Indictments Keep Rainin' On His Head . . . KKKarl Rove goes down in Plames

[skip fox]

One or more indictments for Rove is nearly certain. One or more indictments for one or more high-ranking administrative official is likely.

The logic is very simple:

If Rove acted alone he made at least SIX calls (six reporters were contacted). Repeatedly and deliberately telling national reporters at least that the Wilson's wife worked at the CIA and "arranged" his trip to Niger shows he KNOWINGLY exposed her identity (it was far from a "slip," "lapse" or even a "nonchalant mention"), whether or not he used her name or knew she was covert. In addition, if he was the only primary caller, he would have had to arrange for confirmation by at least one (logically two or three) other administration official at least THREE times (for Novak, Cooper, and Miller). Therefore he CONSPIRED to expose a CIA official (since he knew the result of his leak would lead to exposure).

If Rove was the only primary source, however, that means he released Matt Cooper from his confidentiality agreement but he did not release Judith Miller from hers. The logical reason is that Rove's leak to her included a clearer instance of illegal activity. Rove's hope, then, is that such a case will never be known. But with the national attention on the Plame matter and, especially, a tenacious and objective prosecutor like Fitzgerald tracking him down, Rove has little hope (especially since he had to have done this SIX times and arranged for at least one other to support his story THREE times).

But if Rove was one of at least two or more sources (which would explain why Cooper's released him but Miller's did not release hers), then it's far worse for him since he probably coordinated the entire leak with both planning and foresight (two elements which again indicate that he KNOWINGLY leaked Plame's identity).

Any administrative official originally realizing the Wilson-Plame-CIA link would immediately realize it could discredit Wilson, but much more importantly he would have known who to take the information to, the master of such discreditations (among so much else), Karl Rove. Rove would then insure that the leaks did not overlap and that at least FEW other officials could be counted upon who would readily confirm the information of the original sources (perhaps each having different details or a different slant to make it sound realistic and not a set-up), since he could not insure who the reporter would call for a confirmation.

How do you do ANY of this UNKNOWINGLY?????

Think of the possibilities! At least two indictments for Rove (leaking Plame and leading a conspiracy to leak) and likely indictments (leaking Plame) for other high administrative officials: Rice, Cheney, Libby, etc. Maybe even W.

[mermaid]

1. Oh, Please God, Let It Be So!!

I can't WAIT to see this criminal Administration "go down in Plames!!" :P

[myrna minx]

2. nominated.

Very good theory.

[oxbow]

3. Judith Miller MUST testify. They don't have enough on Rove yet.

too bad she's terrified. CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart reports Miller said: "I won't testify. The risks are too great. The government is too powerful."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/07/national/main707048.shtml


Unless she gets protection from someone powerful enough to make her feel safe, Rove will get off Scotfree.

Where's the DNC when you need em? We must tell them to get on this:

http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contact

[mrdmk]

8. Here is Rove's problem, he has a Top Secrete Clearance

being a aid to the President. You cannot use information received that is Top Secrete for political gain. That is exactly what he and somebody else did. That was very stupid on his part. Bye-bye Mr. Rove.

[skip fox]

9. Nice . . . another angle . . . or, I mean, indictment!

:toast:

[myrna minx]

13. Not to mention that Bush consulted an attorney last year

re: the Plame case. So..are we to believe that Karl never told the president that he was the origin of the leak? What did bu$h know and when did he know it?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5123701/
There was no indication that Bush is a target of the grand jury investigation, but the president added that "I want to know the truth and I’m willing to cooperate myself."

Earlier, Bush’s chief spokesman, Scott McClellan, said: “The president has made it very clear He wants everyone to cooperate fully with the investigation and that would include himself.”

He 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. There is no indication Bush has been questioned yet.

A federal grand jury has questioned numerous White House and administration officials to learn who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, to the news media. Wilson has charged that officials made the disclosure in an effort to discredit him.

[JohnnyBoots]

32. I don't think he was an official aide yet when it was leaked

[Cronus Protagonist]

34. He got that AFTER the leaks

I remember being surprised that he was willing to become an employee ofthe government at the time because that would cramp his ability to lie. However, it would also give hmi federal protections via the executive branch that he would not have if he were just an outside political operative.

I think they hired him there after they realized he would be safer as an employee of the executive branch. I think they were trying to put a lid on the whole deal by embracing the leaker more closely and offer Rove some alternative, more acceptable exit methods to boot, should it get out of hand.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[mrdmk]

37. I think you are wrong

This is from a personnel announcement from Mr. Busted Jr.

