WASHINGTON - Bob Woodward's version of when and where he learned the identity of a CIA operative contradicts a special prosecutor's contention that Vice President Cheney's top aide was the first to make the disclosure to reporters.
Attorneys for the aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, described Wednesday's statement by the Washington Post's assistant managing editor as helpful for their defense, although Libby is accused of lying to a grand jury and the FBI, not with disclosing the CIA official's name.
Woodward, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, said he had not told his bosses until last month that he had learned about Valerie Plame's identity and her work at the CIA more than two years ago from a White House official.
When Woodward learned Plame's name, he said, he was in the middle of finishing a book about the administration's decision to go to war in Iraq, and didn't want to be subpoenaed to testify.
"The grand jury was going and reporters were being jailed, and I hunkered down more than I usually do," Woodward said.
Woodward said he apologized for not giving Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. earlier notice of his reporting on Plame.
Because his source in the leak case has refused to be identified publicly, Woodward said his hands are tied.
"We can't tell the whole story. I would like to. It's one that will be told some day," he said.
