Rove "Scoop" Remains Exclusive--WaPo

[Demeter]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/05/22/BL2006052200323.html



By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 22, 2006; 7:42 AM

Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's lawyer, says he spent most of the day on May 12 taking his cat to the veterinarian and having a technician fix his computer at home.

He was stunned, therefore, when journalists started calling to ask about an online report that he had spent half the day at his law office, negotiating with Patrick Fitzgerald -- and that the special prosecutor had secretly obtained an indictment of Rove.

The cat's medical tests, Luskin says, found that "the stools were free of harmful parasites, which is more than I can say for this case."

The claim that President Bush's top political strategist had been indicted in the CIA leak investigation was written by a journalist who has battled drug addiction and mental illness and been convicted of grand larceny. That didn't stop more than 35 reporters -- from all the major newspapers, networks and newsmagazines -- from calling Luskin or Rove's spokesman, Mark Corallo, to check it out.

The reports appeared on the liberal Web site Truthout.org, run by Marc Ash, a former advertising man and fashion photographer in California. Jason Leopold, the author of the stories, directed inquiries to Ash, who says that "we stand by the story. We have multiple points of independent confirmation of what we originally reported. Our problem is, the prosecutor's office is under no obligation to go public."

Leopold acknowledges in a new book, "News Junkie," that he is a past liar, convicted felon and former alcoholic and cocaine addict. An earlier version of the book was canceled by publisher Rowman & Littlefield last year.....

WELL, NOW I'M TOTALLY CONFUSED!

[Botany]

1. How can you tell if a lawyer is lying?

The old I took the cat to the vet all day story.

[notadmblnd]

4. I never take the cat to the vet to have him checked for parasites....

I just take the poopie. So there's lie number one.

[Webster Green]

2. "...former alcoholic and cocaine addict"

Sounds like he's describing the war-chimp.

[bluerum]

3. Oh good. More toilet paper.

[Avalux]

5. Kurtz is an idiot; I don't care what he has to say.

The one point I keep thinking about is this - sealed indictment. If it was sealed - NO ONE is going to talk about it, confirm it. Luskin is a liar, of course - what else is he gonna say? Admit to being in a closed meeting? Of course not.

Fitzgerald's camp won't confirm the story either because the indictment is sealed for a reason, and they apparently have bigger fish to fry. We can't even begin to know all of the aspects of the case.

And - no one has asked for a retraction from Truthout. If what Leopold reported is completely false, I would expect Rove's people to come down hard on them and demand an apology.

I choose to wait and see. Remember - sealed indictment.

[redqueen]

9. good post n/t

[Avalux]

10. thanks!

:hi:

[rfranklin]

6. Is Leopold actually George W. Bush...

from the description it sure sounds like it.

[lebkuchen]

7. Define "past."

[The Witch]

8. TO said they expected a hit piece from Kurtz. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

11. This is exactly what Rove did to Jim Hatfield.

He planted a story, namely about Georgie-poo's cocaine bust, with Hatfield, who dutifully wrote about it in Fortunate Son, & then blew Hatfield out of the water by disclosing his past history as a felon. Thus he tainted the coke story so no "legit" press would touch it.

Now, the question is, what's the game here? What's Rove's goal? My personal bet is that he's buying time because he knows there will be no indictment until after the Nov. elections. The big game for all these slime is to prevent a Dem majority in Congress, thereby heading off unpleasant investigations into their doings for the past 6 years.