Joseph C Wilson

The investigation into whether the Bush administration illegally exposed the identity of an undercover CIA operative has turned to some of the journalists covering the inquiry. A special prosecutor has asked reporters for the Washington Post and Newsday to sit for questions in connection with the investigation of the case, the papers acknowledged Monday. Other journalists might also be targeted for questioning, sources said.

Secret meetings. Spies. Forged documents. Government denials. Burglary. As Washington braces for the possible indictment of some of its most powerful officials, Italy is reliving its own small but significant role in "Niger-Gate," the scandal that surfaced as the Bush administration made its case for war in Iraq. If all roads lead to Rome, so do the rumors: Washington's problem with the leak of a CIA officer's identity has tentacles here. Former U.S. diplomat Joseph C.

Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is investigating how the occupation of CIA operative Valerie Plame was made public in 2003 and whether Bush administration officials broke a federal law that protects the identities of covert personnel. The probe centers on disclosures and articles in 2003, touched off by an opinion article by Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, that was critical of the Bush administration's use of intelligence.

Top aides to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were intensely focused on discrediting former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV in the days after he wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times suggesting the administration manipulated intelligence to justify going to war in Iraq, federal investigators have been told.

Secret meetings. Spies. Forged documents. Government denials. Burglary. As Washington braces for the possible indictment of some of its most powerful officials, Italy is reliving its own small but significant role in "Niger-Gate," the scandal that surfaced as the Bush administration made its case for war in Iraq. If all roads lead to Rome, so do the rumors: Washington's problem with the leak of a CIA officer's identity has tentacles here. Former U.S. diplomat Joseph C.

In recent days, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV has been portrayed as the victim at the center of a storm over allegations that the Bush administration revealed the identity of Wilson's wife, a covert CIA operative, as punishment for his public criticism of the Iraq war. But in the latest twist of this fast-moving story, Wilson found himself on the defensive Wednesday against charges from the White House's top Republican allies that his motives are political.

Top aides to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were intensely focused on discrediting former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV in the days after he wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times suggesting the administration manipulated intelligence to justify going to war in Iraq, federal investigators have been told.

Columnist Robert Novak is clearly relishing his role at the center of the growing scandal over who in the Bush administration leaked the identity of a CIA operative. "Smiling like a Cheshire cat," said his liberal friend and sometime sparring partner, MSNBC's Bill Press. A Washington fixture for more than 40 years, Novak delights in writing not an opinion column but a reported one. While others opine and pontificate, Novak prides himself on breaking news.

Re "A Right-Wing Smear Is Gathering Steam," a July 21 commentary by Joseph C. Wilson IV: I suspect that the intensity of attacks on Wilson is directly proportional to the likelihood of indictments coming down shortly against those who compromised national security. Virgil J. Jose Apple Valley

Re "Cheney's key role in leak case detailed," Jan. 26 This article describes Vice President Dick Cheney's orchestration of the deceitful smearing of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV. Cheney could have better spent his time studying the history of the Vietnam War or colonialism in the Middle East. Oh, I forgot. He had more important things on his mind at the time. GENE WALLER Goleta, Calif.

Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is investigating how the occupation of CIA operative Valerie Plame was made public in 2003 and whether Bush administration officials broke a federal law that protects the identities of covert personnel. The probe centers on disclosures and articles in 2003, touched off by an opinion article by Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, that was critical of the Bush administration's use of intelligence.

The investigation into whether the Bush administration illegally exposed the identity of an undercover CIA operative has turned to some of the journalists covering the inquiry. A special prosecutor has asked reporters for the Washington Post and Newsday to sit for questions in connection with the investigation of the case, the papers acknowledged Monday. Other journalists might also be targeted for questioning, sources said.

In recent days, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV has been portrayed as the victim at the center of a storm over allegations that the Bush administration revealed the identity of Wilson's wife, a covert CIA operative, as punishment for his public criticism of the Iraq war. But in the latest twist of this fast-moving story, Wilson found himself on the defensive Wednesday against charges from the White House's top Republican allies that his motives are political.

President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003. At the time, the administration was trying to undercut former U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV's criticism of Bush's rationale for the Iraq war. Wilson and Plame are married. The House Oversight Committee had subpoenaed Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey to turn over the documents.

A New York Times reporter was jailed Wednesday for refusing to submit to questioning by a special prosecutor investigating possible wrongdoing by the Bush administration, but a Time magazine reporter avoided jail at the last minute by agreeing to cooperate with the government. U.S. District Judge Thomas F.