Prosecutor Meets With Chief Judge (Fitz Seeking Extension?)

[sabra]

http://www.nysun.com/article/22112

Prosecutor Meets With Chief Judge
Could Signal That Fitzgerald Is Seeking Extension


WASHINGTON—The federal prosecutor investigating the alleged involvement of White House officials in the leak of a CIA operative's identity spent most of the lunch hour today meeting with the chief judge of the federal district court in the nation's capital, Judge Thomas Hogan.

As reporters massed outside an elevator lobby leading to the grand jury rooms, the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, apparently slipped out a back exit to conduct the noontime meeting with Judge Hogan.

Mr. Fitzgerald declined to comment as he and a colleague emerged from the judge's chambers just before 1 p.m.

The prosecutor's visit to the chief judge could signal that Mr. Fitzgerald is seeking to extend the term of the grand jury that has been investigating the leak. Judge Hogan would need to approve any extension to the grand jury's term, which was set to expire on Friday.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. A legal question

If there is an extension of the term of the GJ, does that mean there will be no indictments for now?

[clydefrand]

2. God, I hope not. I can't stand any more waiting. BUT I do want

the investigation to continue until all the players are behind bars.

[truthisfreedom]

3. if the letters were sent to the targets, the indictments are probably

going to be announced.

[newscott]

4. Maybe not, but I'm thinking they could still indict and continue

After the initial indictees flip then they will go after the big fish.

[LSparkle]

7. Oh yes, that would be lovely

flip, flop ... flip, flop ...

[electropop]

9. I think that's right.

He'll lock in some indictments, then (if he gets the extension) proceed to bigger fish and a wider net. This way, he protects the bottom line, but keeps the fun going.

[sofa king]

25. That's my guess, too.

Not a lawyer. But the low number of indictments (1-5, sealed, as reported by Clemons),and the Roll Call article calling an extension seem to indicate that Fitz is putting the safe bets to bed before asking for more time... and, I should think, an expansion of scope.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

32. I'd think he could use testimony from the trials

(if they occur while the GJ is still ongoing) for further investigation, especially if some of them decide to cooperate.

[Jack from Charlotte]

19. Go to this website for the best legal coverage on the net.....

of Treasongate.


firedoglake.blogspot.com/

It's run by an ex prosecutor and is just top notch.

Read the comments for very good discussion

[Toots]

47. Probably not. All the Is need dotting and all the Ts crossed

Fitz is doing this right and does not want to rush things. I say good on him. He can show the Republicans how a real Independent Councilor behaves. Nothing at all like the overly partisan Starr, that was a constant leaker of unimportant stuff just to make the Administration look bad...

[kurth]

5. Yes, 3 hrs seems short for a presentation AND jury deliberation

Unless the evidence was so obvious they all went: "Yep - Probable Cause - Book 'em!", OR a decision was made to extend or call another jury. This meeting with the judge explains it.

[progressoid]

6. Could they indict AND extend the investigation?

[AlCzervik]

10. yes, look at the Abramoff investigation, they indicted then arrested

that savafinan guy and that investigation still has a long way to go.

[Lochloosa]

15. Yes, and it's a good ploy to get the little ones to chat about the

bigger cheneys...I mean bigger fishes

[AlCzervik]

8. Hogan is the Chief Magistrate, this could mean anything

or he could be asking for an extension.

[Changenow]

11. Does the GJ decision have to be unanimous?

I'm wondering if BushCo. found one who could persuaded.

[shraby]

13. They just need a majority.

[alcibiades_mystery]

44. They need 12 ayes on indictment

They currently have 23 members, so it looks like simple majority, but they could have a quorum at 16, so that would mean a significantly higher percentage than simple majorit (i.e., it wouldn't be 9 ayes at 16, but still 12).

[sabra]

14. yes, I heard something like 51%, you know a mandate :-)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

33. Good one.

[kostya]

16. "Persuaded" is a nice diplomatic way to say it. :^) I've wondered

about that, too. Jury tampering of any kind is way bad, but certainly not beyond these sociopaths.

[lovuian]

12. I want the extension so we can get to the bottom of this!! But

I want indictments!!!

[rodeodance]

17. Fitz also met with Rove's lawyer late yesterday--per Msnbc today.

[tularetom]

18. And it could mean

that he is trying to "turn" rove or libby for testimony against somebody higher up the food chain. I want indictments too but I'd give up rove to get penis cheney any day.

[kurth]

20. Interesting info

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/10/26/BL2005102601379.html

... So, two suggestions for the folks staking out the courthouse:

* Even if he seals everything, Fitzgerald would have to take any indictments returned by the grand jury to a judge today. And he would be accompanied by his grand jury foreperson. So keep an eye out for that.

* Also keep an eye out for senior administration officials showing up at the courthouse very, very late at night.

[damntexdem]

21. Seeking an extension is a good sign.

We can manage to wait a bit longer for Fitzmas, given that he may have bigger gifts for us if he gets his extension.

[symbolman]

22. My question is

do we KEEP the same Grand Jury or do they appoint a new set of say, TEXAS OILMEN Federalist Judge types?

