WHY DID COMEY APPOINT FITZGERALD TO INVESTIGATE CIA LEAKS?
Last week, Deputy Attorney General James Comey appointed Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate who leaked the name of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame to reporter Bob Novak. Attorney General John Ashcroft then recused himself from the case. Why Fitzgerald? Well, first of all, Comey needed someone he could trust, so he turned to one of his best friends in the U.S. Attorney corps. “They have taken one of the most experienced and independent U.S. Attorneys in the country,” said Lawrence Barcella, a partner at Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C.”And they made Pat Fitzgerald the special counsel for this case. Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Comey are old long-time dear friends. They served in the U.S. Attorneys office in the southern district of New York. They tried some terrorism cases together. And that could cut both ways. It probably does mean that Jim Comey has complete utter confidence and trust in Fitzgerald. And when he says — you handle it, and you just come to
