Jason Leopold's Fitz Story updated: It's HUGH!!!

[blitzen]

if it's true....

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Prosecutor_secures_indictment_in_CIA_outing_1027.html


Fitzgerald intended to announce that he had secured indictments against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, and Karl Rove, President Bush's deputy chief of staff, Wednesday afternoon as well as two people who work outside of the administration, those close to the case said.

But his office was contacted late Tuesday by attorneys representing figures outside the White House, lawyers said, who expressed interest in entering into plea talks with the prosecutor. Several have agreed to enter into last-minute plea negotiations with Fitzgerald in exchange for providing testimony that could result in criminal charges being brought against additional officials inside the White House, they added.

Rove was offered a deal when his lawyer met with Fitzgerald Tuesday, but did not accept, the sources said. Fitzgerald has sought indictments to charge Rove with perjury and obstruction of justice, they asserted.

An eleventh-hour deal could help Fitzgerald "build a strong case against some very senior officials in the office of the vice president," one attorney said.

"Mr. Fitzgerald is extremely thorough," the lawyer remarked. "He had advised Judge Hogan more than two weeks ago that there was a strong possibility that some defendants may be inclined to cooperate at the last minute."

[Jim__]

1. I hope that's right !

[NewInNewJ.]

2. Well, the noose is tightening!

[Inland]

3. The "truth" thing is always the nub

Not paying much attention to the rumors.

[Halliburton]

4. i don't like Karl getting off with perjury

he deserves to be indicted for conspiracy at least!!

[blitzen]

9. but if Karl pleads then he'll have to quit his job....

If he fights the charge Bush will say "innocent until proven guilty"

[tulsakatz]

18. but if he admits he's guilty,

they won't have to prove he's not! When you confess, it's not necessary to prove anything else.

[trogdor]

30. So he quits. Big deal.

He controls the Presidential meat puppet from an undisclosed location.

[On the Road]

37. Nailing Him (or Anyone) with Conspiracy

requires that the leak is shown to violate specific criminal statutes, which apparently is not a sure thing. I suspect Fitzgerald is indicting now for the sure thing (perjury) and keeping the conspiracy option open as a threat while waiting for additional testimony to nail the criminal charge.

[SodoffBush]

5. Read Leopold with a large dose of skepticism

Personal experience. 'Nuff said.

[VolcanoJen]

6. This is SERIES!!111111

Seriously... it is. Wow.

It also seems to go along with this mornings Washington Post story, that reported Rove's aides scrambling to avoid indictments...

[tk2kewl]

7. I don't see Rove or Libby giving up higher level officials

they'll take the fall, wit for the dust to settle and get the pardons somewhere down the line

no way they give up cheney or bush

[nolabels]

36. The threat few years in the slam might convince lower levels though

After reading a except of that prosecutors bio I kind of think Fitz is not that easily fooled. Some could be getting nervous about what the others let loose around them. At any rate it seems like even Rove is getting played like an fine instrument. Apolitical law enforcement officials can do that to corrupt party hacks

[FreedomAngel82]

8. I hope it's right too!

Wow. And I wonder what the deal with Rove was.

[Fridays Child]

10. B*sh loyalists probably threatened to torture Rove's wife and kid...

...if he took a deal.

[beam me up scottie]

11. "if it's true...."

There's the rub.

[Stephanie]

12. Cheney

I like this story. I hope it's true.

[brooklynite]

13. Fitzgerald is indicting Hugh Grant?

That would be huge news...

[JuniperLea]

32. Freeper fun...

hugh = huge in freeperspeak:)

[Arugula Latte]

41. Series = Serious in Freeperspeak as well

They're both often followed by !!11!1 as the Freep typing does not press down consistently on the Caps Lock key when adding exclamation points.

BTW, "Moran" is the way we spell Moron here ... came from a photo of a Freep holding a pro-Iraq War sign saying "Get a Brain! Morans"

[papau]

14. Jason Leopold's been a truth teller for a long time - indeed the "evil"

that was done to Jason (a source was flipped so that his Army Sec scandal lost those emails he was depending on - and he got fired) should be a book or movie on GOP control of the media - and just about everything else.

He has a Standard Column on DUer Tate's World News Trust site and is picked up by the same folks that broke the Black Box voting scandal - that our media still ignores.

[Straight Shooter]

15. I have found Leopold to be consistent for truth and veracity. n/t

[tulsakatz]

16. that's why he got more office space!!

He's going to investigate the forged documents!!

