Molly Ivins: Karl Rove, the CIA and the Media ("...reeks of Rove")

[Anywho6]

Molly Ivins

Karl Rove, the CIA, and the media
July 14, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas -- As the judge in the Judith Miller-Matt Cooper case said, it just gets "curiouser and curiouser."

For starters, Judy Miller of The New York Times, who never wrote a word about Valerie Plame, is in prison, while Robert Novak, who broke the story and printed the name, may be weekending at his posh house on Fenwick Island, Del.

Meanwhile, a truly phenomenal case study in the art of spin has been launched on behalf of Karl Rove, aka Bush's brain, now that we know he was Cooper's source on the Plame affair. We have long known that Rove made the repulsive statement to a reporter that Plame, a former CIA undercover operative, was "fair game." Rove was out to smear her husband, Joseph Wilson, who told the truth about Bush's phony claim that Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium in Niger. What. A. Mess.

According to The Washington Post: "Republicans mounted an aggressive and coordinated defense of Karl Rove Tuesday, contending that the White House's top political adviser did nothing improper or illegal when he discussed a covert CIA official with a reporter. ... The emerging GOP strategy -- devised by (Ken) Mehlman (chair of the Republican National Committee) and other Rove loyalists outside the White House -- is to try to undermine those Democrats calling for Rove's ouster, play down Rove's role and wait for President Bush's forthcoming Supreme Court selection to drown out the controversy, according to several high-level Republicans."

MORE...

<http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/1/2005/1166>

[Demeter]

1. Good Job, Molly!

What this country needs is 50 more of you! One for each state and to spare.

[Dudley_DUright]

2. The original will want to stay in TX

since she seems to like it there. Lots of characters and corruption to report on.

[skip fox]

3. She's onto it! Rove and at least one other will go down in plames.

I think the fury and the ridiculousness of the Republic spin indicates they know the final report will indicate serious wrong-doing on the part of at leaast two individuals. I'd guess three (Rove, Cheney, & Libby) as initial sources and one or more for confirmation sources.

There may also be indictments concerning the law in question or other laws that disallow use of classified information for political purposes. My guess? Rove and at least one other official will be indicted.

Now we know Rove is both a main source (for Cooper) and a confirming source for another (Novak, from whom he got Plame's name). With 6 initial sources and at least 3 confirming sources (both as reported), someone would have to coordinate the operation, assuring the initial callers that no two called the same source, that no one was overly eager, but would "drop it in," and a number of other officials would be ready and willing to confirm.


Therefore at least 2 people(Rove and Novak's initial source, perhaps Scooter Libby if today's reports pan out) served as main sources. (The fact that one source released Cooper from his agreement of confidentiality but one source did not release Miller also suggests at least 2 sources.) Rove would have to coordinate! To establish guidelines like: No source should call another's contact, Pitch the information off hand, not as the main subject, Make the contact think the source is trying to do him or her a favor ("Don't go too far out on this Wilson thing, I don't want you burnt."), etc. AND Rove would have had to field a group of officials to support the sources stories.

I say Rove coordinated because it is obvious he did so since anyone in the administration in possession of the Plame-Wilson-CIA link would have gone straight to the world master of deceitful politics, and now we know Rove was at least one of the leakers.

So, we could have at least 2 indictments for Rove (exposing and conspiring to expose) and (perhaps) 1 or more indictments for others (Novak and/or Miller's source). Not to mention exposure of those who condoned and confirmed the exposure.

I think the great thing we have going for us on this case is Patrick Fitzgerald. By all accounts a fine prosecutor.


Wow.