Murray Waas Says VandeHei Can Take a Victory Lap

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Murray Waas has a new article up at the National Journal that appears to clear much of the murkiness up about what Rove testified to in his fifth appearance before the grand jury. It seems that in the Shuster/VandeHei Steel Cage Death Match, VandeHei might be the winner. But I for one am having an awfully difficult time putting together a chronology of events based on this account, and if this is all Rover’s got, it’s looking like Orange Jumpsuit Time.

It also looks like it’s going to turn into Rove versus Cooper:

In several hours of testimony, Rove was again asked how he learned three years ago that Plame worked for the CIA, and the circumstances of how he relayed that information to Cooper, according to people familiar with his testimony.

Rove also testified to the grand jury that when he told Cooper that Plame worked at the agency, he was only passing along unverified gossip.

In contrast, Cooper has testified that Rove told him in a phone conversation on July 11, 2003, that Plame worked for the CIA and played a role in having the agency select her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, to make a fact-finding trip to Niger in 2002.

Cooper has also testified that Rove, as well as a second source — I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, then-chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney — portrayed the information about Plame as accurate and authoritative. Cooper has testified that based on his conversations with Rove and Libby, he felt confident enough about the information to identify Plame as a CIA officer in a July 17 Time story.

As I mentioned last night, it appears that Libby initially testified that he was the first one to tell Cooper about Plame (when in fact Rove spoke with Cooper on July 11, 2003 then Libby confirmed on July 12) and it’s quite possible Libby was covering for Rove in some sort of coordinated story.
http://www.firedoglake.com/

Why Rove Testified For A Fifth Time
http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0428nj1.htm