AP: Rove, WH misled public, told FBI truth, kept issue out of '04 campaign

[DeepModem Mom]

Analysis: Telling FBI the truth saved Rove
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 13, 2:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The decision not to charge Karl Rove shows there often are no consequences for misleading the public.

In 2003, while Rove allowed the White House to tell the news media that he had no role in leaking Valerie Plame's CIA identity, the presidential aide was secretly telling the FBI the truth.

It's now known that Rove had discussed Plame's CIA employment with conservative columnist Robert Novak, who exposed her identity less than a week later, citing two unidentified senior administration officials.

Rove's truth-telling to the FBI saved him from indictment.

And by misleading reporters, the White House saved itself from a political liability during the 2004 presidential campaign....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060613/ap_on_go_pr_wh/rove_analysis;_ylt=AuRBIjRIoWOPXNN_YUuL0gKyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

[swag]

1. Another good find, DMM

[fasttense]

2. Da-dum, and that my fellow Americans is why they lie so much.

The master manipulators of a bought and paid for press.

[johnnie]

3. Ah well,

Business as usual. :shrug:

That sad thing is that not many people give a shit. I can't understand why the majority of the country likes being so manipulated by this administration.

[loyalsister]

14. This is what they want

After Clinton- they are "relieved" to have someone who "tells the truth" about their wrong doings.
It's playing on vulnerabilities. They are pushing their limits to contrast the last Democratic scandal.
It will happen, and they will claim moral high ground for "not lying."
They will pound that message to deflect questions about the rest of it.

[coalition_unwilling]

26. There's no military draft -- the majority of this country have no "skin

in the game."

[underpants]

4. So as long on everyone is "on message" the press just files and has drinks

Yaaay! PARTY TIME!!!

Amazing. The complicity, Mr. historian, is not solely on the part of Novak it is that that the press gave some mention of Rove going to the Grand Jury for ONE DAY and then dropped probably just like they were told to.

Cooper testified that what Rove told him -that Plame had something to do with Wilson being the one sent to Niger- as fact and now the press complicitly is reporting this new truth as a fact. The book is written and closed. That lie is now considered true.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. I think I buy this story.

It's just so Roveian.

I don't doubt there were some discrepancies among all the various things Rove must have told the Grand Jury, but in the end there waw apparently not quite enough to make it worthwhile to nail him.

Of course Fitzgerald would certainly have known everything the FBI knew, and still stretched it out for a long time, so there must have been at least SOMETHING sticking to Rove. Maybe enough to compel his cooperation against Libby (& Sneer?).

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. That's why they 5 trips to the GJ

n/t

[KittyWampus]

10. Yes, Rove most likely cooperated & when he testifies, he'd better not

screw up cause Fitz can still nail him.

[Virginia Dare]

11. Wasn't there a witness that came on the scene....

rather late in the game who corroborated his story?

[EFerrari]

6. Oh, well, if he told THE FBI the truth, we're cool.

LOL! "The FBI doesn't know what it knows." -- Richard Clarke, 9/11 hearing.

[Virginia Dare]

7. Wasn't this obvious?....

except for the telling the truth part, that really shocks me.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. There's a big difference between legally not lying

and actually telling the truth.

[magellan]

12. Oh, now I'm confused again

If Rove "told the truth" to the FBI, that he was the one who spoke to Novak, then why in blazes is LIBBY the one being nailed?

Forgive me, I've been avoiding every thread with Rove/Leopold/etc in it.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Me, too, magellan. nt

[leveymg]

17. Because Libby is the one who lied about who set the whole scheme in

motion: Cheney. At least, Scooter lied initially in in his testimony to the FBI and before the Grand Jury. That's why he's being nailed for Obstruction of Justice (lies to investigators) and Perjury (lies under oath before the GJ).

Rove went back and forth, recanting some of his earlier testimony, but provided enough useful information for Fitz to nail Libby. Now, Fitz has the choice about whether to go after Cheney for his lies. I think Fitz is going to do just that.

First, Cheney is going to testify in the Libby case. Then, depending upon how many lies he tells there, Fitz will decide what charges to file against the Veep.

A tortuously slow process, and frustrating for us. But, not half as much as it is for them.

Don't lose faith or your heads. Hang in there, folks.

[magellan]

18. Judging by what you say

...and thank you very much for the explanation!, then does it now appear that Rove will face no repercussions for having been the one to out Plame? Or will that be handled later?

Trying not to pre-judge what's going on with this. Just exploring to get things straight for myself.

The OP's original point is still hanging out there too.* I'm curious about the chain of events and what they mean given this new info, i.e. Bush**'s grandstanding about 'firing' whomever in the WH leaked Plame's name, then backpedaling some time later...Did his change of heart (if he had one) coincide with Rove's testimony to the FBI? Hmmm....

*edit: argh, it was a different thread, sorry!

[hootinholler]

20. Another possibility that fits the facts is

That Rove was granted immunity for testimony in future trials.

-Hoot

[magellan]

22. Mm, I don't like that possibility

Sounds reasonable on the face of it, but we're talking about the master of double-speak and wriggle-room. Plus, wouldn't his testimony carry less weight if he took a deal?

Heh, I was going to add maybe that's the scheme, to weaken any future case against Cheney by forcing the prosecution to introduce Rove as a turned witness. But I refuse to start speculating from speculation! :)

[coalition_unwilling]

27. Impeach Cheney first (n/t)

[cantstandbush]

15. You really mean that the WH "lied to the public" once again. n/t

[madokie]

16. yep, we've been roved yet again, will it ever stop

[bluescribbler]

19. What I don't understand

Okay, I understand that by telling the truth to the FBI, Rove saved himself from indictment on perjury and related charges. And I understand how lying to the press served the maladministration's purposes of getting The Chimp reselected.

But, if Rove did have that conversation with Novak, and did reveal that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA, and her employment with the CIA was secret, and undercover, why was Rove not indicted for passing classified information to an unauthorized person? :shrug: That, after all, is the real crime which spurred Fitzgerald's investigation. I think there's more here than meets the eye.

[grasswire]

25. if Cheney "declassified" the info, it wasn't a crime

Actually, by their claim of the presidential and vice presidential power to declassify information at will, no crime was committed by Rove. The test would be whether the claim holds up in litigation. But who is going to litigate that?

And remember that when the memo was passed around on AF1, the section where Plame's status is mentioned was marked "classified" IIRC. So there's another wrinkle.

[Canuckistanian]

28. You still can't "declassify" a covert agent.

They can never spin that point.

[jerry611]

21. They dint call Rove "The Architect" for nothing

He knows how to play the political chess game better than anyone

[gordianot]

23. Bush promised "anyone involved with the leak would be fired".

The Chief Executive controls the FBI. Even though Rove is not being charged with a crime he was involved with the leak of Valerie Plame's identity. As I interpret Bush's promise Rove should be fired. If not indicted then fired.

Snow can no longer say that the investigation is on going for Carl Rove.

[Gregorian]

24. Someone should hold a huge sign outside the WH with that.

Edit- I forgot the Weasel changed his wording a couple of days later.

Bush said in June 2004 that he would fire anyone in his administration shown to have leaked information that exposed the identity of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. On Monday, however, he added the qualifier that it would have be shown that a crime was committed.



Americans are showing their stupidity by allowing this clown to stomp on their country.

[Quantess]

29. Kick & Rec

Good article.

[Supersedeas]

30. Lying to the 'Merican people only matters if the Media hears...errr...

registers it.