Rove Aide Called to Testify Took His Messages

[freedomburn]

ROVE AIDE CALLED TO TESTIFY TOOK HIS MESSAGES

John Byrne


A former senior aide to Bush adviser Karl Rove who reportedly gave testimony to a grand jury investigating the leaking of a CIA agent's identity answered phones and took Rove's messages, RAW STORY has discovered.

According to a 2004 Salon piece, she also had a role with one of conservative Washington's leading men, Grover Norquist, in which she took messages for Rove and called Norquist to screen callers.

"For two years, the assistant who answered Rove's phone was a woman who had previously worked for lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a close friend of Norquist's and a top DeLay fundraiser," Salon reported. "One Republican lobbyist, who asked not to be named because DeLay and Rove have the power to ruin his livelihood, said the way Rove's office worked was this: 'Susan took a message for Rove, and then called Grover to ask if she should put the caller through to Rove. If Grover didn't approve, your call didn't go through.'"

.........

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/ROVE_AIDE_CALLED_TO_TESTIFY_TOOK_HIS_MESS_0802.html

[The Night Owl]

1. Wow! Grover and Rover sitting in a tree.

I-N-D-I-C-T-M-E-N-T-S.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. What a perfect pair

No wonder Judith was running to Global Relief Foundation to tip them off about that FBI raid.

[Shakespeare]

13. And throw Abramoff in to make things really fun.

What an incestuous, dirty bunch.

[htuttle]

2. Well, there's a nice little snapshot of the VRWC

They sure look funny in the bright light, don't they?

Rove is working for Grover Norquist? Now THAT is interesting. Have to take a look at my org charts again...I wasn't certain which way the arrow went.

[CordellHull]

3. Wow

This could be huge.

[bejammin075]

15. Why? I really don't get it.

Why does this mean anything?
What difference does it make if Norquist screens Rove's calls?
Please someone explain why this is of any significance?

We already expect Norquist and Rove to have identical ideology. That one screens calls for the other...means...what...exactly???

[msanthrope]

4. This links up with the Norquist/Miller connections described

by Josh Marshall in re: leaks to Islamic Charities....


http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/7/1148/62336

[freedomburn]

6. Great link. Thank you for that. The plot thickens...

It seems that there is a history between Mr. Fitzgerald and Judith Miller. I wonder what he knows about Miller's relationship to the White House that we all don't already know. And what does Chalabi have to do with it all? Is he more than just a tangential character here? He seems so involved in the intrigues of the Iraq war amd the lies about the non-existent WMD. This gets better and better...


::Goes to pop some popcorn::

[freedomburn]

7. More on this from ABC news sources. Stakeout at the "CIA Leak" Grand Jury

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/8/2/123052/6027

So, who's been testifying?

Based on ABC News sources (and our own video camera) it appears that at least two witnesses testified before the grand jury last Friday, both close associates of Karl Rove.

ABC News has learned that one was Susan Ralston, Rove's long-time right hand. The other, per ABC News' Jake Tapper, was Israel "Izzy" Hernandez, Rove's former left hand (and now a top Commerce Department official). It isn't clear if either had been asked to testify before last week. (The Note)

"The appearances of Ralston and Hernandez suggests at least part of the focus ," writes The Note, "remains on Rove, although his attorney tells ABC News that he still believes Rove is not a target of the investigation."

First, who is Susan Ralston? Thanks to a DKos diary posted by Jesselee on July 2, 2005, we know a bit more ...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/2/194449/0588


SUSAN RALSTON:

... ties to the White House extended well beyond money. When top Bush adviser Karl Rove was looking for an assistant in early 2001, Abramoff suggested his own top aide, Susan Ralston. She remains one of Rove's top deputies. At the same time, Bush tapped Abramoff as member of his Presidential Transition Team, advising the administration on policy and hiring at the Interior Department, which oversees Native American issues. (MSNBC, via Jesselee's diary)

[freedomburn]

8. Bumpa bumpa

[Mabus]

18. Izzy and Susan

Izzy Hernandez

President Bush isn't letting potential howls from the Christian right stop him from nominating an openly gay man as assistant secretary of commerce.