<snip>
Since 2001, Mr. Rove has served as Senior Advisor to the President, overseeing strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental affairs at the White House.
<end of snip>

link
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050208-13.html


This is from a press briefing 13 June 2001

<snip>
Q Another question on another subject, rather. Congressman Waxman has been asking for Karl Rove's records of meetings and his stock holdings. A, is the White House going to comply with that request? And, B, have all White House Cabinet members, senior staffers, sold off their stock holdings to this point?

MR. FLEISCHER: On this question, of course, Mr. Rove's financial disclosure is public information. Mr. Rove has complied. Mr. Rove has complied with all ethics requirements of White House employees. He's done exactly what the White House Counsel has said he should do. Mr. Rove has acted at all times with the fullest regard to ethics provisions.

As for Mr. Waxman's request, I think the American people are tired of these open-ended investigations and fishing expeditions. And just as Senator Daschle indicated over the weekend, he, too, agrees that it is not time to reengage in that type of activity. And the White House does not believe that that would serve the public well. The White House takes seriously all requests from members of Congress, and the Counsel's Office is working on a response to Mr. Waxman. And the White House will cooperate and will provide all information that it deems appropriate.

Q With all due respect, Waxman's office is saying they're not looking for a fishing expedition, and they also say, and Senator Daschle's office also says today, that while he doesn't believe in any payback, he does believe there are legitimate questions concerning Karl Rove that should be answered.

MR. FLEISCHER: And that's why I just indicated the White House Counsel's Office treats all letters from members of Congress seriously, and they are working on a response and they will cooperate to all degrees appropriate. But if people are asking for every meeting that anybody in the White House has ever participated in, that may have absolutely nothing to do with the matter in question, that clearly is a fishing expedition and that goes too far. But the White House is going to work to draft a response and we'll share all information that should be appropriate.

Q Is that what he's asking for, what you've just said would be a fishing expedition?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, according to what Kelly's question was, it's all Mr. Rove's meeting logs.

Q Should we anticipate when this response is given that we will see additional information -- we'll see additional information related to Karl Rove's contracts with companies that he had stock holdings in?

MR. FLEISCHER: Again, the White House Counsel is working on a response to Mr. Waxman's letter and they will cooperate to all degrees appropriate.

Q Ari, if I could try just one more time. Isn't there, though, an appearance problem here, though, in the fact that even if the matter -- also it's come up with energy policy, what role Karl Rove may have played and the fact that he did have some holding in some energy companies -- isn't there a little bit of an appearance problem that this White House may be concerned about, about being involved in meetings that could have affect his job?

MR. FLEISCHER: Kelly, I think the White House has already acknowledged that the Counsel's Office did not move as quickly as we would have liked on this matter. And we've acknowledged that. But Mr. Rove, right from the beginning, indicated he was willing to divest his holdings. And he was not able to receive his certificate of divestiture due to events totally uncontrolled by Mr. Rove. And as soon as he received his certificate of divestiture, he immediately sold.
<end of snip>

link
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/briefings/20010613.html#KarlRove


This little tasty trivia is from Wikipedia

<snip>
In March 2001, Rove met with executives from Intel, successfully advocating a merger between a Dutch company and an Intel company supplier. Rove owned $100,000 in Intel stock at the time. In June 2001, Rove met with two pharmaceutical industry lobbyists. At the time, Rove held almost $250,000 in drug industry stocks. On 30 June 2001, Rove divested his stocks in 23 companies, which included more than $100,000 in each Enron, Boeing, General Electric, and Pfizer. On 30 June 2001, the White House admitted that Rove was involved in administration energy policy meetings, while at the same time holding stock in energy companies including Enron.
<end of snip>

link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Rove

Mr. Rove has had access to top secrete information since Mr. Busted Jr. entered the White House.

[Cronus Protagonist]

39. Could be, but I know they changed his job title in 2005 - Look here

February 8th, 2005, in fact - maybe I got the job titles wrong or something - here's a link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9308-2005Feb8.html

Rove Is Promoted To Deputy Staff Chief
Job Covers a Broad Swath of Policy

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 9, 2005; Page A21

During President Bush's first term, outsiders often suspected that Karl Rove was really behind virtually everything. Now it's official.

Rove, the political mastermind behind two presidential elections, yesterday was named White House deputy chief of staff in charge of coordinating domestic policy, economic policy, national security and homeland security.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9308-2005Feb8.html

[mrdmk]

41. Yes, that is correct. As an adviser to the President he had a

security clearance and Mr. Rove abused that privilege.

