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Woodward testifies in Plame row

Washington: Bob Woodward, the Washington Post journalist who exposed Watergate and for 30 years hid the name of his source, Deep Throat, has become embroiled in the CIA leak inquiry after revealing under oath that a senior Bush official told him the identity of a secret agent. Mr. Woodward told the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, who is investigating the naming of the CIA agent Valerie Plame, that the official told him in mid-June 2003 that she worked as a CIA analyst concerned with weapons of mass destruction. On Wednesday Mr. Woodward, now assistant managing editor of the Post, and other editors at the U.S. paper, refused to identify the official publicly, other than say it was not Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, the former chief of staff of Dick Cheney, the Vice-President. Last month Mr. Libby was charged with obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with the inquiry. Mr. Woodward's evidence appears to alter the timeline in the case. In the indictment Mr. Fitzgerald said Mr. Libby was the first government employee to reveal Ms. Plame's identity, as he discussed her position with Judith Miller, the former New York Times reporter jailed for refusing to reveal her source, on June 23 2003. The new revelations suggest another White House official told a reporter about Ms. Plame first. Mr. Woodward said that for interviews conducted for his book on Iraq, he had obtained confidentiality waivers from three sources, one of whom was Mr. Libby.

— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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