February 6, 2004: Acting Attorney General Confirms Fitzgerald’s Broad Powers of Investigation, Prosecution

Acting Attorney General James Comey, who appointed US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as the special counsel in charge of investigating the Plame Wilson identity leak (see December 30, 2003), writes a letter to Fitzgerald confirming that he has “plenary power” in the investigation, and the authority to investigate crimes including “perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses.” In essence, Comey is confirming that Fitzgerald has near-unlimited powers of investigation and prosecution, and is not limited to merely filing charges of violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act if he determines who leaked Valerie Plame Wilson’s identity to the press. [US Department of Justice, 2/6/2004 ]