[paparush]

16. Judith doesn't want to become yet another victim of a Bush/Rove..

<tinfoilhat>
*ahem* "Unexpected Suicide"
</tinfoilhat>

[FormerRepublican]

4. I think if we're going to get indictments, it'll be in October...

...near the end of the Grand Jury term.

Patrick Fitzgerald seems to be very patient. He patiently waited while the reporters' case wound through the courts to the Supreme Court. He will patiently wait for Judith Miller to rethink her stance on protecting a criminal. He probably has enough now to act, but he will wait until all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. From what I've seen of his actions, this case will be one TIGHT impenetrable mother for whomever gets indicted. If anything, I find the sheer QUIET eminating from the court to be an indictment in itself. If there wasn't a case, it would have been trumpeted from the rooftops by now - including by Fitzgerald himself. We would have had press every day talking about the ridiculous claims being refuted in court by blabby witnesses. Yet, in this case, not a peep from anyone except those outside the case. That to me smacks of serious crime.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. And let's not forget that the case isn't over yet. Any cover-up by BushCo at this point is just as prosecutable as the coverup since the leak last year. We should not hesitate to point out inconsistencies, lies, and other obfuscation by BushCo.

[A Brand New World]

5. How can we trust Fitzgerald to do what's right since he was

appointed by *? I've been curious and leary about that since the beginning of this investigation. Does anyone here think that he will indict anyone associated with this regime? Please someone reassure me that Fitzgerald is an honorable man.

[skip fox]

7. Wish I had more 1st hand information, but everything I'd heard

is very positive, and recently the republicans have been moaning things like, "Just as bad as the independent council," etc.

[emulatorloo]

18. Read this article, please --

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A55560-2005Feb1?language=printer

Here's a snip, but read the whole thing:

The Prosecutor Never Rests
Whether Probing a Leak or Trying Terrorists, Patrick Fitzgerald Is Relentless
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 2, 2005; Page C01

<snip>


The Untouchable

Fitzgerald frequently makes crime-fighting headlines in Chicago, where he took over the U.S. attorney's office just 10 days before 9/11. What's surprising is that he got the job at all. A New Yorker born and bred, Fitzgerald knew hardly a soul in Chicago, which was precisely the idea. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (no relation) was looking for an outsider to battle the state's notoriously corrupt political apparatus.

The recently retired Illinois Republican tells a story about back in Al Capone's day, when Col. Robert McCormick, the imperious publisher of the Chicago Tribune, called FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and demanded that he send someone to Chicago who could not be bought.

Hoover sent the untouchable Eliot Ness.

Now, as then, the U.S. attorney's job has the gloss of patronage. The late Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley used to say the U.S. attorney in Chicago is one of the three most important people in the state, and Peter Fitzgerald said he wanted "someone who couldn't be influenced either to prosecute someone unfairly or protect someone from being prosecuted unjustly."

So the senator, who as the state's senior Republican had the right to recommend a candidate to the White House, went to one of Hoover's successors for advice.

"I called Louis Freeh and said, 'Who's the best assistant U.S. attorney you know of in the country?' He said, 'Patrick Fitzgerald in the Southern District of New York.' " The senator then called Mary Jo White, who ran the New York office. Same question. Same answer.

At the time, Patrick Fitzgerald was trying suspects in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He thought the call from a senatorial aide was a practical joke by one of his buddies. But as soon as their interview was over, the senator knew he had his man.

"I thought, 'He is the original Untouchable,' " Peter Fitzgerald says. "You could just see it in his eyes that he was a straight shooter. There were no levers that anyone had over him. He had no desire to become a partner in a private law firm. He has no interest in electoral politics. He wanted to be a prosecutor."

<snip>

[skip fox]

19. Fantastic!!

A bulldog in a suit. (And a smart one.)

[A Brand New World]

38. Thanks so much for the info! After reading the entire article, I feel

more inclined to believe that Fitzgerald really will follow the
leak(s) to wherever it may lead - hopefully to Bush or Cheney's desk. It seems as if he really tries to keep politics out of legal affairs. And his family background- normal family- not blueblood, I think, bodes well also. Hopefully, no Skull & Bones or likewise loyalties. Thanks again for the insight.

[DURHAM D]

6. It is important to remember that Cooper's /Times attorney is Ted Olsen -

that means that Cooper/Times basically is using White House / in-house counsel. They (Times/Cooper/Olsen/Bush/Rove) are all working together to avoid problems for this White House.

