Letter of Deputy Attorney General appointing Patrick Fitzgerald Special Counsel

by James B. Comey

Office of the Deputy Attorney General
Washington, D.C. 20530

December 30, 2003

The Honorable Patrick J. Fitzgerald
United States Attorney
219 S. Dearborn Street Chicago, IL 60604

Dear Patrick,

By the authority vested in the Attorney General by law, including 28 U. S .C. §§ 509, 510, and 515, and in my capacity as Acting Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 508, I hereby delegate to you all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department's investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity, and I direct you to exercise that authority as Special Counsel independent of the supervision or control of any officer of the Department.

/s/ James B. Comey
James B. Comey
Acting Attorney General