Indictment in CIA leak case

At a federal court house in Washington, the news media have learned of the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libbry, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, in the CIA leak investigation by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

The indictment consists of five counts, including perjury, making a false statement, and obstruction of justice according to a special broadcast by ABC News, just before 1 pm ET. In a follow-up broadcast, at 1:10 am, ET, ABC News reported that Mr. Libby had resigned.

The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com) notes that "Any trial would shine a spotlight on the secret deliberations of Bush and his team as they built the case for war against Iraq."

The indictments did not cite violation of the law protecting identities of intelligence officers. But, Fitzgerald's handling of the investigaton sparked national debate, still unresolved, regarding the protection of whistleblower identities.

Read the ABC News online report, here.