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Fitz v. Karl

Apr 27, 2006

maha

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Bush Administration, Valerie Plame, criminal justice

As a sure-enough leftie blogger I feel obligated to blog something about Karl Rove’s grand jury appearance yesterday, even though I don’t have any insights that somebody else didn’t blog first.

(Frankly, I am tired of being teased; I’m too old to stay on the edge of the seat of suspense this long. I long for a comfy and unambiguous seat with lots of pillows. I’ll let the young folks maintain the knife’s-edge anticipation until something substantive happens.)

Taylor Marsh says that when she wants to understand what’s going on with the Fitz & Karl show she reads Lawrence O’Donnell. OK, sounds good. And here’s the insight from O’Donnell:

Karl Rove’s return to the grand jury today could mean the end of the Rove investigation or the beginning of the Rove prosecution. It depends on who asked Rove to return. If Fitzgerald asked Rove to return to the grand jury, that means Fitzgerald thinks he doesn’t have enough for an indictment.

If Rove asked to return to the grand jury, that means Rove’s lawyer, Bob Luskin, believes an indictment is imminent and is sending his client back to make a final desperate attempt to avoid indictment.

Rove’s lawyer released a statement saying that Rove appeared “voluntarily and unconditionally at the request of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.” Hmm.

For a recap of past episodes of the Fitz & Karl show, see Jane Hamsher.

Spotlight

5 Comments

justme • Apr 27, 2006 @9:04 am

When I heard rove was moving out of the policy area I had hoped it was an attempt to distance himself from bush before he faced legal peril…. now I am not so sure….I am afraid rove will make some sort of a deal with Fitzgearld to testify against others to save his own ass(what a rat).rove would sell out his own mother to save himself(especially if she gave to Kerry in 04).

IMHO this country cannot get back on track until rove is indicted.I am not dumb enough to think it wil fix everything, but in my heart I believe it would be a major turning point for this country on the road back to reason.

Some may say it is because he is effective that I make my comments.. to them I say rove is effective in the same way the 911 terrorists were

I recall some time ago , liberal blogs asked the question “Does the left need their own karl rove?”…I nearly had a heart attack when I read that..Sweet mother of pearl!!!!!!Not just no,, but HELL NO!If there are other karl’s we should pack them up and send them to gitmo NOW, before they can damage the country.

Two other short but important things come to mind1.Was rove stripped of his security clearance??Inquiring minds want to know…. and #2.Did anyone else note that roves job change came on the heels of information that the “phone jamming” scam from 2000 election lead back to the whitehouse???Could be nothing,, could be something,you make the call.
Britwit • Apr 27, 2006 @10:35 am

FYI- comment no 1

Karl Rove’s Mother committed suicide a number of years ago. He never knew who is Father was. He was reared by his Mother and step-father.
Daniel DiRito • Apr 27, 2006 @11:54 am

Ah, yes, when all else fails there is the “that would have been stupid defense”. It appears that Karl Rove has chosen this to be a piece of his final efforts to avoid indictment. I’ve always found the very notion of this defense flawed. The premise of the defense is that smart people wouldn’t do stupid things or make decisions that could rationally be expected to lead to negative consequences. In Rove’s case, as I understand the issue, the argument is being used to explain an oversight to reveal all the details of his conversation with Matt Cooper (specifically the part about Valerie Plame)…in essence he simply forgot that portion of the conversation but to lie would have been stupid…and Rove knows people don’t think he is stupid.

The unspoken assertion by those who use this defense (Tom DeLay comes to mind) is that they may use their intelligence to walk right up to the line, but they are also smart enough to never cross that line…basically they know the rules so well they can navigate them like a skilled tightrope walker. On the surface it sounds reasonable and plausible.

Unfortunately, history often seems to contradict this defense and the premise upon which it is founded. That’s not to say these individuals are stupid…they are actually quite bright. However, what people may miss is an understanding that whatever these people possess in terms of smarts sometimes pales in comparison to the zeal with which they seek wealth, prestige, or power. In essence, smart people, not unlike others who lie and manipulate, are not above self-deceit in order to augment lofty goals, obtuse egos, and an unbridled hunger for power.

read full analysis here:

http://www.thoughttheater.com
joanr16 • Apr 27, 2006 @1:13 pm

I know how you feel, maha. I was burned by all that “Merry Fitzmas” hype that preceded the indictment of Scooter Libby. It felt kind of like when I was four, and I caught my mom buying the boxes of animal crackers that would later end up in my and my brother’s Christmas stockings.

There is no Santa Fitz, and whatever happens, happens. I still like animal crackers but I don’t believe they’re magical.
Donna • Apr 27, 2006 @1:41 pm

Just before Rove is indicted, he will make a couple more moves: he will switch parties and donate to Kerry so that the righties can continue to blame all their woes on the Dems. Snark

By the way, Patrick Fitzgerald is a Republican who was sponsored by former U.S. Senator from Illinois Republican Peter Fitzgerald [no relation] for his present position.

Peter Fitzgerald was once my senator and he surely earned my respect for his single-handed filibuster against the no-strings-attached nature of a federal grant for the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library since built in the state capitol. While filibustering, Peter F. said that Lincoln’s honor would be smeared by allowing the library to be build through the ‘business as usual’ crony-favoring no-bid style contracting that epitomized Illinois’ then-current GOP leaders under Governor George Ryan [the very man whom Patrick Fitzgerald recently and sucessfully prosecuted on 18 counts of fraudulent behavior].

I like to think that there are some integrity-minded Republicans who have not been purged from their party by the likes of Tom Delay and Karl Rove and Dennis Hastert. Peter Fitzgerald went out-of-state to find and chose Patrick Fitzgerald for a tough federal prosecutor position in Illinois after way too many years of state Republican control [resulting in huge piles of sleaze] had us all gagging and feeling ashamed.

Go get ‘em, Fitz!