uh, this is big.
(Scooter outs Bush)
US President George W Bush authorised the leak of secret intelligence to a newspaper to help defend the Iraq war, a former White House aide has said. The leak was in response to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's account of a 2002 trip to Niger to investigate the Iraqi uranium allegations which "was viewed in the Office of the Vice President as a direct attack on the credibility of the vice president (and the president) on a matter of signal importance: the rationale for the war in Iraq".
Pre-trial court papers cite Lewis "Scooter" Libby as saying he was told to tell a reporter Iraq was "vigorously trying to procure" uranium. Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid called the claim "shocking", and said Mr Bush "must fully disclose his participation in the selective leaking of classified information".
The White House has not commented on the report. The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says once again President Bush is fighting for his political credibility, with Democrats smelling blood. In the past the president has said he does not approve of such leaks and would sack anyone involved.
Pre-trial court papers cite Lewis "Scooter" Libby as saying he was told to tell a reporter Iraq was "vigorously trying to procure" uranium. Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid called the claim "shocking", and said Mr Bush "must fully disclose his participation in the selective leaking of classified information".
The White House has not commented on the report. The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says once again President Bush is fighting for his political credibility, with Democrats smelling blood. In the past the president has said he does not approve of such leaks and would sack anyone involved.
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