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_________________________
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Holding a Criminal Term
Grand Jury Sworn in on October 31, 2003
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) Criminal No.
) GRAND JURY ORIGINAL
v. ) Count 1: Obstruction of Justice
) (18 U.S.C. 1503)
)
) Counts 2-3: False Statements
) (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2))
I. LEWIS LIBBY, )
also known as “SCOOTER LIBBY” ) Counts 4-5: Perjury (18 U.S.C. § 1623)
INDICTMENT
COUNT ONE
(Obstruction of Justice)
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
1. At times material to this indictment:
Defendant’s Employment and Responsibilitiesa. Beginning on or about January 20, 2001, and continuing through the date of
this indictment, defendant I. LEWIS LIBBY, also known as “SCOOTER LIBBY,” was employed
as Assistant to the President of the United States, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United
States, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs. In the course of his work,
LIBBY had frequent access to classified information and frequently spoke with officials of the U.S.
intelligence community, as well as other government officials, regarding sensitive national security
matters.
b. In connection with his role as a senior government official with
responsibilities for national security matters, LIBBY held security clearances entitling him to access
to classified information. As a person with such clearances, LIBBY was obligated by applicable
laws and regulations, including Title 18, United States Code, Section 793, and Executive Order
12958 (as modified by Executive Order 13292), not to disclose classified information to persons not
authorized to receive such information, and otherwise to exercise proper care to safeguard classified
information against unauthorized disclosure. On or about January 23, 2001, LIBBY executed a
written “Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement,” stating in part that “I understand and
accept that by being granted access to classified information, special confidence and trust shall be
placed in me by the United States Government,” and that “I have been advised that the unauthorized
disclosure, unauthorized retention, or negligent handling of classified information by me could cause
damage or irreparable injury to the United States or could be used to advantage by a foreign nation.”
The Central Intelligence Agencyc. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was an agency of the United States
whose mission was to collect, produce, and disseminate intelligence and counterintelligence
information to officers and departments of the United States government, including the President,
the National Security Council, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
d. The responsibilities of certain CIA employees required that their association
with the CIA be kept secret; as a result, the fact that these individuals were employed by the CIA was
classified. Disclosure of the fact that such individuals were employed by the CIA had the potential
to damage the national security in ways that ranged from preventing the future use of those
individuals in a covert capacity, to compromising intelligence-gathering methods and operations, and
endangering the safety of CIA employees and those who dealt with them.
Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilsone. Joseph Wilson (“Wilson”) was a former career State Department official who
had held a variety of posts, including United States Ambassador. In 2002, after an inquiry to the CIA
by the Vice President concerning certain intelligence reporting, the CIA decided on its own initiative
to send Wilson to the country of Niger to investigate allegations involving Iraqi efforts to acquire
uranium yellowcake, a processed form of uranium ore. Wilson orally reported his findings to the
CIA upon his return.
f. Joseph Wilson was married to Valerie Plame Wilson (“Valerie Wilson”). At
all relevant times from January 1, 2002 through July 2003, Valerie Wilson was employed by the
CIA, and her employment status was classified. Prior to July 14, 2003, Valerie Wilson’s affiliation
with the CIA was not common knowledge outside the intelligence community.
Events Leading up to July 20032. On or about January 28, 2003, President George W. Bush delivered his State of the
Union address which included sixteen words asserting that “The British government has learned that
Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”
3. On May 6, 2003, the New York Times published a column by Nicholas Kristof which
disputed the accuracy of the “sixteen words” in the State of the Union address. The column reported
that, following a request from the Vice President’s office for an investigation of allegations that Iraq
sought to buy uranium from Niger, an unnamed former ambassador was sent on a trip to Niger in
2002 to investigate the allegations. According to the column, the ambassador reported back to the
CIA and State Department in early 2002 that the allegations were unequivocally wrong and based
on forged documents.
4. On or about May 29, 2003, in the White House, LIBBY asked an Under Secretary
of State (“Under Secretary”) for information concerning the unnamed ambassador’s travel to Niger
to investigate claims about Iraqi efforts to acquire uranium yellowcake. The Under Secretary
thereafter directed the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research to prepare a report
concerning the ambassador and his trip. The Under Secretary provided LIBBY with interim oral
reports in late May and early June 2003, and advised LIBBY that Wilson was the former ambassador
who took the trip.
5. On or about June 9, 2003, a number of classified documents from the CIA were faxed
to the Office of the Vice President to the personal attention of LIBBY and another person in the
Office of the Vice President. The faxed documents, which were marked as classified, discussed,
among other things, Wilson and his trip to Niger, but did not mention Wilson by name. After
receiving these documents, LIBBY and one or more other persons in the Office of the Vice President
handwrote the names “Wilson” and “Joe Wilson” on the documents.