Thought Theater

Fitzmas Cancelled: Rove Won't Be Charged (Update) genre: Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

Update:

Now that Karl Rove appears to be in the clear, the attempts to add the meaningful footnotes to the entire situation have begun. Many on the right have expressed the concern that the reputation of Karl Rove has been irreparably damaged. Many on the left have sought to make the point that while Rove has not been charged with a crime, he is clearly guilty of unethical behavior that simply couldn't be formulated into an indictment.

Unfortunately, the presumption that Karl Rove cares about his "reputation" is a bit of a misnomer. The only reputation Rove is concerned with is the one that notes his prowess to win elections and wield political power.

Much as those on the left have a tendency to misunderstand the counterintuitive nature of his methods, those on the right are defending the honor of a man who long ago realized that those in power command honor whether they have earned it or not.

I'd suggest that Karl Rove doesn't feel the least bit diminished...in fact, if I were to venture a guess, he's grinning ear to ear at once again having been able to navigate complex waters...lose a few battles...while all the while remaining focused on winning the war.

Now I'm betting that's a reputation he is happy to hold.

_______________________________________________________________
Original Posting:

Patrick Fitzgerald, ending months of speculation, sent a letter to Karl Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, advising that his client will not be charged in the Valerie Plame leak case. The New York Times has the full article here.

The decision by the prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, announced in a letter to Mr. Rove's lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, lifted a pall that had hung over Mr. Rove who testified on five occasions to a federal grand jury about his involvement in the disclosure of an intelligence officer's identity.

In a statement, Mr. Luskin said, "On June 12, 2006, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald formally advised us that he does not anticipate seeking charges against Karl Rove."

Mr. Fitzgerald's spokesman, Randall Samborn, said he would not comment on Mr. Rove's status.

In Mr. Rove's case, Mr. Fitzgerald centered his inquiry on why Mr. Rove did not admit early in the investigation that he had a conversation with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper about Ms. Wilson and whether Mr. Rove was forthcoming about the later discovery of an internal e-mail message that confirmed his conversation with Mr. Cooper, to whom Mr. Rove had mentioned the existence of the C.I.A. officer.

The announcement appears to indicate that the indictment of Scooter Libby will be the only one resulting from the much publicized incident. The clearing of Rove will allow him to focus his full attention on his newly defined duties to lead the Republican efforts to retain control of the House and Senate. This has to be good news for the Bush administration.

Comments

1 On June 13, 2006 at 5:55 PM, Archie wrote —

I don't know much legalese, but "do not anticipate" is not an airtight "will not" in regular English. Perhaps Fitzgerald is trying to lower the heat, as it's been rumoured lately that the Bush administration might try a "Saturday Night Massacre" and remove Fitzgerald from the case.

Just a possibility.

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Receive email notification of further comments.

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Type the word blog below (required):

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry

© Copyright 2025