Uproar Grows Over Bush Role in Libby Leakage

E&P Staff and The Associated Press

NEW YORK Leading newpapapers in articles for Friday papers portrayed the revelation that President Bush may have authorized Lewis "Scooter" to feed sensitive intelligence information to reporters as another major blow to the White House.

Michael Fletcher in The Washington Post, for example, wrote that this "introduces a new dimension to the long-running CIA leak investigation, while posing troubling new political problems for the administration.

"Until now, the investigation had been about aides to Bush and their alleged efforts to attack the credibility of a vocal administration critic, including by possibly leaking classified information. Bush cast himself as a disinterested observer, eager to resolve the case and hold those responsible accountable."

The New York Times observed that the latest information "provides an indication that Mr. Bush, who has long criticized leaks of secret information as a threat to national security, may have played a direct role in authorizing disclosure of the intelligence report on Iraq."