Isikoff: Fitzgerald Focusing on Rove's "Missing" Email

[npincus]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9630676/site/newsweek/

If this is all it's about, it seems that Fitzgerald is focusing on an obstruction of justice charge, rather than espionage. Then, it may just be one facet of Fitzgerald's inverstigation.


But lawyers close to the case, who asked not to be identified because it's ongoing, say Fitzgerald appears to be focusing in part on discrepancies in testimony between Rove and Time reporter Matt Cooper about their conversation of July 11, 2003. In Cooper's account, Rove told him the wife of White House critic Joseph Wilson worked at the "agency" on WMD issues and was responsible for sending Wilson on a trip to Niger to check out claims that Iraq was trying to buy uranium. But Rove did not disclose this conversation to the FBI when he was first interviewed by agents in the fall of 2003—nor did he mention it during his first grand jury appearance, says one of the lawyers familiar with Rove's account. (He did not tell President George W. Bush about it either, assuring him that fall only that he was not part of any "scheme" to discredit Wilson by outing his wife, the lawyer says.) But after he testified, Luskin discovered an e-mail Rove had sent that same day—July 11—alerting deputy national-security adviser Stephen Hadley that he had just talked to Cooper, the lawyer says. In the e-mail, Rove said Cooper pushed him on whether the president was being hurt by the Niger controversy. "I didn't take the bait," Rove wrote Hadley, adding that he warned Cooper not to get "far out in front on this." After reviewing the e-mail, Rove then returned to the grand jury last year and reported the Cooper conversation. He testified that the talk was initially about "welfare reform"—a topic mentioned in the e-mail—and that Cooper then changed the subject. Cooper has written that he doesn't recall a discussion of welfare reform.

Why didn't the Rove e-mail surface earlier? The lawyer says it's because an electronic search conducted by the White House missed it because the right "search words" weren't used. (The White House and Fitzgerald both declined to comment.) But the e-mail isn't the only belatedly discovered document in the case. Fitzgerald has also summoned New York Times reporter Judith Miller back for questioning this week: a notebook was discovered in the paper's Washington bureau, reflecting a late June 2003 conversation with Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis (Scooter) Libby, about Wilson and his trip to Africa, says one of the lawyers. The notebook may also be significant because Wilson's identity was not yet public. A lawyer for the Times declined to comment.

[Neil Lisst]

1. Rove is going down for this one

The treason case has always been the weakest part of the case against Rove. It's the lying to the grand jury and the obstruction of justice that will take him down.

Yeah, I believe he's going down for this.

[Cha]

9. I can't wrap my brain

around that it's not treason to out a CIA agent for one's own country. Especially a DEEP undercover one who's working on WMD.

[madrchsod]

2. there`s going to be a lot of

tricks and treats in the big bag full of surprises

[ToolTex]

3. Maybe those 12 hours to clean house will burn them.

Now that Fitzgerald is getting e-mail from others, outside the WH, there may be a few matching inside that went amissing - somehow. Remember Rosemary's 18 minute gap?

Just about time to pop the corn and pour the Pepsi. Maybe a box of Milk-Duds, too. If Fitzgerald is as good as his billing this will be long, hard, and deep!

[left is right]

10. would you make mine a coke

and drop a hand full of the milkduds into the popcorn. they get warm and gooey and the sweet mixed in with the salty is quite good.

[ToolTex]

14. Yum a dum duds.

n/t

[Cassandra]

4. When you send out an email...

at least two people have copies of it.

[Samantha]

5. Deleted emails can be retrieved as well

Attorneys have hired experts to do this in cases where the emails were needed as evidence for a case. I am familiar with one case where three people being tried all had their deleted emails recovered.

[npincus]

7. that's right- and if you're like me, you archive everything

going out and coming in.

[Pepperbelly]

6. Notice how adroitly turd-blossom got between Bush and Fitzgerald. nt

[npincus]

8. if all goes well, Fitzgerald will be the wedge between B*sh and Rove

or, the forceps that removes B*sh's brain.

[Eurobabe]

11. more like vacuum extraction needed

eom

[justgamma]

12. It's only perjury.

Some pundits I listened to this morning are trying to make a perjury and obstruction charge seem like frivalous charges. I wanted to scream "What about Clinton? What about Martha?" Weren't they really serious when Clinton was in office? The hypocracy is simply amazing.

[texpatriot2004]

13. Oh Yes I remember it well, "Clinton lied under Oath" that's perjury

"He lied, it's not about sex, he lied" yada yada yada

But when the lies are done by their own party then it's A-okay according to them.

Oh no, Bush lied, about national issues, serious issues...and
NOONE DIED WHEN CLINTON LIED.