Prosecutor puts finishing touches to CIA leak probe

SPECIAL Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald met yesterday with the grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA officer’s identity, putting the finishing touches on a two-year criminal probe that has ensnared two senior White House aides.

Fitzgerald and the grand jurors entered the courthouse around 9am, with just three days left before the jury’s term is set to expire. Away from the jury, FBI agents conducted a handful of last-minute interviews to check facts key to the case.

Lawyers representing key White House officials expected Fitzgerald to decide this week whether to charge Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who is Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, and President George W Bush’s top political adviser Karl Rove.