Walking the White House plank: Sidney Blumenthal from Comment is free

[TheBaldyMan]

Today in the UK's GuardianOnline Sidney Blumenthal sieves through the Scott McLellan resignation story and finds a nugget of pure gold.

After damning Scotty with faint praise calling him a flea on the windshield of history he mentions the beleagured WH and their other troubles, such as Monday's outcome of Operation Safe Roads in Chicago, IL. Culminating in the conviction on 18 counts of corruption of Republican governor G. Ryan. This leads him on to Fitzgerald's continuing investigation into the illegal exposure of an undercover CIA agent. The request for documents from Fitzgerald's team by Libby's attorneys give a titbit that must give every decent and upstanding citizen a warm feeling inside ...

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".

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.

Having successfully completed his most extensive investigation and prosecution, ending with the conviction of former Governor Ryan, Patrick Fitzgerald returns to the unresolved case before him. The federal grand jury considering his evidence began meeting again this morning. Karl Rove remains a subject--for now.

I hope Karl likes prison food.

[FloridaPat]

1. Poor * is going to have to spend days writing out his pardon list.

[TheBaldyMan]

2. :rofl: