Dems Seek Probe on Rove Role in CIA Leak

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

Democrats stirred the pot Thursday in the case of presidential aide Karl Rove and the news leak that unmasked a CIA agent, pushing the issue toward the Senate floor, pressing for a congressional investigation and inviting the operative's husband to the Capitol to accuse the White House of a "smear campaign."

The case is not about Rove, said Rep. Rush Holt (news, bio, voting record) of New Jersey, who called for a probe that would compel senior administration officials to turn over records relating to the disclosure that Valerie Plame was a CIA officer. "This ... is about holding the executive branch accountable for a breach of national security."

Democratic Leader Harry Reid led the effort to push the issue onto the Senate floor, seeking a quick vote on legislation to strip national security clearances from any official who discloses the identity of a covert agent.

"It is up to the president to decide whether or not he will keep his word to fire whoever is responsible for the leak," said Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley. "It is up to the lawyers to decide what laws were violated. Congress has the right and responsibility to state clearly that anyone who divulges classified information should lose their security clearance."

A few paces off the Senate floor, Plame's husband, a former diplomat, criticized Bush's deputy chief of staff and chief political strategist in personal terms. "I made my bones confronting Saddam Hussein. ... Karl Rove made his bones by dirty political tricks," said Joseph Wilson, who served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq during the first Persian Gulf War. At the news conference hosted by Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., Wilson said he has been targeted by a "smear campaign launched from the West Wing of the White House."

Republicans pushed back.

In a silent show of support for Rove, Bush chatted amiably with the aide as the pair walked to a helicopter for the president's trip to Indianapolis during the day.

The Republican National Committee distributed a document entitled "Joe Wilson's Top Ten Worst Inaccuracies and Misstatements."

In the Senate, the GOP maneuvered to postpone a debate and vote on Reid's proposal.

The controversy has simmered for months. It has intensified in recent days with the recent disclosure that Rove was a source for Time Magazine reporter Matt Cooper, author of a Web site article that identified Plame as a CIA officer.

Cooper testified Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating whether anyone in the administration illegally leaked Plame's name and identity. Wilson, a critic of Bush's Iraq policy, has said the leak was an attempt to discredit him.

Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, issued a statement Wednesday evening saying the White House deputy chief of staff had done nothing wrong and he "has been repeatedly assured he is not a target of the investigation."

At the same time, the president twice this week has passed up opportunities to personally declare his continued confidence in the aide most closely identified with Bush political successes.

Democrats have stepped into the controversy with increasing eagerness.

Reid introduced his legislation as an amendment to a pending bill that provides funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Win or lose, that increased the odds of a quick debate and vote on the issue.

Holt's proposal requests that Bush turn over to the House documents relating to the disclosure of Plame's identity. It would require the head of the CIA and the attorney general, as well as the secretaries of State and defense, to do likewise.

Compared to Reid, he had little chance of a vote in the House, where the rules give majority Republicans greater control over proceedings on the floor.

The New Jersey lawmaker announced his action in a two-page written statement that made mention of two other scandals of the past three decades — Watergate and Iran-Contra — episodes that drove one Republican from office and left another politically weakened in the final years of his term.