White House 'did not name CIA officer'

The White House has emphatically denied that President George Bush’s chief political strategist was involved in revealing the identity of a CIA officer, possibly breaking the law.

A Democratic senator has asked the Justice Department to appoint a special investigator to investigate the matter.

The naming of the intelligence officer’s identity by syndicated columnist Robert Novak came shortly after her husband, former ambassador Joseph C Wilson, undermined Bush’s claim that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa.

Wilson has publicly blamed Karl Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, for the leak, although Wilson did say he did not know whether Rove personally was the source of Novak’s information, only that he thought Rove had ”condoned it”.

The letter was sent from the CIA’s Office of General Counsel to the Department of Justice in late July.

It noted a violation of the law had apparently occurred when someone provided Novak with the name of the CIA officer.

A senior administration official said FBI officials were trying to determine whether there was a violation of the law and, if so, whether a full-blown criminal investigation was warranted.

“It’s a serious matter and it should be looked into,” McClellan said.

Senator Charles Schumer said the matter should be investigated from someone outside the Bush administration.

On Sunday, Bush national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell both said they were unaware of any White House involvement in the matter. McClellan reiterated the White House position and pledged cooperation.

The row began in January when Bush said in his State of the Union address that British intelligence officials had learned that Iraq had tried to purchase yellowcake uranium in Africa.

In an opinion piece published in July by The New York Times, Wilson said he told the CIA long before Bush’s address that the British reports were suspect and the administration has since said the assertion should not have been in Bush’s speech.

A week after Wilson went public with his criticism Novak, quoting anonymous government sources, said Wilson’s wife was a CIA operative working on the issue of weapons of mass destruction.

The Washington Post on has quoted an unidentified senior administration official as saying two top White House officials called at least a half-dozen journalists and revealed the identity and occupation of Wilson’s wife.