Breaking: At Least One Indictment Secured

The prosecutor investigating the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson has secured at least one indictment in the case from a majority of the 23 grand jurors, lawyers and intelligence officials close to the case said Wednesday.

The Chicago-based prosecutor has obtained new information from officials targeted in the leak probe, who are now interested in entering into plea discussions, they added.

Fitzgerald intended to announce that he had secured indictments against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, and Karl Rove, President Bush’s deputy chief of staff, Wednesday afternoon as well as two people who work outside of the administration, those close to the case said.

But his office was contacted late Tuesday by attorneys representing figures outside the White House, lawyers said, who expressed interest in entering into plea talks with the prosecutor. Several have agreed to enter into last-minute plea negotiations with Fitzgerald in exchange for providing testimony that could result in criminal charges being brought against additional officials inside the White House, they added.

An eleventh-hour deal could help Fitzgerald “build a strong case against some very senior officials in the office of the vice president,” one attorney said.

“Mr. Fitzgerald is extremely thorough,” the lawyer remarked. “He had advised Judge [Thomas F.] Hogan more than two weeks ago that there was a strong possibility that some defendants may be inclined to cooperate at the last minute.”