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You are here: Home / Politics / Is Rove Roving The Veep?

Is Rove Roving The Veep?

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Via Raw Story, headlines that tingle your nethers:

Rove said cooperating in CIA leak inquiry

Apparently the steady drip of Cheney-centered WH leaks came from Rove.

Like every internet scoop I strongly recommend that you take the Raw Story piece with an appropriately-sized brick of salt. So with my enthusiasm appropriately tempered, I still found this to be highly amusing:

While these sources did not provide any details regarding what type of arrangements Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin may have made with the special prosecutor’s office, if any, they were able to provide some information regarding what Rove imparted to Fitzgerald’s team. The individuals declined to go on the record out of concern for their jobs.

According to one source close to the case, Rove is providing information on deleted emails, erased hard drives and other types of obstruction by staff and other officials in the Vice President’s office. Pentagon sources close to Rove confirmed this account.

None would name the staffers and/or officials whom Rove is providing information about. They did, however, explain that the White House computer system has “real time backup” servers and that while emails were deleted from computers, they were still retrievable from the backup system. By providing the dates and recipient information of the deleted emails, sources say, Rove was able to chart a path for Fitzgerald directly into the office of the Vice President.

Cue protests that the Wilsons are partisan hacks who had it coming…two…one…

***Update***

…And more from Steve Clemons:

Beneath the Surface on Plame Investigation: Rove and Libby in Deadly Dog Fight

…TWN has confirmed [Raw Story’s] essential points through a source close to Rove

Cool. The only danger that I see out of this is if Rove has an epiphany and joins us lefties in solidarity against the Republicans. Seriously, we don’t want him.

Reader Interactions

32Comments

  2. 2.

    M.A.

    Yeah, I wouldn’t normally trust Raw Story, but Clemons is another matter.

    Since Rove and Libby are essentially proxies for Bush and Cheney (I know Rove is considered Bush’s puppet-master, but I’ve always thought of him more as embodying the vicious bastard that Bush really is inside), should this be considered a proxy war between the Prez and the Veep?

  3. 3.

    DougJ

    I don’t want to sound like a Rove apologist here, but I suspect that the real leaking came from the VP’s office and that while Rove may have done some leaking and may have perjured himself, the real criminal activity occurred in the VP’s office. As much as I would have liked Rove to go down, I’d be a lot happier to see people from the VP’s office — who really did plot to destroy Ms. Plame’s career — go down.

  4. 4.

    M.A.

    I don’t want to sound like a Rove apologist here, but I suspect that the real leaking came from the VP’s office and that while Rove may have done some leaking and may have perjured himself, the real criminal activity occurred in the VP’s office. As much as I would have liked Rove to go down, I’d be a lot happier to see people from the VP’s office—who really did plot to destroy Ms. Plame’s career—go down.

    Agreed. And let’s face it — Rove is only dangerous if people are afraid of him. Stand up to him, the way Feingold and Murtha and other failed attempts of Rovian Swiftboating have done, and he melts away.

  5. 5.

    capelza

    My nethers are positively vibrating…

    I think I’ll explode if this actually brings those vindictive and tratorious bastards down, any one of them…I might even have a cigarette afterwards.

  6. 6.

    Paddy O'Shea

    Ahh, to be Fitzgerald. Not only does he get to witness these world class buffoons ripping each others’ throats out, he will also have the pleasure of bagging whatever parts remain.

    The Bush admin is devolving into a Circus of the Damned.

  7. 7.

    srv

    The only danger that I see out of this is if Rove has an epiphany and joins us lefties in solidarity against the Republicans. Seriously, we don’t want him.

    I don’t know, I think Hillary and Karl would get along pretty well. Most obvious way for Karl to stay in power.

  8. 8.

    Zifnab

    I think I’ll explode if this actually brings those vindictive and tratorious bastards down, any one of them…I might even have a cigarette afterwards.

