Patrick Fitzgerald took 67 minutes Friday afternoon to explain, analyze, and at times defend the five-count indictment he sought against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

This is the bottom line, according to the Chicago-based federal prosecutor: Fitzgerald pursued obstruction, false statement and perjury charges because "we didn't get the straight story" from the man who resigned Friday as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.

And without the "truth" from Libby, Fitzgerald, investigating who outed a CIA agent -- the wife of an Iraq war critic -- said he is not in a position to know if a "serious national security crime" has been committed.

Fitzgerald, 44, was named Special Counsel on Dec. 30, 2003, commuting between Chicago and Washington as he probed the alleged unauthorized outing of Valerie Plame.

Her name became known to the general public in a July 14, 2003, column by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak, whose column is syndicated.

That column, Fitzgerald said, was only the "first sign" that her cover was blown. Other journalists knew as well: NBC's Tim Russert; the New York Times' Judith Miller, and Time Magazine's Matthew Cooper.

Libby is in trouble because he told the grand jury he was just recycling reporters' gossip about Plame. But Libby was not at the end of the phone chain, Fitzgerald said. Libby is accused of lying. Libby "was at the beginning of the chain of the phone calls."

Fitzgerald's job not done yet

Fitzgerald said Friday his job is not quite done. President Bush's top strategist, Karl Rove, escaped charges, but it is very premature to infer that he is in the clear.

The term of the grand jury Fitzgerald has been working with expired Friday -- he spent part of the morning saying goodbye to the jurors. Fitzgerald said it will be a routine matter for him to present evidence to another grand jury.

As much as he would like to wake up each day in Chicago, Fitzgerald said: "I will not end the investigation until I can look anyone in the eye and tell them that we have carried out our responsibility sufficiently to be sure that we've done what we could to make intelligent decisions about when to end the investigation."

The usually press-shy Fitzgerald was loquacious Friday partly because the question-and-answer session at the Justice Department headquarters was a one-time special.

Before the session, Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn said whatever will be said will have to serve as the final word, since his boss did not intend further comments on the indictments.

What actually does Fitzgerald know? Obviously more than he is letting on.

When will he be finished?

"All I can tell you is as soon as we can get it done, we will."

Some observations:

*The leak investigation -- so far -- did not end up with anyone being charged with leaking.

Fitzgerald, anticipating being asked why he went after the alleged cover-up -- not the underlying crime -- used a baseball analogy.

It's not about the war, he says

"What we have when someone charges obstruction of justice is the umpire gets sand thrown in his eyes. He's trying to figure out what happened, and somebody blocked their view."

*Fitzgerald seemed to take exception to the suggestion that obstruction charges are not substantive.

The notion that "somehow we should take an obstruction charge less seriously than a leak charge" is wrong, he said. "Compromising national security information is a very serious matter."

*The 22-page indictment devotes only one paragraph to the hottest question in Washington -- who told Novak about Valerie Plame.

Paragraph 21 in the indictment states that on July 10 or July 11, 2003, Libby was told by a "senior official in the White House"-- labeled "Official A" in the indictment -- that Novak would be writing a story about Plame.

Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, by then had emerged as a war critic, disputing Bush's claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger. Wilson took the outing of his wife as part of a campaign to discredit him.

The indictment does not identify Official A. The Associated Press, citing three unnamed sources, said Rove was Official A. Fitzgerald was asked if Novak cooperated with the investigation. "I can't comment," he said.

Novak has said he cannot discuss the case on the advice of his lawyer.

*Fitzgerald said this case is not about the buildup of the war in Iraq.

"The indictment will not seek to prove that the war was justified or unjustified," he said, calling the Libby case "a narrow transaction."

The court of public opinion, however, is not the same as the court of law. Can Fitzgerald really not see the links? A Libby trial will be about the run-up to the war, as much as perjury over a serious national security leak.

Lynn Sweet is the Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Commentary:
We won't know the truth until Libby talks. Perhaps a stiff jail sentence weaken his resolve (lying is so much easier than telling the truth).