'Wash Post' Reports New CIA Leak Grand Jury Coming

By: Joe Strupp Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, whose investigation into the leaking of former CIA Agent Valerie Plame's identity led to the indictment of a former White House official, plans to convene a new grand jury, The Washington Post reported today.

In a Web site story posted this afternoon, the Post reported that "Fitzgerald said in court filings that his investigation 'will involve proceedings before a different grand jury than the grand jury which returned the indictment' against Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby."

Fitzgerald's previous grand jury, which ended Oct. 28, resulted in the indictment against Libby on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements. That grand jury disbanded the same day the indictments were announced

Since then, however, new interest in the Plame leak probe as surfaced following revelations this week that Post assistant managing editor Bob testified Monday before Fitzgerald and revealed elements of three conversations with confidential sources, including one who reportedly told him of Plame's identity in mid-June 2003.

The revelation makes it appear that Woodward was the first of several reporters to learn of Plame's secret identity from Bush administration officials. Her identity was later publicly disclosed by columnist Robert Novak.

Woodward's testimony also has been used by Libby's defense team to argue that Fitzgerald's original finding that led to the charges against Libby could be flawed, especially since Fitzgerald had claimed Libby was the first governmental official known to have revealed Plame's identity to a reporter.

Fitzgerald planned to be in federal court today, according to the Post, to argue that most of the evidence in his investigation -- which is likely to be used in Libby's trial -- should be withheld from the public.

The prosecutor had sought a complete protective order preventing Libby's defense team from releasing any of the evidence. That order was opposed by Dow Jones & Co., which owns the Wall Street Journal, and by the Associated Press. In a court filing Thursday, Fitzgerald offered a compromise that could give the media access to some of the evidence, the AP reported.