The Blogs are saying it Was Rove who Outed Plame

1. It's bad enough what he did, but it wasn't treason.
2. Wow. I really thought he was too smart to do it himself. Apparently not. His only defense will be to argue he didn't know she was an operative, just thought she was an analyst. My memory of the details has faded, so I don't know how much of a shot that defense has. But it looks like Rove will be arrested. How can he not be?

 

"Above the Law". Hmm. Sounds like a Steven Segal movie title.

I assume you're being sarcastic. Even if he broke some law by outing Palme or perjuring himself, Rove will be arrested (let alone convicted) for this the same day Ian McCracken admits that there was no WMD threat in Iraq to justify the invasion/occupation. In other words, never. The Reep will to power will not allow such a thing to happen.

[edit]If this does get traced back to Rove, then the Reeps will use their usual ploy of finding some expendable underling far down the food chain and throw him/her under the bus ala Lyndie "Abu Ghraib Criminal Mastermind" England.[/edit]

 

Wow. Right to the top. Were this anything but the era of non-accountability, something big might happen. All I can say is, I hope the press goes gorilla on Rove.

 

Mr. Press Man with your pen knife;always asking 'bout my sex life

Yeah, like they did on the Downing Street Memo. They were all over that from Day One.

 

Re: Mr. Press Man with your pen knife;always asking 'bout my sex life

Ouch. I forgot for a minute that Rove OWNS the press.

 

I don't know how reliable the above rumor is, and I admittedly don't have any idea about where exactly Fitzgerald is going with his probe (to his credit, the investigation has been pretty much free of leaks). That said, there are a couple general points that I think may be worthwhile to keep in mind here.

First, from what I've read, the scope of information that the prosecutors have been examining is pretty broad. So I wouldn't assume that the identity of the person who talked to the media is the only subject of interest to investigators. For example, it's quite possible that whoever was assigned to spread dirt on Plame to Novak et. al. wasn't supposed to know some of that leaked information in the first place. The question of who leaked to the leakers may end up being just as interesting.

Second, it's important to remember exactly why Wilson and Plame ended up on a White House enemies list: because they were challenging one of the Bush administration's spurious WMD claims. Bush has argued that bad intelligence was unrelated to any sort of pressure from the administration to arrive at a particular answer. That argument looks a lot shakier if this case comes back into the spotlight, and a top official has to publicly answer questions about how and why Plame and Wilson became targets for administration retribution. With Bush's approval in the 40s, it'll be a lot harder to brush aside calls for investigation than it was two years ago.

A lot of the attention so far has focused on the specific identity of the person who leaked to Novak, and whether or not that particular leak was a crime. But, in part because of the two points above, I think this case has the potential for some serious ramifications, regardless of who the leaker was, and what (if anything) they can be charged with.

 

Where have you been for the last five years?

 

"Saturday Night Live" broke this a year back.

Didn't anyone see the "Hardball" skit where Rove admits to being the leak and then asks: "What are you going to do about it?"

 

Is anyone surprised that it was Rove? I'm not.

And does anyone seriously think anyone in the media will really report on it? All the morning shows are covering Sandra Day O'Conner's resignation, Live 8 and the murder in Aruba.

Valerie who?

 

Novak had two sources -- Libby has long been rumored as one, so now we likely know the second.

 

*IF* he's the leaker, he'll be arrested. Unless Bush pardons him first. Gotta have faith.

 

But what Bush is going to do without him?

 

If this is indeed true, and Bush being on his second term, it is not hard to see a pardon being handed to Karl Rove....

 

God, you lefty moonbats are just in such a fantasy-land of wishin', hopin', thinkin' and prayin' that this is all going to crush Rove / Bush / Libby.

Don't you understand? This is a very special episode of special prosecutor gone wild. You know, the guy who the lefty media DESPERATELY wanted to have to nail Bush, only to have him flex the prosecutorial muscles and demand the notes of reporters, whose employers, in turn, had to hire CONSERVATIVE lawyers (read: Ted Olson) to argue that, in fact, the leaking was NOT a crime.

Don't it make your head swim?

Of course, the left WANTED the special prosecutor to go on his fishing expedition. Now he has, and you just SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much want him to throw some Bush guy -- Rove, Libby, ANYBODY -- into the klink. It ain't happenin' because what actually occurred -- the utterance of Valerie Plame's name -- will, in the end, not be considered a crime.

Meanwhile, the only person who is going to the klink is Judy Miller. And she has done nothing wrong.

You guys wanted a special prosecutor gone wild. Well, you got it. Congratulations.

 

It is for me. I mean, we all know Bush is very egocentric and all, but a deal like this would be a real problem for every GOP running for reelection. I don't think Bush would do it.

 

This is karmic payback for her "reporting" that led to this.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

 

I suspect you might be right, though I don't know why they'd be going to all this trouble for something that isn't a crime.

Well, I wouldn't go that far.

Gone wild? Are you serious? I don't even know the guy's name. He certainly doesn't seem to be the sort of media whore that Ken Starr was. He pretty much set the standard for the "special prosecuter gone wild," dontcha think?

 

With the fantastic job Reeps have done the last few years managing, the "message"...twisting facts.... and yet have nothing stick to them... Then yes, i think they are quite capable of pulling this off without great political damage to the whole party..... Of course, it would also help (the Reep cause) if the media treats this the way they have the Downing Street memo, or the reasons to go into Iraq..... not deeply enough..... Again, IF Rove is indeed the one....

 

Oh, dear me. Karl, you've never told us why this isn't considered a crime. (Not sure I even care to hear your response - assuming there will be a response.)

 

If the leaker, whoever it is, does get charged...

do they have to be convicted before Bush can pardon them?

Because otherwise, I could sure see the trial stretch out until hardly anybody cares.

On the other hand - if Bush pardons....he almost forfeits the fight to appoint any future supreme court justices. Because who would trust the judgement of a president that hangs out with and actively protects felons?

 

After 5 years, my head is still swimming about how George Bush promised to bring decency and respect to the White House.

 

Srry ASF, Vince Foster-type conspiracies are a right-wing construct.