Ted ghost wrote early articles for American Spectator that lead to Troopergate and was the architect of the Arkansas Project. He is a true snake. His career is funded and promoted by Scaife. He, like Ken Starr, is a member of the Federalists. He was one of the driving forces behind the Clinton impeachment process. They are working furiously to send this current investigation in a new direction - offing Fitzgerald is probably being considered.

[wallwriter]

10. Shouldn't that in itself be a conflict of interests?

[DURHAM D]

11. It would only be a conflict of interest if Cooper/Times don't

know Ted's background. No way they don't - in fact that is why they are using him.

[wallwriter]

12. Makes you wonder...

Are they trying to help the Bushies out, or simply not get killed...?

[DURHAM D]

15. I would say helping the Bushies. eom

[WinkyDink]

21. Ted Olson

He has apparently recovered well from Barbara's death on 9/11 (she of the impossible cell-phone call).
He creeps me out, with his thuggish speech mannerisms.

[Island Blue]

14. "Karl Rove Goes Down in Plames" is a Daily Show worthy headline

Well done!

[berni_mccoy]

17. Excellent Logical Deduction

My Dear Sherlock!

:wow:

[Vincardog]

20. And not a moment too soon. I want to see W Frog Marched off

I can just see the dull look of surprise replace that smirk.
:toast: :woohoo: :toast: :woohoo: :toast: :woohoo:

[Eloriel]

22. It wasn't necessary to speak her name -- people knew her & knew

her name and knew her as Wilson's wife. Remember that she had a front as an exec for an "energy company," whose name I can almost remember. He didn't have to say anything more than "Wilson's wife," and her TRUE role as a CIA agent. Boom! Outed. Deed done, without mentioning or even having to know her name.

[skip fox]

24. Merely making the connection once (mush less 6 times) to a reporter

obviously WILL expose her. These are national reporters who know who to call. He KNEW that merely saying she arranged her trip that they would would release her name for him!

But he got greedy and didn't think it through. Therefore he'll get charges for exposing her, for leading a conspiracy to expose her, and maybe for perjury and covering up.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. I think he is guilty - but not for the reason you say...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/5/212837/3714 (Click on timeline 2)

After reading this timeline, you realized that this is a vast, complicated deal. But I am starting to think that Rove et al wasn't trying to out her for the purpose of hurting her or her colleagues in some way by blowing her spy cover.

Their purpose was to discredit her husband and the CIA and to discredit Wilson's story by spreading the word that his wife
arranged the trip somehow minimizing it. It is entirely possible that he didn't know she was covert.

That is why people are now saying that Fitzgerald is looking at obstruction and perjury now instead of the outting charges. This means they probably lied all over themselves covering all the asses involved.

[skip fox]

25. These contentions don't cancel out each other.

The story was such that this material had to be known by the reporter leaked to in order to make sense. He may not have wanted to expose her, but by his reason it was more important to get the story out. Certainly telling bright national reporters only that Wilson's wife worked for CIA and "arranged" his trip has the effect of exposing her (since they will do their homework).

It will be interesting seeing this mastermind of the party of "personal responsibility" try esxcape through a loophole (and then to see how Fox will spin it).

But I think the prosecutor is not too literally minded and if it can be shown that Rove deliberately and continuously engaged in activity that he knew would expose Plame as a CIA agent, then he will be indicted and tried. He might get out of that one, but what about the conspiracy? Or, as you say, perjury and obstruction?

I think it's a good day.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

26. "Indictments Keep Fallin' On My Head"

And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his head
Nothin' seems to fit
Those indictments are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I did me some talkin' to the Son
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those indictments are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin' ..."

[skip fox]

27. Bit of a pessimist, huh? Well, after the past six years who can blame

you? I just hope you are give reason to hope via an indictment or two (or three or . . .?) in the future.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

28. Not me - It's Karl Rove singing a BJ Thomas parody

[skip fox]

29. Oh. Yes. If anyone needs pessimism as an accurate appraisal of the future

let it be a blooming turd.

[Disturbed]

30. The GJ members vote to indicte or not..

The Prosecutor lays out the case for them.

[skip fox]

31. How is Rove like a ham sandwich? Well, in possibly a great many ways

but he'll certainly be as easy to indict.

[Eloriel]

33. I suspect Bush is thinking:

this is EXACTLY what Presidential Pardons are all about.

:grr:

[Blue Belle]

36. Don't give Bush too much credit for thinking...

:eyes:

[ProudDad]

35. Ah, Where's the John Dean

when we need one?

[RevCheesehead]

40. There's a reason ** calls him "Turd Blossom"

Probably because the shit keeps spreading around, wherever he goes.