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Washington, D.C. - With news reports indicating that Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald intends to use a new grand jury to pursue possible additional charges in the CIA leak case, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today applauded the news and said that Fitzgerald should use the new grand jury to explore criminal charges against top Bush Administration officials for making false statements to Congress about Iraq's pursuit of uranium from Africa. Hinchey led a group of 40 House members in September who called on Fitzgerald to explore the motive behind the leaking of Valerie Wilson's identity. Hinchey and his colleagues wrote Fitzgerald that they believe Administration officials disclosed her identity to the news media to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had publicly come forward to substantively dispute the Administration's uranium claims, which the White House used as a primary justification for invading Iraq.
"I am very pleased to learn that Mr. Fitzgerald intends to use a new grand jury in the CIA leak case, because I believe the most critical part of this matter -- the reason why Administration officials leaked Valerie Wilson's name -- has yet to be fully investigated," Hinchey said. "At the heart of this entire case are the Administration's false claims that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa for a nuclear weapon. The White House knew those allegations were unsubstantiated yet they repeated it over and over to scare the American people and the Congress into believing a war in Iraq was justified. The leaking of Valerie Wilson's identity was a deliberate attempt by key members of the Bush Administration to discredit her husband for revealing the truth behind the uranium claims. It is absolutely critical that Mr. Fitzgerald use this new grand jury to investigate and potentially pursue charges against senior members of the Bush Administration for their false uranium claims."
Between January 20 and January 29, 2003, the Administration made a series of claims - which are now known to be false - that Iraq had sought uranium for nuclear weapons from Niger. These claims were at the very core of the president's final justification for war, and apparently were made despite broad internal disagreement over their veracity. In February 2002, the CIA sent Joseph Wilson to Niger to investigate whether Iraq was seeking uranium from that country. Wilson returned and reported that such claims were without merit. Mr. Wilson then exposed the Administration's lies in his New York Times opinion piece on July 6, 2003.
It is fully possible that the Bush Administration's claims of an Iraq-Niger connection were illegal - especially given the venues at which the claims were delivered, including President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address before Congress. It is a crime to knowingly make false and fraudulent statements to Congress and to obstruct the functions of Congress.
"A new grand jury presents Mr. Fitzgerald with the perfect opportunity to bring Vice President Cheney, members of his staff, and other high level Administration officials to court to explain why Valerie Wilson's name and job at the CIA were being discussed on such a high level," Hinchey said. "What I suspect Mr. Fitzgerald will find is that there was a determined effort to discredit Valerie Wilson's husband because they were scared that he would legitimately expose their uranium lies and reveal a coordinated effort within the White House to deceive Congress and the American people about the need to invade Iraq."
The grand jury Fitzgerald used to indict I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, on five counts of lying about his involvement in the disclosure of Valerie Wilson's identity, expired last month. The letter Hinchey sent to Fitzgerald on September 15 can be viewed here http://www.house.gov091505fitzgeraldletter.html. |
