Novak: Fitzgerald came close to indicting Rove for perjury or obstruction of justice

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081300905.html

<snip>

Rove had always been a happy warrior, self-confident in building a broad-based Republican majority. But his political joy was diminished by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of him in the CIA leak case. Although Fitzgerald knew from the start that not Rove but the politically nondescript Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was my primary source in identifying Valerie Plame as a CIA employee, the prosecutor came close to indicting Rove for perjury or obstruction of justice. Rove rivaled Bush as a hate figure for left-wing politics.

Joseph Wilson did not know the identity of my source when he talked about "frog-marching" Rove into jail, setting a mindless pattern soon followed by bloggers and politicians alike. A talkative juror, after convicting Scooter Libby for perjury and obstruction of justice, expressed sorrow that it was not Karl Rove.

The desire to get Rove has outlived the Plame case, with Democratic lawmakers trying to make him the target in the firings of U.S. attorneys. Since there will be no impeachment proceedings against the president, Rove has been the best available surrogate.

No wonder that a leading Republican has been asking around whether ferocious Democratic partisans in Congress might ease up if Rove were no longer there to kick around. That provides melancholy exit music for one of the most effective and most powerful of all presidential aides.

[rodeodance]

1. I hate it when small pea-sized such as Novak get press!

[EFerrari]

2. Why does Novak still have a job?

Katherine Graham must be turning in her grave. :grr:

[xultar]

10. Well if he doesn't report on the news from hell who will?

[EFerrari]

14. The Hell Bureau is going to wind up being the biggest one. n/t

[WI_DEM]

3. I wish he had

[Jackpine Radical]

4. That Goddam Novak is such a slick, slithering sleazeball

that it's almost impossible to attack anything he writes because you don't want to keep his pustulent pontifications in your head long enough to form a coherent response.

[tridim]

5. Go Cheney yourself Nofacts.. WTF is he still carrying water for the BFEE?

We already know he's been locked out of the WH.

"Democratic lawmakers trying to make him the target in the firings of U.S. attorneys"

He IS the target, there's no "trying to make him the target" at all.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. I hope to HELL he's the target...

otherwise the Congressional investigators couldn't find a cow turd in a manure pile.

[garybeck]

6. A-L-M-O-S-T

is the key word here. the fact that he didn't do it is much more significant than how close he came.

If we talked about all the things that people "almost" did, the world would be a much different place. Almost implies FAILURE in this case. the jury in the libby case would have convicted Rove, just on the Libby evidence alone. This shows that Fitz was over cautious in not indicting Rove.


personally I am very disappointed with Fitzgerald's failure to indict anyone for the crime at hand. He should have indicted Rove, and possibly Cheney too, as many constitutional and legal experts have stated (including John Turley and John Dean who know more about this stuff than anyone on DU so don't waste your time trying to argue that point with me).

[TwilightGardener]

7. If I were Novakula, I'd refrain from commenting on the Plame case.

Treason isn't something to be proud of.

[peacetalksforall]

9. 'ferocious Democratic partisans in Congress;. I see Rove taught

Novak well. Of course, Novak, already had a degree in stinky twisted phraseology that's intended to make Republicans appear to be perfect angels.

I'm curious to know if Bolten is now using Novak or if Novak is done with.

[blogslut]

11. So Patrick Fitzgerald is the reason KKKarl quit?

Yuh huh. Things just weren't the same after that mean old prosecutor took all the fun out of lying and scamming.

Weak, Novak. Even for you.

[JDPriestly]

12. How does Novak know whether there will be an impeachment?

Who is his source on that one? He should not be so sure. Anything is possible. I would not count it out until Bush is replaced by a Democrat in January 2008.

[JDPriestly]

13. Armitage - politically nondescript

Hardly. Armitage is a Republican party hack and flunky from way back. He has had several narrow escapes from being involved in the scandals of Republican administrations. Novak and other Republicans have done everything to try to paint Armitage as an innocent fool. Don't believe for a second.

As for Rove, he violated the Records Act. If for no other reason, he had to be fired for that. Bush would have been condoning Rove's illegal destruction of records if he did not fire Rove. Could Rove face charges for having "lost" or destroyed his e-mails. I don't know, maybe. I do not know whether there are any criminal penalties for that.