From Reuters, 9/8/05:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-09-08T181843Z_01_BAU865896_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BUSH-LEAK.xml
CIA leak probe may be nearing end
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
New York Times reporter Judith Miller, locked up for refusing to
reveal who told her a covert CIA operative's name in a probe that may
be nearing a conclusion, works part time at the jail laundry helping
clean fellow inmates' green jumpsuits and dirty linens.
Between shifts at the laundry, Miller works at the library on a card
catalogue of the jail's books, said attorney Floyd Abrams, offering
new details about Miller's life behind bars after meeting with her on
Wednesday.
Abrams, who represents The New York Times, said Miller was "safe" but
that conditions in jail were "grim."
This week Miller marked two months -- 65 days as of Thursday -- at the
Alexandria Detention Centre just outside Washington for refusing to
testify to a grand jury trying to determine who in the Bush
administration leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.
Abrams said Miller remained "resolute" and would not reveal her
confidential source to a grand jury in the case, which could shake up
an administration already reeling from criticism over its response to
Hurricane Katrina.
The probe has ensnarled President George W. Bush's top political
adviser, Karl Rove.
But lawyers close to the investigation say there are signs that the
20-month-long inquiry could be wrapped up within weeks in a final
flurry of negotiations and legal manoeuvring.
Asked if talks were under way with special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald,
a Justice Department prosecutor, to secure Miller's testimony and
release, Abrams said:
"If there are any discussions, they would be private."
"She is there (in jail) for a reason. At this time, the reason is
still there. She made a promise and, unless properly released from her
promise by her source, she has no choice but to continue to take the
position that she's taking," Abrams said.
He declined comment when asked if Miller, who was sent to jail on July
6 though she never wrote an article about the Plame matter, had
reached out anew to her source for a clear release from
confidentiality that would allow her to testify.
Attorney Theodore Boutrous, who represents Time magazine and its
reporter, Matthew Cooper, said Miller's "standoff" with Fitzgerald may
be coming to a head.
"Either Fitzgerald still needs Miller or he doesn't," Boutrous said.
"It's who blinks first. ... You would think something needs to happen
soon, one way or another."
Unlike Miller, Cooper avoided jail by agreeing to testify after saying
he received the "express personal consent" of his source to reveal his
identity.
The first person to tell him about Plame was Rove, Cooper said.
Plame's husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, said the leak was
meant to discredit him for criticising Bush's Iraq policy in 2003
after a CIA-funded trip to investigate whether Niger helped supply
nuclear materials to Baghdad.
Several lawyers involved in the case say Fitzgerald was likely to wrap
up his inquiry this fall, if not sooner, though they say they have not
heard from his office in weeks.
The outcome could have political implications for Bush, whose approval
ratings are already the lowest of his presidency.
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Developing............
Harry
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