Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com
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MSNBC’s David Shuster has followed the Plame leak case as closely as any reporter working for the corporate media. Last night on MSNBC’s Countdown, Shuster reported on the possible indictment of Karl Rove.
Lawyers familiar with the case say that Rove would have been notified that he was no longer a subject of the investigation if Fitzgerald were not pursuing an indictment. Fitzgerald referred to Karl Rove as “official A” in the indictment of Scooter Libby. Shuster reports that in every case where Fitzgerald has referred to a person as “official A”, that person was eventually indicted…
Rush transcript from The Raw Story:
First of all, you don’t put somebody in front of a grand jury at the end of an investigation or for the fifth time, as Karl Rove testified a couple, a week and a half ago, unless you feel that’s your only chance of avoiding indictment. So in other words, the burden starts with Karl Rove to stop the charges.
Secondly, it’s now been 13 days since Rove testified. After testifying for three and a half hours, prosecutors refused to give him any indication that he was clear. He has not gotten any indication since then. And the lawyers that I’ve spoken with outside of this case say that if Rove had gotten himself out of the jam, he would have heard something by now.
And then the third issue is something we’ve talked about before. And that is, in the Scooter Libby indictment, Karl Rove was identified as ‘Official A.’ It’s the term that prosecutors use when they try to get around restrictions on naming somebody in an indictment. We’ve looked through the records of Patrick Fitzgerald from when he was prosecuting cases in New York and from when he’s been US attorney in Chicago. And in every single investigation, whenever Fitzgerald has identified somebody as Official A, that person eventually gets indicted themselves, in every single investigation.
…the lawyers that I’ve been speaking with who know this stuff say, don’t bet on Karl Rove getting out of this.
In this video, Shuster also reports on the possibility of an indictment for Ohio Congressman Bob Ney.
Trolls on other blogs are now saying, "If Rove is indicted, it won’t be a big story, because liberals have been talking about it for so long." Maybe
But here’s what will be big: Rove has threatened Republicans running for re-election with a loss of funding if they don’t kowtow to Bush on issues. That threat will evanesce into political stardust if he’s indicted. "Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?"
Here something else that will be big. Speculation will immediately arise on the question, "Will Rove save his own neck by outing Cheney?" Whether he does or not, the administration will be harmed by the publicity. The talk shows couldn’t avoid it.
Biggest of all, Bush himself will be cornered. If he fires Rove, he loses his "brain," and every G.O.P. candidate in 2006 will have to formulate his own strategy (or rely on the hapless Ken Mehlman). If Bush keeps Rove, the criticism for keeping a man under indictment on his staff will be devastating.
Can a government employee keep a "super secret" security clearance while in prison?
Robert,
Nothing seems to be devastating to these people. I can’t believe this will be any different.
Uppity Tennessee Women Strike AGAIN!!
PHOTO
When have you ever been right?
I’m tired of waiting, Fitzy, and this is, what?, the sixteenth time Shuster has assured us that Rove will be indicted soon?
KB… maybe Martin will oblige the demonstrators! 😉
Joan, here’s the difference as I see it. Rove had been the architect of all the spin and all the retaliatory strategy. "If they say this, we say this," etc. etc.
If Rove is indicted, Bush will face the immediate question, "Do I fire Rove (ask him to resign), do I keep him and allow him to plot strategy, or do I keep him out of loyalty but rely on someone else?"
Whatever Bush decides, he’s a loser one way or the other.
He’s at 31% in the polls. He’s lost a lot of his leverage with the media, if not all. Rove sounded cocky the other day ("Democrats are going to win")
but Bush has to know that was bravado, not logic speaking. The key point is, if Rove is indicted Bush is put on the defensive, and if he fires Rove he’s like a football coach without his defensive coordinator. If he keeps Rove, it will Topic A at every press conference and the lead story on every TV talk show for weeks.
A Rove indictment will be a very, very big deal.