    Don’t hold your breath. It took three years to bring the axe down on DeLay? And even then, “bring the axe down” translates more to “maybe sorta removing him from power until the media forgets about it”. Somehow I think the VP is going to be an even harder nut to crack. If we had photographic evidence of Dick Cheney eating a live kitten, you couldn’t put this guy away for a class C Misdemeaner.

  9. 9.

    Pb

    As much as I would have liked Rove to go down, I’d be a lot happier to see people from the VP’s office—who really did plot to destroy Ms. Plame’s career—go down.

    Hey, why not both? If they’re guilty, let ’em fry. etc. :)

    It’s Fitzmas… all over… again…

  10. 10.

    neil

    I don’t want to sound like a Rove apologist here,

    No, of course not, DougJ.

    but I suspect that the real leaking came from the VP’s office and that while Rove may have done some leaking and may have perjured himself, the real criminal activity occurred in the VP’s office.

    Seriously, though, this is probably right. Additionally, I think all those people who made bets that Rove would be indicted won’t feel too bad about paying them off if Cheney feels the sharp end of justice.

  11. 11.

    DougJ

    If we had photographic evidence of Dick Cheney eating a live kitten,

    We’d hear about how the cat ran in front of Dick Cheney’s mouth and about how eating cats happens all the time in Red States. If David Gregory ever left Washington, he’s know that. For the coup de grace, the family that owned the cat would publicly apologize to the vice president for the incident.

  12. 12.

    DougJ

    I also think that Rove is primarily a garden variety ass hole, while Cheney is a truly dangerous person. Cheney made the call on Iraq, Cheney was largely responsible for staffing the federal bureacracy with incompetent wingnut whack jobs, and so on.

  13. 13.

    capelza

    Zifnab Says:

    I think I’ll explode if this actually brings those vindictive and tratorious bastards down, any one of them…I might even have a cigarette afterwards.

    Don’t hold your breath. It took three years to bring the axe down on DeLay? And even then, “bring the axe down” translates more to “maybe sorta removing him from power until the media forgets about it”. Somehow I think the VP is going to be an even harder nut to crack. If we had photographic evidence of Dick Cheney eating a live kitten, you couldn’t put this guy away for a class C Misdemeaner.

    Oh I realise that, the “foreplay” has gone on for so long that I am reduced to deciding what colour to paint the ceiling…

    Gettin the traitorous bastards outed in any way shape or form will suffice for now.

  14. 14.

    foolishmortal

    FWIW, Raw Story has a pretty reliable track record. Beyond all doubt a lefty site, but they seem to be interested in doing actual journalism, as opposed to whatever you call what Capitol Hill Blue does.

  15. 15.

    ppGaz

    Pb, please examine my url for signs of an email address and send me an email. I have some information for you.

    Hint, it’s in the upper left part of the home page, in the text.

    thx,PPG

  16. 16.

    LITBMueller

    Hmmmmm… this line from the Raw Story article bugs the crap out of me:

    According to several Pentagon sources close to Rove and others familiar with the inquiry,…

    The Pentagon is Neocon and Cheney-supporter territory.

    Also, Fitzgerald wouldn’t need Rove’s help to find those emails at all (unless Rove is some sort of big computer nerd or something) – he’d talk to the people who run the White House computer systems, get stuff off of hardrives from the relevant dates, etc., etc.

  17. 17.

    Steve

    Jane says:

    RE: Rove story

    I’ve put in a number of calls to try and confirm it. Everyone I’ve talked to — people who are quite well informed and have been very good sources of information on Plame in the past — are extremely skeptical it is true.

    I don’t know who the sources are for the story so I can’t say for sure, for all I know it is absolutely valid. But until I can get somebody to give me a bit more insight into this story, it doesn’t fit with what I know and I don’t think we’ll be getting into it.

  18. 18.

    don surber

    Rove has cooperated all along with 4 appearances before the grand jury

    As a journalist, I still protest the investigation of this leak. NYT sold out for partisan (anti-Bush) reasons and it bit NYT in the bottom

  19. 19.

    Bob In Pacifica

    Take “raw story” stories with a brick of salt? As opposed to what? FOX News? NYT or WaPo? I’m trying to figure out what Raw Story information has been so off-line?

