, and the public interest in enforcing the subpoenas. The redacted pages make extensive reference to the identity of grand jury witnesses, the substance of their testimony, and the strategy and direction of the investigation."

Lawyers for Dow Jones could not be reached for response Friday evening.