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Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff Resigns After Indictments in CIA Leak Probe


Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, has resigned after being indicted on perjury, obstruction of justice and false statement charges.

A U.S. federal grand jury returned the indictments Friday, after a nearly two-year investigation into whether a White House official illegally exposed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame in 2003.

The five-count indictment accuses Mr. Libby of lying to investigators about how and when he learned Ms. Plame's identity. If convicted on all five charges, Mr. Libby could face up to 30 years in prison and more than a million dollars in fines.

President Bush's chief adviser Karl Rove was not indicted Friday, but is said to remain under investigation.

The special prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, is scheduled to hold a news conference in Washington shortly [at 18 hours, universal time].

Ms. Plame's role in the CIA was leaked to the media after her husband, diplomat Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to justify the Iraq war. Mr. Wilson says the White House acted in order to punish him.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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