Fitzgerald Leaves Questions Unanswered - Froomkin - WaPo

[WillyT]

<snip>

Senior White House political adviser Karl Rove's successful avoidance of criminal charges in the CIA leak investigation is a huge win for the White House. It's also a massive blow to those who had hoped that special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's investigation would end Rove's career as a cunning and outlandishly successful Republican strategist. And finally, it means Fitzgerald probably won't be shedding any more light on Rove's role in the outing of Valerie Plame.

By all rights, that latter job should now fall to the press.

The White House has long maintained -- spuriously, I might add -- that the ongoing criminal investigation precluded them from answering any questions even vaguely related to Rove's conduct.

Now, without charges against Rove in the offing, the media should demand answers to a slew of questions. The overriding issue: Just because Rove wasn't charged with a crime doesn't mean his conduct meets the standards the public expects from its White House.

If Rove was irresponsibly lax with classified information, if he intentionally misled the press, the press secretary and the president, if he conspired with fellow White House aides to punish someone who spoke out against the president -- all of which appears to be the case -- what is he still doing serving as the president's most trusted aide?

<snip>

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/06/13/BL2006061300764.html

Oh yeah... the journalists will get to the bottom of it.

:notholdingmybreath:

[bettyellen]

1. Unanswered by the White House..... K+R

DUers should be demanding answers from the WH, first and foremost.

[jsamuel]

2. the investigation of Rove is over? NO MORE ONGOING INVESTIGATION!

ANSWER THE QUESTION!

[KittyWampus]

3. Is Rove's situation still a win if he testifies against Cheney?

[corbett]

4. Sadly, Yes, And Here's Why

This is all conjecture but it makes sense to me:

1) When KKKarl saw the text of the indictment against him which Fitz obtained, he went threw another 11th-hour curve ball and offered up everything he has on Cheney. That could be just enough or (as I think is more likely) is just about all of the working material which Cheney had to disclose to Rove in order to have a functional relationship.

2) Fitz gave him 2 weeks plus a couple of days for the Memorial Day weekend to bring him enough to make it a fair trade-off in the eyes of justice to clear Rove.

3) Rove then went back to * and requested a decision: whom did he need more. Rove or Cheney? The shrub needed them equally for the great frauds known as 2000 and 2004 but needs Rove more for 2006. Rove is the only person smart enough to give the Right a snowball's chance of holding on to at least 1 house of Congress this November. * knows that if they lose both houses, he'll be booted out of office by the Congress, egged on through the impeachment process by state legislatures.

4) * decided that everything possible should be done in order to hang on to Rove and Cheney but if he has to throw one overboard, it will be Cheney.

5) * informs Cheney of the softer version of his story and instructs Cheney to circle the wagons.

6) Fitz informs the judge that he has enough to go after Cheney, the real mastermind, and will withdraw the indictment against Rove which he had filed in May.

_____________________

So, in the end, this is a victory for * because he now has a chance of hanging onto the Senate come November and, thus, his job.

[WillyT]

5. Most Interesting...

And very plausible.

Tip of the hat to you.

:hi:

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. "egged on through the impeachment process by state legislatures"

Huh?

What do state legislatures have to do with impeachment?

[WillyT]

7. This:

Link: http://www.thesimon.com/magazine/articles/canon_fodder/01141_revolutionary_thinking_state_legislatures_push_impeachment.html

And this: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_steven_l_060422_bush_impeachment___t.htm

And this: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12824.htm

Enjoy!

:shrug:

[corbett]

9. States May Instigate Impeachment Process

Most believe that it is solely the Judiciary Committee of the House Of Representatives which begins the impeachment process and this is not the case. State legislatures also may do so and 3 either have submitted their request or are expected to do so soon.

[WillyT]

8. Kick !!!

:kick: