Thought Theater

Blumenthal Speculates On Rove Legal Troubles genre: Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

According to Sydney Blumenthal, Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has shown new attention to Karl Rove's activities in the Plame leak case. Blumenthal writes: (I have included bold type for emphasis)

Two weeks ago, Fitzgerald filed a motion before the federal court in the Libby case stating that his investigation had proved that the White House engaged in "concerted action" from "a plan to discredit, punish or seek revenge against" former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who revealed that the rationale of the Iraq war was based on false information that the White House knew was bogus. Fitzgerald declared further that he had gathered "evidence that multiple officials in the White House" had outed his wife's clandestine identity to reporters as an element of revenge.

It seems to indicate that Fitzgerald is not solely focused on the case against Scooter Libby. It also seems to insinuate that the leak had political motivations despite the administrations new position that the information was released in "response" to Joe Wilson's remarks. The distinctions are important. Blumenthal continues:

Last week, on April 12, Libby counter-filed to demand extensive documents in the possession of the prosecutor. His filing, written by his lawyers, reveals that he intends to put Karl Rove on the stand as a witness to question him about his leaking of Plame's name to reporters and presumably his role in the "concerted action" against Wilson. In his request for documents from Rove's files, Libby dropped mention of Rove's current legal status.

For months, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has assured the press that his client, who was believed to be vulnerable to indictment for perjury, is in the clear. But Libby insisted that he was entitled to "disclosure of such documents" in Rove's files "even if Mr. Rove remains a subject of a continuing grand jury investigation".

Blumenthal's premise is that through the Libby filings, it appears that Rove's legal status may be evolving from one of providing information to the Prosecutor to being the object of the ongoing investigation. Blumenthal states:

Karl Rove is a subject of Fitzgerald's investigation - this is the headline buried in Libby's filing.

In white-collar criminal investigations, individuals who fall under the gaze of a prosecutor fit into one of three categories: witness, subject or target. Rove's attorney has suggested that Rove is simply a witness. But that is untrue. He is a subject. A subject is someone the prosecutor believes may have committed a crime and is under investigation. If the prosecutor decides he has accumulated sufficient evidence to prove guilt, he will change the designation of that person from subject to target and then indict him or her.

It is reported that the Grand Jury began reviewing the latest Fitzgerald information today. Pursuing the speculation, one might wonder if today's removal of Rove as a policy advisor could possibly be in anticipation of his increasing legal vulnerabilities. Is this the first visible step in a necessary distancing? It may not be long before the reasons become abundantly apparent.