Shut Your Mouth ... or Else

The case is being watched closely because of a decision by judge Ellis last year, in which he ruled that when the case does come to trial, current and former high-level government officials, including, Rice; former undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, and former deputy secretary of State Richard Armitage; must testify about their own conversations with the two former AIPAC lobbyists. The defense lawyers have said they want to call them and other high-level current and former Bush administration officials as witnesses. The lawyers want to show that the kind of conversations Bush officials had with the AIPAC lobbyists (about Mideast issues, including the terrorist ties of the Iranian government) were common.

This isn't the first time Leonard has been the center of controversy. Leonard become embroiled in a bitter dispute with Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, when he sought to conduct a mandatory inspection of the vice president's office to determine if it was complying with an executive order governing the handling of classified information. Addington refused to provide Leonard's aides with access, claiming that the vice president's office was not covered by the executive order because, technically speaking, Cheney was not part of the executive branch. Addington argued that, under the Constitution, the only official function of the vice president was to preside over the Senate so therefore Cheney was really part of the legislative branch. When Leonard challenged Addington's creative argument and sought an official Justice Department legal ruling on the matter, Addington sent an e-mail suggesting that Leonard's office (and his job) be abolished. The dispute, which was made public last year by House Government Reform Committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, created an uproar. Ultimately, Leonard told NEWSWEEK, it was a "contributing factor" in his decision to resign after 34 years of government service.

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