Bloomberg Reporting: Rove, Libby may be facing perjury charges

[Imagevision]

Bloomberg article which is reporting that Karl Rove, senior adviser to the President and deputy chief of staff, and Lewis Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, are being investigated for having lied to a federal grand jury about how they learned the identity of a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame.
Rove, Libby Accounts in CIA Case Differ With Those of Reporters.
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/21/breaking-bloomberg-...

[UT troll]

1. here is the *actual* Bloomberg link:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=an7SakVWGrTQ&refer=us

"Fitzgerald is exploring whether other White House officials on the trip may have gained access to the memo and shared its contents with officials back in Washington. Rove and Libby didn't accompany Bush to Africa."

[jaxx]

2. It's all tying together now......cover up upon cover up.

[skip fox]

3. Will Rove retire on a hot Friday summer afternoon?

He orchestrated the KNOWING and DELIBERATE leak of a covert CIA official, one whose identity the agency was actively concealing.

Each new piece of evidence suggests that a number of administrative officials will face multiple indictments in the leak of Plame's identity. Rove will receive probably more than one.

1. The inanity and hysteria of the RNC's (and others') spinning has been noted by reporters across the nation as indicative a party which "off its game." Expecting a terrible outcome, they were stalling for time, hoping the Supreme Court Nominee would bump the story off the front pages. (For a day it did . . . until Walter Pincus's story yesterday about classifications on the State Department memo sent to Air Force One.) Al Franken told us yesterday (7/21) that after some difficulty he was able to demonstrate to the RNC staff that the story on their web-site which states Wilson claimed the Vice President sent him to Niger was simply false, a lie (showing the context for Wilson's quote yet again). What was the RNC's reaction? "We're standing by it." Simple as that. My point it, when they are willing to be so consciously and blatantly dissembling in public (which can be used against them), that they are very distressed about the future.

2. We know there were at least 6 initial reporters contacted (including Novak, Miller, Cooper, and Pincus) and that 3 of those contacted called at least one secondary source the confirm the story (Cooper implies he had more than single confirming source named as Scooter Libby). We know that Cooper's initial source (Rove) specifically released him, but that Miller's would not do so for her. Since we already know Novak's initial source is Libby, there would be no reason him not to release Miller if he were her source (unless the crime was more obvious). Therefore we know that there were two (Libby and Rove) initial sources and probably at least another. Already we are deeply into the terrain of collaboration. But when we realize that to have 3 confirming sources available, since the "conspiracy" (it becomes the unavoidable word) could not insure who the reporters would call to confirm their stories, they had to have several primed (ready and willing to confirm) (Of course a confirming source for one reporter could be a primary course for another.)
Impossible to accomplish these 9 (or 9+) calls by at least 2, probably 3 or more initial caller, with others ready to confirm, without coordination. It wouldn't be rocket science for the Rove's Machiavellian machine he calls a mind, and it would be Rove of all people in the group of officials (probably largely composed of the White House Iraq Group) would direct (mastermind) the entire, making sure no two officials attempted to act as an initial source for a single reporter (that would appear too eager), that the story be believable (pitched nonchalantly, briefly), that the story is given in slightly different forms, and that the confirming sources were in place and with the story somewhat different in non-substantive matters (so it doesn't sound like story leaked by rote.) Therefore it was deliberately leaked.

3. We know Rove has had multiple visits by the FBI and to the grand jury. The implication is as loud as it gets.


4. The State Department memo, said to be at least one origin of the information concerning the Plame-Wilson-Niger connection and reputedly of high interest to the grand jury, was reported by Wlater Pincus yesterday to me clearly marked "S" for "Secret." Today's reports in fact indicate it was marked "TS," "Top Secret." Therefore the official who disseminated the identity from this source was highly aware that the CIA was actively trying to conceal Plame's identity. Therefore it was knowingly leaked.

Therefore, RNC's spin, the numbers of callers, the deliberate and repetitive acts, Rove's visits with FBI and grand jury, and the knowing intent behind the leak = Rove will go down in Plames. Likely he is guilty of leaking (with knowledge), leading a conspiracy to leak, and perjury.

There's no way out of this for Rove. The best he can hope for is the softest landing t5hat does the least damage for other officials and the Republican Party. (On a hot summer afternoon?)