That should have read, "Democrats aren’t going to win" from Rove, of course.
RLM,
You may be perfectly right, of course. I dunno…I’m just not convinced that, given the power they seem to have over Congress & the media, these entities will suddenly find courage, focus & tenacity.
Yes, Rove is very close to Bush. But so is Cheney & he shot a guy in the face. And blew off the police.
Do you really think it will be the lead story for weeks? How long did they focus on Abu Ghraib? Or Downing Street? Or secret prisons & rendition? Or on the 750 signing statements?
Now it’s Goss & Foggo & prostitution rings & General Hayden.
I really think if Rove is indicted tomorrow they’ll just toss out their latest juicy distraction & talk about how "…Rove’s influence on the president had been greatly exaggerated ..nothing more than some leftist fantasy…’Bush’s Brain’..a mere nickname ..his duties had been pared down anyway, he rarely saw the president ..he was really a nothing, a wisp ..he was barely there…"
Joan go to crooks and liars for the daily show clip on goss and you will see what happens when Rove is not doing a play by play direction for everything chimpy does or says.
Barry,
Yes, I saw that show. How, exactly, do we know WHO is speaking or not speaking into georgie’s ear? Maybe this bullshit comes from rove, I don’t know. Maybe from somebody else. How do we KNOW anything?
All I KNOW is it sure seems like we’re deep inside the FunHouse with the wavy mirrors.
Joan said: "I dunno…I’m just not convinced that, given the power they seem to have over Congress & the media, these entities will suddenly find courage, focus & tenacity"
Precisely …and was it ever the point…? Bush Inc was placed into power for very specific reasons.
Courage…to implement mass murder and constitutional subversions.
Focus …on war profiteering, and dancing with evangelical devils.
Tenacity …to hold firm to absolute unconscionability, and realize the mass murderer within.
…me thinks they may have already "found" such traits.
Yes, you’re right about the bushies, Doomsday, but by "these entities" I meant Congress & the media.
My first thought when I saw that photo was that they were looking for dropped coins or a place to drill for oil.
But I think you’re right. They’re just downcast at this point. Telling speechwriters at the Agriculture Department to include positive message on Iraq in their speeches is another sign of desperation. They’ve lost the rudder to the ship of state.
Joan, read my post again. I didn’t say that Rove’s indictment, if it happens, would be the lead story for weeks. I said if Bush keeps Rove on his staff in the face of the indictment, it would be.
Bush first said that anyone involved in the Plame affair could not work for him. Rove has admitted to being involved. Then Bush fudged, and said (through Scottie McClellan) that anyone who committed a crime would be fired (which is really a non-statement, because he’d have no choice in the matter, legally).
So for Bush to keep Rove on board in the face of the indictment would be tantamount to saying the indictment is meaningless and the grand jury process is fraudulent. "Innocent until proven guilty" is a courtroom standard, not a hiring/firing policy. I promise you, Joan, Bush’s support in the media would vanish altogether if he kept an indicted Rove on board, and with Rove now working exclusively on the 2006 election, it would make Rove himself the issue in every Congressional race.
If you want Democrats to regain control of Congress, pray that Rove is indicted and that Bush doesn’t fire him. They couldn’t possibly flip enough votes to overcome that.
David Shuster seems to me to be on the level. His reports are the best in the MSM.
The thing that makes this indictment so big is that it has been building for years now and even though it’s complex, the public knows all about it. Of course the left is salivating!
This might be a telling picture I found on Makethemaccountable.com with the perfect comment from Caroline Kay:
"Do these guys look beleaguered, or what?
Downer
KestrelBrighteyes #4
That sign really hit a chord, I hear about it everywhere I go. Amazing what you can do with poster board and magic marker!
I’ll be darned, my link worked that time.
Even if Rove is not indicted, why is he still on government payroll since he has been reassigned per Bush to run RNC dirty tricks?
Where the hell is the media asking these questions?