Members Call On Fitzgerald to Issue Status Report

Press Release

Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Michigan, 14th District

Ranking Member, U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Dean, Congressional Black Caucus

www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/index.html

For Immediate Release:

Conyers and Other Ranking Members Call
on US Attorney Fitzgerald to Issue Report on Status of Ongoing Investigations

WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee and other House Ranking Committee Members sent the following letter to US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald calling for the issuance of the report on the status of all ongoing investigations:

October 11, 2005

Dear Mr. Fitzgerald:

We write to seek your assurance that, upon completion of your long-running investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name, you will submit a final and public report to Congress of all indictments, convictions, and any decisions not to prosecute. Such a report would ensure Congress and the American people that the investigation of this serious matter has been undertaken with the utmost diligence and has been free of partisan, political influence.

When then-Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey announced your appointment on December 30, 2003, he stated that you would be a special counsel outside the Department's normal chain of command. In fact, the letter indicating your appointment stated you would "exercise [the authority of Special Counsel] independent of the supervision or control of any officer of the Department."1 Comey later clarified that not only did you have jurisdiction over the leak and any related offenses, such as conspiracy and perjury and obstruction of justice, but also that "[his] conferral on you of the title of 'Special Counsel' in this matter should not be misunderstood to suggest that your position and authorities are defined and limited by [the Department's special counsel regulations]."2 As a result, you have plenary authority to direct the investigation and notify the American public of your progress.

Such a report would be essential for Congress to ensure the effectiveness of our oversight responsibilities as we seek to do all we can to protect the men and women who go in harm's way by serving America as undercover intelligence officers. Should your inquiry reveal that existing legal authorities are insufficient to ensure successful prosecution of these kinds of breaches, Congress should be made aware of that fact immediately. Congress and the administration have a responsibility to ensure that our judicial system has the tools necessary to ensure that those who violate oaths to protect classified information and the identities of federal undercover intelligence officers are brought to justice.

We trust you will inform Congress of your results upon the completion of your important investigation.

Sincerely,

//S// //S//
John Conyers, Jr. Jane Harman
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence

//S// //S//
Tom Lantos Rush Holt
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Intelligence Policy

1Letter from the Honorable James B. Comey, Acting Attorney General, U.S. Dep't of Justice, to the Honorable Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney (Dec. 30, 2003).

2Letter from the Honorable James B. Comey, Acting Attorney General, U.S. Dep't of Justice, to the Honorable Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney (Feb. 6, 2004).

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