Ashcroft, Rove ties scrutinized

[UpInArms]

http://msnbc.com/news/973047.asp?0sl=-33&cp1=1

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 — Democrats are stepping up calls for an independent investigation of the leak of a CIA officer’s identity, charging that political ties between Attorney General John Ashcroft and White House political adviser Karl Rove represent a clear conflict of interest. Meanwhile, a senior administration official told NBC News on Friday that the Justice Department set a deadline for the White House to turn over documents related to the investigation.

A COMPANY controlled by Rove, who stands accused by the CIA officer’s husband of at least condoning the leak, was paid more than $300,000 by Ashcroft’s 1994 Senate campaign in Missouri for direct mail work and other servicesi, the New York Times reported Friday, citing campaign finance data.

President Bush’s top political adviser also played a role in two earlier Ashcroft gubernatorial campaigns.

Information about the ties between Rove and Ashcroft has emboldened Democrats to push harder for a special counsel to investigate the leak.

...more...

[BJ]

1. It is time for a special prosecutor

[calimary]

2. Have you called your Congress-critter today?

The TOLL FREE CAPITOL HILL SWITCHBOARD NUMBERS ARE:

1 (800) 839 - 5276

1 (800) 648 - 3516

Call especially the top one and they'll switch you for free to anybody's Senate or House office you name. TRY TO CALL AT LEAST ONE RETHUG! They need to hear this from us, too. Yes, they're in denial. Yes, they're defensive (a Susan Collins' staffer got huffy with me the other day, denying a bunch of stuff a la Novak and company, and demanding to know what this had to do with the state of Maine, and I had to really get insistant), but they have to be HAMMERED!!! They also see the polls, and know the public is NOT with 'em, which means they'll be all the more pigheaded until their faces are pushed in with this.

[The Magistrate]

3. Moving Into Round Two, Ma'am

Fixing in people's minds the Justice" investigation id a sham, as it will certainly attempt to be.

Anything that looks like a "we can't find who" result will give even more opportunities to discredit these reptiles in the eyes of the people.

Demands for a special investigator will be resisted, and that resistance will convince the people there is indeed something extraordinarily bad to hide.

The longer it is dragged on, the greater the damage that will be done, and then on top of that, high operatives like Rove and Libby will still be exposed as the traitors in the end.

the C.I.A. already knoes who did it.

[DrBB]

4. Meanwhile, the civil suit is being organized

Dean's piece in Salon on this is highly instructive--he said it was key in Watergate and would be even more so now, in order to ensure a) it doesn't fade from the news; but more importantly, b) to give our side subpoena and discovery power separate from whatever DOJ does (or doesn't).

And lo!, not waiting for Dean's sage advice, Wilson is already exploring the civil option. That's going to make this thing VERY hard to kill.

[Ladybast]

5. Got this email forwarded to me this a.m.

giving a link to sign a petition to the DoJ demanding a special prosecutor on the investigation of who outed Wilson as an undercover CIA operative:

http://www.moveon.org/s?i=-656445-36ROh7kJq34n8dMn46Hf6Q

It's worth taking a looksee.

If financial links have already surfaced between Rove and Ashcroft, the whole iceberg must be really spectacular . . .

Ladybast

[newyawker99]

7. Hi Ladybast!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[nixonwasbetterthanW]

6. AG hoist on his own petard

<http://www.liberaloasis.com/archives/092803.htm#100203>

Let’s go to the videotape. October 4, 1997. CNN’s “Evans & Novak.”

(Robert Novak was off that day, sorry ironists).

The issue was allegations of fundraising violations by Al Gore:

ASHCROFT: The truth of the matter is that if the law's been violated, we should be able to ascertain that.

We can, if we have an independent person without a conflict of interest…

ROWLAND EVANS: …The attorney general has shaved down all the allegations that Vice President Gore apparently down to one single allegation -- which telephone he used to make these fundraising calls from.

Do you really think that alone is worthy of a special prosecutor?

ASHCROFT: …you know, a single allegation can be most worthy of a special prosecutor.

If you're abusing government property, if you're abusing your status in office, it can be a single fact that makes the difference on that.

So my own view is that there are plenty of things which should have caused , a long time ago, to appoint a special prosecutor, an independent investigator.

We asked for that on March the 13th of this year in letters from Republican members on the Judiciary Committee. And she's in a bad position…

…The man who signs her check is the man that she's investigating, and she hasn't been very aggressive about it.