THAT's what's been scaring me with this extension of the GJ..

[Chiyo-chichi]

23. it would not be the same Grand Jury.

At least that's what I heard from some talking head - don't remember who.

[baby_bear]

24. I think it could go either way

If Fitz just wants a few more weeks, wouldn't the same panel be retained?

b_b

[deadparrot]

31. Since these grand jurors are already familiar with the case,

seeing as they've been doing this for two years now. I'm pretty sure that, should they choose to go this route and extend the investigation, the same jurors could and would be retained.

[xchrom]

26. i think there will be an extension and no indictment until

next week.

fitz is nothing if not meticulous.
he isn't going to let an unexpected surprise catch him IF there are going to be indictments.

obviously there's going to be at least one -- seeing teh judge now leads me to think there's more than one -- and fitz wants everything as sewn up as he can get it.

i'm more than willing to work on st. fitz's time than anyone else's time.

i'll be grateful for however many packages there are under the fitzmas tree.

[roguevalley]

27. Fitzgerald met with Chief Judge today in chambers. Nothing more yet.

This is just breaking on CNN The Situation Room. More as develops.

[Tiggeroshii]

28. All these WH folk just want the week to be over and thus the investigation

Sounds like they'll get one of their wishes, but what it was supposed to conclude may not actually happen. Too bad for them ;)

[MGKrebs]

29. What happened to Scooter?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/26/cia.leak/index.html

[funflower]

30. Here's Judge Hogan's bio from the USDC webpage.

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/hogan-bio.html

Judge Hogan was appointed to the United States District Court in August 1982 and became Chief Judge on June 19, 2001. He graduated from Georgetown University, receiving an A.B. (classical) in 1960. He attended George Washington University’s masters program in American and English literature from 1960 to 1962, and he graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1966, where he was the St. Thomas More Fellow. Following law school, Judge Hogan clerked for Judge William B. Jones of the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1966 to 1967. He served as counsel to the National Commission for the Reform of Federal Criminal Laws from 1967 to 1968, and was engaged in private practice from 1968 to 1982. He has been an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center and a Master of the Prettyman-Leventhal Inn of Court. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference, Chair of the Courtroom Technology Subcommittee, and served on the Board of the Federal Judicial Center.

[mcg]

34. Yahoo: Prosecutor, Judge in CIA Leak Probe Meet

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/cia_leak_investigation

WASHINGTON - The prosecutor in the CIA leak probe set the stage Wednesday for possible criminal charges, meeting with the grand jury that heard months of testimony and then consulting with the chief judge at the courthouse where the legal drama has unfolded.

[xultar]

35. ...

:rofl:

[Triana]

36. He also set the stage for...

...not saying a word, filing a sealed final report, closing up shop and going home. Truth is, nobody knows what he'll do - or not.

[napi21]

38. The one thing that stops me from believing that is his new web site.

And he updated it today with some additional filings. The filings aren't new, they involve Cooper and Miller before they testified, but he still had his people update it today! I don't believe he'd have anyone go to the trouble of doing that if he was going to quit by Friday!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

40. what is the url for that?

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

41. Here:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/index.html

[Straight Shooter]

37. Wishy-washy wording in this article

the White House braced for at least one indictment by week's end, possibly ... Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. It also was worried that ... bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, remained in jeopardy of being charged with false statements.

It's perjury, for cryin' out loud.

I also don't care for the unsubstantiated conclusion that Fitzgerald was "consulting" with the judge. No one really knows for certain why they met. So much speculation going on.

[David Dunham]

39. Rove is the grinch who stole Fitzmas

[WhiteTara]

45. Rove is a big package under

the Fitzmas tree. Cheney will be the big red bow.

[aquart]

42. The jury has spent two years hearing lies from arrogant VIPs.

Juries don't like that.

[DemocracyInaction]

43. Isn't this mandatory--like a blessing on it??

Note one of your posts above and something I've seen a few times today---doesn't he have to take the indictments from the jury to the judge to sort of put it all in order?? If he came out from the jury and went to the judge, then isn't that probably what he's doing; ie, taking indictments for "the blessing" so to speak?

[Walt Starr]

46. WSJ: Prosecutor in CIA-Leak Inquiry Meets With Grand Jury, Judge

Prosecutor in CIA-Leak Inquiry
Meets With Grand Jury, Judge

By ANNE MARIE SQUEO
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 27, 2005

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald met with the grand jury in the Central Intelligence Agency-leak investigation for three hours, starting the process of seeking indictments against White House officials.

After meeting with the grand jury yesterday, Mr. Fitzgerald met with U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in his chambers for 45 minutes. The meeting could be significant because prosecutors need to hand up indictments to a judge before they are sealed or publicly released. Judge Hogan has been the principal judicial overseer of the case.

The grand jury is scheduled to meet again Friday, the final day of its term, raising the scenario that Mr. Fitzgerald won't announce charges until then. Alternatively, Mr. Fitzgerald could announce some charges today and the rest tomorrow.

<snip>

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113033862026080018.html?mod=todays_free_feature