People for the American Way delivered a petition with more than 24,000 signatures to Ashcroft's Justice Department and leaders on Capitol Hill last week. The demands of tens of thousands of concerned citizens brought new light and pressure to bear on an administration with such tunnel vision that key members were willing to breach national security and risk lives for political gain. While President Bush keeps trying to raise doubts about the potential for the culprits to be caught, we've helped ensure that the public expects justice.

It's now been three weeks since the Department of Justice tepidly began its probe to find the Bush administration officials who broke federal law by blowing the cover of a CIA operative. So far, the DOJ's handling of the probe has proven that we were right to demand the appointment of an independent investigator - one who is not President Bush's political appointee and a past employer of Bush's top political adviser. In fact, according to many former prosecutors, Attorney General Ashcroft and his DOJ team have already made serious mistakes that may have cost their investigation important evidence and leverage, not to mention any remaining shred of credibility.

We must face the fact that, unfortunately, Ashcroft holds most of the cards in this matter. But, considering that last month even a DOJ probe was no sure thing, we've shown that it's possible to force Ashcroft's hand.