[cassiepriam]

17. I agree, it 's Let's Make A Deal Time. Fitz still meeting w/Luskin.

[underpants]

19. Okay NOW I am excited

I am still weary but that was fun to read

[Oilwellian]

20. I saw this interesting comment on DKos

What's holding things up is that Rove wants a deal (4.00 / 8)

Rove's attorney is pushing his client to take a deal. Rove has been in denial, but Luskin is impressing upon Rove his many years of experience and his own observations of Rove's likely chances at trial. Fitz is willing to wait until the end of today to get Rove to plead guilty to perjury. A guilty plea puts Rove in jail, makes him a witness for the prosecution, gives immediate legitimacy to Fitzgerald's investigation and silences the GOP. It also takes Rove out of the White House, eliminates his security credentials and ends any chance that there will be another war in Bush's term, because there will be no one to sell it. If Fitzgerald has to wait 12-16 hours to get that done, that's ok by me.

by khyber900 on Thu Oct 27, 2005 at 09:12:15 AM PDT

[Mr_Spock]

22. Me likey!

Rove needs to get some soap-on-a-rope :D

[SupplyConcerns]

27. I'm betting Rove will stay loyal

You never know, but he'll probably end up doing what's in Bush's interests as much as possible. The question remains of whether Rove feels any loyalty to Cheney.

[liberalla]

39. Rove will...

Rove will just wait and get pardoned by b*sh...

maybe that's why he's flip-resistant?

Believe me, I love the scenario described by khyber900 in post #20 above:

"A guilty plea puts Rove in jail, makes him a witness for the prosecution, gives immediate legitimacy to Fitzgerald's investigation and silences the GOP. It also takes Rove out of the White House, eliminates his security credentials and ends any chance that there will be another war in Bush's term, because there will be no one to sell it. If Fitzgerald has to wait 12-16 hours to get that done, that's ok by me."

it just seems unlikely that he'll go for it...

[rainbow4321]

34. Rove is in denial cuz his boss always seems to get away with shit

So he probably still thinks they will still squirm their way out of this mess. Plus he may have been waiting for the Miers' story to fill the airwaves, a "terror attack", or for this to be one of those Friday afternoon newscycle dumps before he caves.

[A Simple Game]

43. He also has that signed presidential pardon,

that somehow got slipped into a pile of papers for * to sign the other day.

[Mr_Spock]

21. Bone-us!

I hope he nails someone to the wall. Criminals. Republicans.

[MellowOne]

23. If these three are indicted

During the trials, don't you believe the truth will come out about Bush as well? He wanted a war, he fixed intelligence to get his illegal war, won't that come out?

[Catherine Vincent]

24. And you folks wonder why some of us are smitten with the Fitz!

*swoon*

[progressoid]

25. Your rite thats real HUGH!!!111!!

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. Where does the buck stop?

Oh never mind. I'm always setting my sights too high.

[gulfcoastliberal]

28. Will there finally be some accountability in the "accountability admin"?

So far their accounting has been more Arthur Anderson than anything else. Nail these pig fucks and help us get our country back!

[Festivito]

29. Will they trade Cheney and Bush for years on a teather?

Ohhh, I imagine they are hot-footing at the last minute trying to see if they can get Fitz off his game.

Lots of testimony from you guys, says Fitz. One screw-up and you'll be back into Bubba for decades, er, opposite Bubba into them ... well, that might be a plus for Rove and Libby .. butt I digress .. ahhhhh!

[JuniperLea]

31. No wonder this whole deal is taking so long

I can't wait to see the full dance once the choreographers are done with the final adjustments;)

[NervousRex]

33. Who's Hugh?

...a new indictee? Did I miss something? :shrug:

[Stephanie]

35. He's just a Moran from FR

[pacalo]

38. Cutest question I've read in awhile...

"Hugh" (for "huge") is one of the words we use in mocking the freepers' spelling habits.

"Moran" (for "moron") is another.

:hi:

[Sydnie]

40. Shirley this IS getting SERIES!!!11

I find myself holding my breath, hoping and praying that these crooks will get the full book thrown at them!

Rove, making a deal or being found guilty, would signal the removal of the feeding tube for the GOP. They will be "brain dead".

[ms liberty]

42. This part is most interesting...

"But his office was contacted late Tuesday by attorneys representing figures outside the White House, lawyers said, who expressed interest in entering into plea talks with the prosecutor. Several have agreed to enter into last-minute plea negotiations with Fitzgerald in exchange for providing testimony that could result in criminal charges being brought against additional officials inside the White House, they added"

The paragraph before this one mentions "two people who work outside of the administration" as being indicted. But the paragraph I snipped sounds like there are people coming forward to deal who were not those two...the word several is used, several is always more than two. This sounds like perhaps some people who knew something, thought they could be indicted, and couldn't stand the heat anymore.
Hmmmm...

It will be interesting to see if this is accurate.


Happy Fitzmas, everyone! It may be the gift that keeps on giving!