WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush, who has often denounced leaks from the White House, has been named by a former official as the one who authorized disclosing sensitive information on Iraq's weapons program.
There's no indication that Bush directed anyone to mention the name of former undercover agent Valerie Plame in the high-profile CIA leak case that has long plagued the administration.
But in an embarrassing revelation, Lewis Libby, who worked for Vice-President Dick Cheney and has been indicted in the scandal, told prosecutors that Bush gave the word to pass on prewar intelligence about Iraq.
Court documents made public yesterday don't specify what that information was. But Bush was facing growing criticism at the time over the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, the reason he gave for the invasion.
White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said he'd have no comment because it's an ongoing investigation.
However, Democrats demanded details of what role the two men played.
Howard Dean, chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, said Bush "can no longer be trusted to keep America safe" after putting the interests of his party ahead of security.
Analysts say presidents are within their legal rights to declassify papers that serve their purposes, even as they bemoan leaks.
"But it's embarrassing when they're caught at it," said political analyst Stephen Hess. "This time, we caught them leaking from the top."
Still, Hess said, it remains to be seen whether this will further damage Bush, who's already suffering from record-low approval ratings.
The disclosure does suggest that Libby's trial in January on five counts of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI may contain some revelations about Bush and not just Cheney, as everyone had expected.
Some speculated the president could be called to testify.
But the trial is well after November's mid-term elections, notes analyst Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia.
And Bush's connection to the leak case pales in comparison to his war woes, he said.
"To the average American, this doesn't matter. What matters is the constant daily grind of killing in Iraq."
Bush has repeatedly implied that he knew nothing about the CIA leaks. He once threatened to fire anyone who who was involved.
