WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush authorized Iraq intelligence leaks ahead of the war, indicted former top White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby said, according to court papers released Thursday.
Libby is under investigation on suspicion of having leaked to the press the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame -- a federal crime in the United States.
According to a document filed Wednesday by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Libby said he spoke to a reporter after learning from Vice President Dick Cheney that Bush had authorized intelligence leaks.
"Defendant`s participation in a critical conversation with Judith Miller ... occurred only after the vice president adivsed defendant that the president specifically had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the NIE" (National Intelligence Estimate), the document said.
04/06/2006 17:23 GMT