    Real compared to what?

  21. 21.

    Pooh

    If we had photographic evidence of Dick Cheney eating a live kitten,

    We’d hear about how the cat ran in front of Dick Cheney’s mouth and about how eating cats happens all the time in Red States. If David Gregory ever left Washington, he’s know that. For the coup de grace, the family that owned the cat would publicly apologize to the vice president for the incident.

    Anything to give me another excuse to link here is a Good Thing. Thanks guys.

  22. 22.

    Steve

    I’m confused. Last week Jane was as bad as Anne Coulter …

    I realize John Cole is often confused with Tim F., but this may be the first time he was ever mistaken for me.

  23. 23.

    Vladi G

    As a journalist, I still protest the investigation of this leak. NYT sold out for partisan (anti-Bush) reasons and it bit NYT in the bottom

    It appears Don has gone off his meds and reverted to stupid mode again.

  24. 24.

    Ancient Purple

    Not to worry, kids.

    Only a little more patience and we will have Stormy or Al or Darrell or MacBuckets chiming in swearing that Joe Wilson outted his own wife and Fitzgerald REALLY is going to be indicting him soon.

    Patience, young Jedis.

  25. 25.

    Punchy

    Steve–

    Clemons is dead-on, everytime. The guy’s got credibility in spades. He’s not hyperbolic, he’s incredibly well-sourced, and he seems quite level-headed and thought out. Despite what FDL’s site says, I’ll take TWN’s sources and cred any day. I cannot remember the last time he was wrong about this kind of thing.

  27. 27.

    DougJ

    It appears Don has gone off his meds and reverted to stupid mode again.

    Don’s the best rightie around here. Don’t scare him off.

  28. 28.

    Paul Wartenberg

    Agreed. And let’s face it—Rove is only dangerous if people are afraid of him. Stand up to him, the way Feingold and Murtha and other failed attempts of Rovian Swiftboating have done, and he melts away.

    Problem: Rove’s not gone yet.

  29. 29.

    CaseyL

    We’ll see. I’m not 100% clear on what Rove’s motive is supposed to be here.

    Keeping his own fat ass out of jail is probably Job One.

    Remember, Fitzgerald was about to indict him on lying to investigators, if not perjury, but a last-minute meeting with Ruskin changed his mind. The original theory was the miraculously-remembered and -recovered email regarding Rove’s convos with Matt Cooper, which gave Rove protective cover against lying/perjury charges.

    Now it seems that what made Fitzgerald pause wasn’t a single email, but a revelation that there were 250 emails he hadn’t gotten that he should have – which, apparently, point directly to Cheney’s involvement in Le Affaire Plame.

    That’s exactly how Fitzgerald works: he flips smaller fish (threat to indict Rove) to catch bigger ones (Rove gives him 250 emails incriminating Cheney).

    Rove, remember, has no loyalty to anyone but himself, and maybe to the Bush Family, as his sponsors. He has no reason to protect Cheney, who is no longer a political asset to anyone.

  30. 30.

    don surber

    Oh I am well aware of the difference between John Cole and Tim F. This week Jane Hamscher, good guy (FWIW, I thought Jane did a great job on the Cheney-gotta-gun story

    Hey guys, Moussaoui just said he an the shoe bomber were supposed to grab a fifth plane on 9/11 and blow up the White House — which leads me to …

    http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/17394leg20040514.html

    ” By eliminating this foreign power requirement, this so-called “lone wolf” provision would violate the Fourth Amendment and allow secret wiretaps of non-U.S. persons outside criminal “probable cause” standards and without the government having to show they are connected to a foreign government or terrorist group. While some have argued the “lone wolf” provision is needed to respond to the government’s failure to obtain a FISA warrant in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui, Congress’s own joint 9-11 inquiry specifically rejected that conclusion, finding that government agents “misunderstood the legal standard for obtaining an order under FISA.”

    Dum-de-dum-de-dum-de-dum

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