President Bush has sought independent legal advice from Washington lawyer Jim Sharp in connection with the grand jury investigation investigating the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame--and may retain him.

There was no indication that Bush was a target of the leak investigation, but the president's move suggested he anticipates being questioned about what he knows....White House press secretary Scott McClellan confirmed that Bush had contacted Washington attorney Jim Sharp. "In the event the president needs his advice, I expect he probably would retain him," McClellan said.

The Democrats were quick to criticize the President:

Democrats seized on the news to criticize the president. "It speaks for itself that the president initially claimed he wanted to get to the bottom of this, but now he's suddenly retained a lawyer," said Jano Cabrera, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. "Bush shouldn't drag the country through grand juries and legal maneuvering. President Bush should come forward with what he knows and come clean with the American people."