Just in time for Pride Week, Bush has tapped longtime aide Israel Hernandez for the post, which also carries the title of director general of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service.

<snip>
Mike Rogers, whose blogactive.com covers gay political issues, was disappointed that Hernandez didn't mention his partner.

"You know, if he were married to a woman and she was there, he would specifically mention her," Rogers told us. "Why are people like Izzy Hernandez pushing their spouses and loved ones into the closet when so many have gone before him and stood openly and proudly? This is typical of the Bush administration and its anti-gay, anti-safe-sex agenda."

http://www.blogactive.com/2005/06/izzy-or-iznt-he-rush-and-malloy-call.html


Susan Ralston

As Rove’s executive assistant, she described her typical 13- to 15-hour work day as tough. Her job, she said, include "assisting her boss in strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison and inter-governmental affairs efforts at the White House."
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/pe/pe003369.htm

I guess Susan was testifying about those "inter-governmental affairs efforts at the White House" that she and Rove worked on.
:spray:
:rofl:

[tyedyeto]

9. Rove and Norquist

Two peas in a pod.

But do you ever notice how Abramoff's name is bandied about more and more? Will he be the fall guy? Or is it just coincindental that his name keeps popping up with the Plame issue and with the 'Hammer' (Delay) fundraising issues?

[havocmom]

10. kick

:kick:

[freedomburn]

11. Dig the linkages man. Read the NYT piece and the Kos stuff too.

[bejammin075]

12. SO WHAT???

I just don't get it. I read the Raw Story article. Can somebody explain in basic terms why this has any significance at all? So Norquist helps screen Rove's calls. Why is this relevant to the CIA leak case? Does any of this information even hint at anything illegal?

[Catrina]

16. That's for the Grand Jury to decide

What it does show though, is how this whole cabal of suspicious characters is inter-connected. It's not like any other presidency I can think of. This president came with a vast network of people, none of whom were elected (nor was he, imo) but who, once they got a puppet in the WH, got their hands on the country, on our military, and until this investigation, were operating behind the scenes, influencing policy, such as illegal wars and legislation that has not been beneficial to the American people.

Norquist having ties to Rove, who is the president's brain, makes me more than nervous. This is the man who said the opposition party need to be treated like dogs or farmyard animals. Once they learned their place, then they would settle down and accept it. That's his take on the Constitutional position of the minority party!

Any light that shines as these shady characters can only be of benefit to the people of the US. What the Special Prosecutor is looking for, is the leaker. If anyone was part of the chain of individuals used to cover up for the leaker, then they too are part of the investigation.

My feeling is, if Rove's assistant checked with Norquist before putting calls through, it is reasonable to assume that he might have been part of that chain that was meant to distance the leaker from the leak. I wonder if he has been before the Grand Jury yet? Maybe now he will be.

I think that is the significance of the story. The SP may want him before the GJ, but needed a connection? Just speculating of course ~ but you asked. :-)

[bejammin075]

17. Inter-connectedness is not a crime

Imagine the tables are turned (just making up an example):

The GOP discovers that Nanci Pelosi's former aide is working for Madeline Albright. Who cares?

Or Al Gore had his calls screened by David Brock. Who cares?

Furthermore, why is anybody surprised at all that Norquist is close with Rove and the president? Isn't that totally expected? If you were to ask me, before this story broke, "is Norquist very close to the Bush admin", I would have said, "Yes, almost certainly. They're probably Best Friends Forever."

So now we find out Norquist screened Rove's calls. So what? We already know there is all kinds of inter-connectedness in the GOP elite. I'm more interested in the facts that show crimes were committed.

[Supersedeas]

14. big bidness controlling access to the WH....NO WAY!!!! Yes, chaaa-ching