How can I be both so bored and so fascinated at the same time?
The Rovians have succeeded in planting stories in both the NY Times and the Washington Post that take the heat off Rove. Apparently, according to a (his) lawyer who is familiar with the Grand Jury testimony, Rove only learned the name of Joe Wilson’s wife from Novak. Rove had been informed by another reporter, whose identity he has conveniently forgotten, that Wilson’s wife was in the CIA. But he didn’t learn her identity until Novak mentioned it. And even then, Novak was erroneously using her maiden name.
Let’s assume this is true. One possibility is that a reporter knew Plame was in the CIA, and they learned that information by accident, or over drinks with someone who was indiscreet. Having learned this classified information, they called Rove and asked him about it. Rove had no clue. But when Novak called, he remembered his prior conversation and said, “yeah, I heard that too.”
Well, how did Novak learn of Plame’s secret job? Did the reporter call him too?
No! This is ridiculous. Even assuming Rove’s story is true, someone leaked to a reporter, who then called Rove for confirmation. Rove couldn’t confirm. But the next reporter to call him asked the same question. And then he confirmed he had heard the rumor.
But this is all bunk.
Does Novak go to press based on Rove confirming he had heard a rumor? No!
Novak got confirmation from Rove, not “I heard that too”.
Now let’s back up. Rove knows nothing beyond the fact that a reporter asked him whether he could confirm that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA. He couldn’t.
Novak calls him. He asks the same question. Rove tells Novak he has heard that rumor too. Novak asks if he can confirm it. Rove says no. Novak prints her name anyway.
Or, Rove confirms it. How can he do that? Well, maybe he confirmed in between the two phone calls.
A few days later he offers up this information to Matt Cooper, unsolicited. He is leaking classified information and outing a undercover operative. It doesn’t matter that a few reporters have this information. He could refuse to confirm it, as his security clearance requires. But he doesn’t refuse to confirm it. In fact, he offers it up voluntarily.
I find this whole scenario to be improbable. But even it is true, Rove had no reason to think that Plame was not undercover. He knew she worked on WMD. He had reporters asking him if he could confirm she worked at the agency. Clearly she was not a janitor or food service employee who openly worked at the CIA.
He’s guilty of indiscretion at the very least. No matter how you spin it, he knowingly leaked the identity of an undercover operative to people not authorized to receive that information. He’s guilty.
And if his story is true, someone else is even more guilty because they initiated the leaks that caused the reporters to call Rove in the first place.
And the wind cries “Hannah”…
Pax
This is part of the “it was all around town” crap. So Rove is blind to the classified information on the day before he calls Cooper, but he’s heard Plame’s an “agency operative” from Novak and passes it along to Cooper? Am I getting that right?
Being the upstanding citizen and government official Rove is, instead of acting on Novak’s knowledge of an agency operative working on weapons of mass destruction, Rove passes it along to other reporters?
I wonder when or if we will get some indication of how Cooper’s testimony on this past Wednesday affected the case. If there was testimony that made it possible for Fitzgerald to indict Rove or someone else, how long would it take to get to that next step. It just feels like we are in another waiting period here, and I’d hate to see it go quiet again.
One bit of good news was Rehnquist putting an end to speculation about his imminent retirement since we know from the republican’s talking points that they are counting on toughing it out until that or another big story gets the media to focus on something else.
This latest twist could be seen as a successful move on the part of the republians, but as optimistically as this deal has played out for those of us who want to see something finally stick to these greased pigs, I have never been naive enough to believe that this could be a “slam dunk”.
Peace
I’m enjoying the media shit storm that’s flying around Rove’s head. It feels good to see the MSM pissed off at the same people we are. BUT, the only thing that really matters is Fitzgerald’s grand jury handing down indictments. Until then, I feel like I don’t have enough information, that all I’m doing is speculating. And… my opinions are seriously biased so I’m not sure I trust my conclusions.
There’s a lot of smoke, mirrors and arm flailing going on and that’s always amusing but it becomes tedious. How long, O Lord, must we wait for the indictments? A week? Another month? I fear that if it’s two months, then the court of public opinion will already have decided the case in their own minds and the reality — the indictments — will feel anti-climatic. Everyone will have moved on, distracted by something else.
And, it’s all too likely, that the public will decide in Bushco’s favor, as they have in the past, and view the indictments as some kind of liberal plot. That’s what Rove is aiming for; when the cuffs go on, he wants to be a victim, a martyr, a hero in the eyes of his rabid base. That way, he still has customers even if he’s convicted. Chuck Colson still makes a living, ya’know, and gets to be a pundit on tv instead of living in disgraced shame as he should.
Forgive me, I’m feeling perssimistic this morning.
i But when Novak called, he remembered his prior conversation and said, “yeah, I heard that too.”
This is bull, if what’s in Novaks column is correct. IIRC, in the column he said that (paraphrasing) “they gave me the name” and “I didn’t dig around for the information”.