No Indictment of Rove in CIA-Leak Case!

NRO ^ | 6/13/06 | Byron York

[The G Man]

June 13, 2006, 6:44 a.m.

No Indictment of Rove in CIA-Leak Case
Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald makes a decision.

By Byron York

Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has informed top White House adviser Karl Rove that Rove will not face indictment in the CIA-leak investigation, National Review Online has learned. The word came yesterday, when Fitzgerald told Rove lawyer Robert Luskin that he, Fitzgerald, did not plan to seek charges against Rove. This morning, Luskin released a brief statement:

 

On June 12, 2006, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald formally advised us that he does not anticipate seeking charges against Karl Rove.

In deference to the pending case, we will not make any further public statements about the subject matter of the investigation. We believe that the Special Counsel’s decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr. Rove’s conduct.

 Rove appeared five times before a grand jury investigating the CIA-leak case; the most recent was in April. Before appearing before the grand jury, Rove was interviewed by FBI agents assigned to the investigation. Fitzgerald’s inquiry, it appears, focused most intensely on the first two sessions — the FBI interview and the first grand-jury testimony.

The key question to be resolved by Fitzgerald was said to be whether to charge Rove in connection with his testimony regarding a brief July 11, 2003, conversation with Time magazine’s Matthew Cooper. In both his interview with the FBI and in his first grand jury appearance, Rove did not tell investigators about the conversation with Cooper. By the time Rove appeared for a second time before the grand jury, Rove had discovered evidence — an internal White House e-mail — showing that he did indeed talk to Cooper. Rove gave the evidence to Fitzgerald, who then questioned him about it at length.

Rove is thought to have testified that he simply did not remember the Cooper conversation until he discovered the e-mail. (Cooper himself described the talk as being about two minutes long and occurring right as Rove was leaving on vacation.) Supporting Rove’s contention was the fact that Rove, apparently, testified from the very beginning that he talked to columnist Robert Novak, which suggested he was not trying to hide his involvement in the case from Fitzgerald.

A decision by Fitzgerald — one way or the other — had been anticipated for months. There was widespread speculation that Rove might face charges for lying to Fitzgerald’s grand jury much like those filed by Fitzgerald last October against Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. Now, it appears that will not happen. And so far, at least, no one has been charged with violating any of the underlying laws in the case — either the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act.

Rove’s fate has been the subject of intense discussion among critics of the Bush administration. Perhaps foremost among them is former ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, was the CIA employee at the center of the affair. In August 2003, Wilson vowed to pursue Rove vigorously, saying, “At the end of the day it’s of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs.”

— Byron York, NR’s White House correspondent, is the author of The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy: The Untold Story of How Democratic Operatives, Eccentric Billionaires, Liberal Activists, and Assorted Celebrities Tried to Bring Down a President — and Why They’ll Try Even Harder Next Time.

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National Review Online - http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjQzM2QxZWFmNDRkMTBkZDg5ODI3OTNkNjgwYmJiZjc=

[God luvs America]

Guess they won't be celebrating "Fitzmas Day" any time soon huh??

[Coop]

What can I say? I'm just a sensitive fella! ;-)

[MadIvan]

The words of the poet Ilya Ehrenburg spring to mind, "burn in your deathly agony, the hour of revenge has struck."

Regards, Ivan

[BerniesFriend]

Bears repeating.

ok

[rwa265]

Nothing could be finer than to see the dimmies whiner in the mor-or-our-ning. :-)

[LucyJo]

Wish somebody would tag Rove's name on it and email it to Joe Wilson. lol.

[JCEccles]

This is the nature of the "Drive-By-Media". It is not the facts of the case, its the seriousness of the charges. They got their drive-by hit, and just like Haditha, it unravels and they move on

And the seriousness of the charges depends on how they morph the context. So, the top terrorist in Iraq gets a proper whacking courtesy of the US Air Force and that context is immediately rejected (it was only useful as long as al-Zarqawi was free, as in "US frustrated as top terrorist escapes its grasp for the fifth time") and replaced with a new context: "Badly wounded and helpless man beaten by US forces as he lies on gurney."

[cake_crumb]

LOL. That whole post is a "he's guilty but they let him walk anyway" conspiracy theory. And we all know that DUmmies walk like ducks, quack like ducks, but want DESPERATELY to be swans (like us FReepers)

[codercpc]

In their dream world, it appears that Rove is working with Fitz to bring down the Vice President, while all the time still being allowed to work in the White House.

[LucyJo]

Uh-huh - knowing him, it happened in the WH basement, and prolly on the WH roof and everywhere in between!

[FreedomPoster]

Here's a better version of that, without Claude Allen.

[tiredoflaundry]

Thanks!

[tiredoflaundry]

LOL!

[XenaLee]

Now...if we can just get our marines cleared in the Haditha frame-up....it'll be a 'threefer whammy' for the left this month. Yippeee!

I also heard something about an announcement re: big plans/change in Iraq. Does anyone know what it could be about?

[paudio]

He looked pretty cherpy last night I wonder if he already knew.

According to FoxNews, Rove's lawyer got the news when he was already in the plane. But they managed to tell him once he arrived in NH. So, yes, he knew already.

[veronica]

Kos Kids Krazed today! :)

[ChadGore]

Never have so many been so wrong about so much.

[andyandval]

Great pics!

[pleikumud]

Now it's time for justice to focus on Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA). Gee, where did he get $90,000 in cash found in his refrigerator? Are Congressmen really exempt from criminal laws? I wonder if William is related to William Jefferson "BJ" Clinton.

[babaloo]

I ran out of breath just reading that post. Thanks for the laugh!