Cheney Names Two to Fill Libby's Positions - Yahoo! News
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
Vice President Dick Cheney, moving swiftly to replace an indicted aide, on Monday named attorney David Addington as his chief of staff and John Hannah as his national security adviser.
Both positions had been filled by I. Lewis Libby, who resigned Friday when he was indicted on perjury and other charges in a 22-month investigation of the unmasking of an undercover CIA officer.
Addington has been Cheney's counsel and Hannah has been his deputy national security adviser.
Meanwhile, Cheney's former chief of staff faces the first court appearance in his CIA leak case Thursday as Democrats criticize President Bush for lauding I. Lewis Libby rather than apologizing for his alleged crimes.
The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, said Sunday that another key insider, presidential adviser Karl Rove, should resign because of his role in exposing an undercover CIA officer.
A veteran Republican senator added that Bush needs to bring "new blood" into his White House.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan refused to answer inquiries about whether Rove should remain in his job or other questions about the case. He was repeatedly asked to acknowledge that he was wrong in 2003 when he denied that Rove or Libby were involved in disclosing the identity of the officer, Valerie Plame. He said he would not comment during the ongoing legal proceedings.
"The reason I can't comment further is because if we were to get into that, we could be prejudicing the opportunity for there to be a fair and impartial hearing," McClellan said. "And we don't want to do that from this podium, no matter how much I may want to talk about this issue, and I think you know I would like to talk further about it."
Rove has not been charged, but he continues to be investigated in the CIA leaks case that brought the indictment and resignation on Friday of Libby, an adviser to Bush and the top aide to Cheney. Libby's arraignment will be held Thursday morning before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.
Reid said he is disappointed that Bush and Cheney responded to the indictment by praising Libby — known around Washington as "Scooter" — and suggested they should apologize for the leak that revealed Plame's identity.
"First of all, the vice president issues this very terse statement praising Libby for all the great things he's done," Reid said. "Then we have the president come on camera a few minutes later calling him Scooter and what a great patriot he is. There has not been an apology to the American people for this obvious problem in the White House," Reid, D-Nev., told ABC's "This Week."
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said Cheney should "come clean" about his involvement and why he discussed Plame with Libby before Libby spoke to reporters about her.
"What did the vice president know? What were his intentions?" Dodd asked on "Fox News Sunday."
"Now, there's no suggestion the vice president is guilty of any crime here whatsoever. But if our standard is just criminality, then we're never going to get to the bottom of this," Dodd said.
Democrats appearing on Sunday talk shows portrayed Libby's indictment as one of many serious problems surrounding the White House and one of several allegations raising questions about Republican ethics. Republicans repeatedly said the charges have been made against only one individual and that Libby should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Public opinion appears to be running against Bush. Almost half the public, 46 percent, say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has fallen with Bush as president, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll. That's three times the number who say ethics and honesty have risen during that time.
Republican Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record) of Mississippi said Bush should be on the lookout for "new blood, new energy, qualified staff, new people in administration." He said poor advice may have even contributed to the failed nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.
A grand jury charged Libby on Friday with five felonies alleging obstruction of justice, perjury to a grand jury and making false statements to FBI agents. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.
Libby was not charged with the crime that the grand jury was created to investigate — specifically, who leaked the name of Plame to reporters in 2003. Libby and Rove were named by reporters brought before the grand jury, but it was unclear whether they knew that she was a covert agent.
Time magazine's Matthew Cooper, one of the reporters at the center of the investigation, said Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was certain he'd first learned from Rove that Plame, the wife of ambassador Joseph Wilson, was a CIA operative. Wilson, an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, maintains the Bush White House leaked his wife's covert identity as part of a campaign to discredit him.
"Before I spoke to Mr. Rove I didn't know about Wilson having a wife. And he was the one who suggested to me that she worked at the agency," said Cooper. "He didn't use her name but he did mention Wilson's wife.
Vice President Dick Cheney, moving swiftly to replace an indicted aide, on Monday named attorney David Addington as his chief of staff and John Hannah as his national security adviser.
Both positions had been filled by I. Lewis Libby, who resigned Friday when he was indicted on perjury and other charges in a 22-month investigation of the unmasking of an undercover CIA officer.
Addington has been Cheney's counsel and Hannah has been his deputy national security adviser.
Meanwhile, Cheney's former chief of staff faces the first court appearance in his CIA leak case Thursday as Democrats criticize President Bush for lauding I. Lewis Libby rather than apologizing for his alleged crimes.
The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, said Sunday that another key insider, presidential adviser Karl Rove, should resign because of his role in exposing an undercover CIA officer.
A veteran Republican senator added that Bush needs to bring "new blood" into his White House.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan refused to answer inquiries about whether Rove should remain in his job or other questions about the case. He was repeatedly asked to acknowledge that he was wrong in 2003 when he denied that Rove or Libby were involved in disclosing the identity of the officer, Valerie Plame. He said he would not comment during the ongoing legal proceedings.
"The reason I can't comment further is because if we were to get into that, we could be prejudicing the opportunity for there to be a fair and impartial hearing," McClellan said. "And we don't want to do that from this podium, no matter how much I may want to talk about this issue, and I think you know I would like to talk further about it."
Rove has not been charged, but he continues to be investigated in the CIA leaks case that brought the indictment and resignation on Friday of Libby, an adviser to Bush and the top aide to Cheney. Libby's arraignment will be held Thursday morning before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.
Reid said he is disappointed that Bush and Cheney responded to the indictment by praising Libby — known around Washington as "Scooter" — and suggested they should apologize for the leak that revealed Plame's identity.
"First of all, the vice president issues this very terse statement praising Libby for all the great things he's done," Reid said. "Then we have the president come on camera a few minutes later calling him Scooter and what a great patriot he is. There has not been an apology to the American people for this obvious problem in the White House," Reid, D-Nev., told ABC's "This Week."
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said Cheney should "come clean" about his involvement and why he discussed Plame with Libby before Libby spoke to reporters about her.
"What did the vice president know? What were his intentions?" Dodd asked on "Fox News Sunday."
"Now, there's no suggestion the vice president is guilty of any crime here whatsoever. But if our standard is just criminality, then we're never going to get to the bottom of this," Dodd said.
Democrats appearing on Sunday talk shows portrayed Libby's indictment as one of many serious problems surrounding the White House and one of several allegations raising questions about Republican ethics. Republicans repeatedly said the charges have been made against only one individual and that Libby should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Public opinion appears to be running against Bush. Almost half the public, 46 percent, say the level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has fallen with Bush as president, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll. That's three times the number who say ethics and honesty have risen during that time.
Republican Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record) of Mississippi said Bush should be on the lookout for "new blood, new energy, qualified staff, new people in administration." He said poor advice may have even contributed to the failed nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.
A grand jury charged Libby on Friday with five felonies alleging obstruction of justice, perjury to a grand jury and making false statements to FBI agents. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.
Libby was not charged with the crime that the grand jury was created to investigate — specifically, who leaked the name of Plame to reporters in 2003. Libby and Rove were named by reporters brought before the grand jury, but it was unclear whether they knew that she was a covert agent.
Time magazine's Matthew Cooper, one of the reporters at the center of the investigation, said Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was certain he'd first learned from Rove that Plame, the wife of ambassador Joseph Wilson, was a CIA operative. Wilson, an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, maintains the Bush White House leaked his wife's covert identity as part of a campaign to discredit him.
"Before I spoke to Mr. Rove I didn't know about Wilson having a wife. And he was the one who suggested to me that she worked at the agency," said Cooper. "He didn't use her name but he did mention Wilson's wife.
posted by Jamie @ 3:39 PM
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