Fitz Watch

[Update: Fitzgerald will hold a news conference at 2:00 pm.

Update update: Reuters says “information on the case will be available at noon.”]

I’m not sure if last night’s story from the New York Times that suggests only Scooter Libby will be indicted today should be given much weight. In this morning’s Washington Post, Jim VandeHei and Carol D. Leonnig write that Libby and Rove are preparing for possible indictments. On the other hand, CNN just now (8:01 am) announced that Rove “apparently” dodged an indictment but will remain under investigation.

Via Josh Marshall, John Solomon and Pete Yost of the Associated Press write,

White House officials braced for the possibility that Vice President Dick Cheney’s top aide would be indicted in the CIA leak case, but held out hope presidential confidant Karl Rove might escape charges for the time being.

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald signaled Thursday he might simply keep Rove under investigation, according to a person familiar with recent developments in the case who requested anonymity because of its sensitivity. That would spare Rove bad news Friday when the grand jury that has heard the case for two years is set to expire.

Solomon and Yost note that Dick Cheney and Scooter were up and about unusually early today. The Dick arrived at the White House at 6:25 this morning, and Scooter was seen leaving his home at 6:15.

Also via Josh, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required, and I don’t have one),

Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief political adviser and deputy White House chief of staff, was informed yesterday evening that he may not be charged today but remains in legal jeopardy, according to a person briefed on the matter. Mr. Fitzgerald, who meets with jurors this morning, has zeroed in on potential wrongdoing by I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, and is likely to charge Mr. Libby at least with making false statements. The testimony of reporters who have been witnesses in the case has contradicted Mr. Libby’s public statements.

Mr. Fitzgerald appeared still to be pondering whether to charge Mr. Rove and has notified the political strategist that he remains under investigation.

Josh speculates that there are some negotiations going on between Fitzgerald and Rove. I speculate that perhaps these ongoing negotiations are delaying a Rove indictment, not ongoing investigation. VandeHei and Leonnig at WaPo write that “two legal sources” say Fitzgerald really does not want to empanel a new grand jury and would prefer to wrap the case up today.

3 thoughts on “Fitz Watch

  1. I don’t get it! But I’ll cling to the hope that Rove might still go down. Maybe it’s a tactic to ratchet up the pressure on Cheney or Bush? Who knows? we’ll just have to wait and see.

  2. Hey, it all started slowly and with the lower echelons in the George Ryan (former gov of IL) admin too. Now, about 4 years later, Ryan himself has been indicted. I get the impression that this guy Fitzgerald just really, really thinks people ought not to misuse their political offices, and that he is a total bulldog who never quits. It may take a couple of more years, but if there has been wrongdoing on up the ladder (and who besides wingnuts thinks there hasn’t), he will get them.

    An honest Republican. Yes, they still exist, though they seem to be thin on the ground these days.

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