When Patrick Fitzgerald saw the term of his original grand jury expire last month, he was not expected to convene a new one. After all, after indicting Scooter Libby, Fitzgerald said the “substantial bulk” of his work had been “completed.”
And yet, as of today, there’s a new grand jury.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the ongoing CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.
In filings obtained by Reuters on Friday, Fitzgerald said “the investigation is continuing” and that “the investigation will involve proceedings before a different grand jury than the grand jury which returned the indictment” against Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
Fitzgerald did not elaborate in the document. For two years he has been investigating the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity. The grand jury that indicted Libby expired after the charges were filed late last month.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the “White House must brace itself for the possibility that Mr. Fitzgerald’s probe, far from winding down, may have just gotten a second wind.”
I wonder what Rove & Co. think of this? Just when they thought they’re out of the woods….