Rove and Libby May Have Lied to the Grand Jury

A less relevent issue than the leak itself, but relevent nonetheless. Word on the street is that Rove and Libby lied in their testimony to the grand jury giving testimony directly in conflict with that of the reporters who have testified. Libby allegedly claimed that Tim Russert had given him Plame's name. Meanwhile Olberman reported today that a memo regarding Valerie Plame that was marked "Top Secret" had been circulated arround the White House. So much for the "I didn't know she was undercover" argument.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of the leaking of a Central Intelligence Agency agent's name is now focused on how Rove, one of President George W. Bush's closest advisers, and other administration officials dealt with a key fact in an equally key memo.

The memo, prepared by the State Department on July 7, 2003, informed top administration officials that the wife of ex-diplomat and Bush critic Joseph Wilson was a CIA agent. Seven days later, Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, was publicly identified as a CIA operative by syndicated columnist Robert Novak.