Plame affair criminal investigation

The Plame affair was a dispute stemming from allegations that one or more White House officials revealed Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Valerie Plame Wilson’s undercover status. An investigation, led by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, had started. Concerning the possibility that one or more crimes may have been committed. The initial focus was on Scooter Libby; however, he was not the primary source of the leak.

On August 29, 2006, Neil A. Lewis of The New York Times reported that Richard Armitage is confirmed to be the first and primary source of the CIA leak investigation.

On September 6, 2006, The New York Times noted that early in his investigation, Fitzgerald knew Armitage was the primary source of the leak. The Times raised questions as to why the investigation proceeded as long as it did.

Fitzgerald issued no statement about Armitage's involvement, and as of September 2006, the CIA leak investigation remained open.

On August 30, 2006, CNN reported that Armitage had been confirmed "by sources" as leaking Valerie Plame's role as a CIA operative in a "casual conversation" with Robert Novak.

On September 26, 2003, the CIA requested that the Justice Department investigate what is now known as the Plame affair. Then-Attorney General of the United States John Ashcroft initially headed up the investigation. On 13 August 2005 journalist Murray Waas reported that the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials had recommended appointing a special prosecutor to the case because they felt that Karl Rove had not been truthful in early interviews, withholding information from FBI investigators his conversation with Cooper about Plame and maintaining that he had first learned of Plame's CIA identity from a journalist whose name Rove could not recall. In addition, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, from whose prior campaigns Rove had been paid $746,000 in consulting fees, had been briefed on the contents of at least one of Rove's interviews with the FBI, raising concerns of a conflict of interest. A 2 October 2003 New York Times article similarly connected Rove to the matter and highlighted his prior employment in three previous political campaigns for Ashcroft. Ashcroft subsequently recused himself from the investigation.

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