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Bush dilutes pledge to fire scam-tainted aides

Julian Borger

The President cautioned reporters to wait for the conclusion of investigation

WASHINGTON: President George Bush amended a pledge to fire any of his aides involved in the 2003 leak of a CIA agent's identity on Monday, promising only to dismiss anyone who ``committed a crime''.

The shift in the President's choice of words followed a week of revelations about the role of Mr Bush's closest political adviser, Karl Rove, in the identification of Valerie Plame, a covert CIA official married to a prominent administration critic, Joseph Wilson.

``If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration,'' Mr. Bush said at a press conference, cautioning reporters to wait for the conclusion of an investigation.

Earlier statements by the President and the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, had promised that anyone ``involved'' in the leak would be fired.

The distinction is an important one. There is already considerable evidence of Mr Rove's involvement in the leak. But it is far from clear whether he committed a crime under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which has significant loopholes. For example, prosecutors would have to prove that the White House aide knew Ms Plame was operating undercover.

The investigation into the leak has revealed that Mr Rove and Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, both talked to reporters about Ms Plame in the days following the publication of an article by Mr Wilson. In the article, the former ambassador questioned one of the administration's justifications for the Iraq invasion, that Saddam Hussein had bought uranium in Africa. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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