White House leak scandal

bad for country

As Americans went about their usual business Friday, presidential adviser Karl Rove was making his fourth appearance in front of a federal grand jury investigating the leak of classified information about the identity of a CIA operative.

The grand jury's term expires near the end of this month and indictments are expected as early as next week in the case. Prosecutors have already warned that Rove could be among the indicted. That he spent four and a half hours testifying Friday after three previous sessions, does not bode well for the man who has been the president's most trusted adviser and architect of several successful political campaigns.

Rove joins Lewis &#8221Scooter“ Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, as the top administration officials under investigation for revealing the identity of CIA covert operative Valerie Plame after her husband, former U.N. ambassador Joseph Wilson, wrote a New York Times op-ed piece critical of administration policy in Iraq. Wilson contends his wife was &#8221outed“ in an attempt to discredit him and his conclusion that pre-war intelligence was hyped to justify the invasion.

Motives may be unclear - and they may stay so. What is not unclear is that a federal crime was committed, and White House staff were involved.

High-level scandals of this sort generally follow the same pattern. The first whiff of malfeasance brings categorical denials and tough talk about punishing wrongdoers. This one is no different.

President Bush has shifted from his original position of terminating anyone found to be involved in the leak, to a more recent pronouncement that anyone found to have committed a crime will be fired. Friday, the White House could muster only a &#8221no comment“ when asked about Rove and Libby.

Rove, himself, originally denied any knowledge either of Plame or high-level conversations with reporters that could have led to her being identified. Last week, Rove's attorney admitted that Rove had, in fact, revealed Plame's identity to a Newsweek reporter.

Absent bona fide follow-through from the White House, the admission should have been accompanied by a letter of resignation. When Benedict Arnold revealed classified information to the British, he was branded a traitor.

The actions of Rove and Libby may not have been as dire, but they still could have put Plame's life in jeopardy. Whether their role in the leak rises to the level of a crime is for the grand jury to decide. Criminal or not, their actions represent a clear breach of ethics and violation of the public trust.

Perhaps the scariest question raised by this whole affair - and one that is likely to remain unanswered - is why Rove and Libby were even made privy to the classified information.

Whatever the case, with so much currently at stake, both at home and abroad, this country does not need another government scandal, especially one compounded by administrative foot-dragging. The American people deserve better.

As the investigation comes to a close and indictments are handed down, we hope that the matter will be handled swiftly and fairly, in a manner that places justice and genuine recognition of the seriousness of the action over political loyalty.