Resignations of Karl Rove & Alberto Gonzales Linked?

[David Zephyr]

A friend of mine tells me that it is no coincidence that Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales both exited the White House at essentially the same time. He says...

Since the Attorney General's problems sprang from his covering up Karl Rove's violation of the Hatch Act and Rove's deciding who was to be fired and hired in the Justice Department, that Gonzales told Bush clearly that he wouldn't take a bullet for Rove the way that Scooter had and that his potential perjury problems all were caused by Rove's meddling in his department. "I'll go only after Rove goes," my friend says Alberto told George.

Of course, Gonzales, like Rove, knows all the dirt on George W. Bush from the Texas days to his crimes in Washington, D.C. And yet, it was Gonzales, not Rove who Republicans were pushing to resign.

And so the big surprise of Karl Rove's departure was followed only one week later by that of Gonzales.

This explanation is as good as any other put forward and actually has a ring of truth to it. And if so...

It's no wonder that Karl Rove's position was not "filled" after his departure. Rove left the White House to appease Gonzales, but Rove is still calling the shots at the White House by phone. And he was just there again the last few days to "pick up his Jaguar".

Conclusion: Karl Rove is still the political operations manager and policy go-to-man for George W. Bush. He's just not on the White House payroll anymore, which begs the question: who is paying him now?

[sam sarrha]

1. Randi Rhodes says we will charge them in criminal court after the election so they cant be pardoned

[David Zephyr]

2. I hope Randi is right.

These guys are criminals.

[valerief]

4. They'll get pretend-dead by then. nt

[Virginia Dare]

7. I predict Cheney will do a Kenny-boy Lay...n/t

[valerief]

9. I'd bet my money, if I had any, on it. nt

[mwb970]

12. Why can't Cheney just make his Final Exit now?

Personally, I'm done with him.

[indepat]

3. Well if a 100-billion-dollar-or-so slush fund has not been amassed for such contingencies,

surely a good chance has been missed considering the amount of Iraqi funding with virtually no accountability attached thereto.

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. That's what Mike Allen, from Politico, said on C-SPAN the other day. "It's no coincidence that

KKKRove and Gonzales are leaving at the same time."

I don't believe for one minute that KKKRove isn't working his magic via his Blackberry.:( I'd love to know who's paying him too! It needs to be investigated.

[David Zephyr]

8. Maybe that's where my friend heard it, in_cog_ni_to

It sure makes sense to me. Probably a Saudi slush fund.

[Virginia Dare]

13. Just a guess, it originates from the Carlyle Group...n/t

[lynnertic]

6. on what authority does your friend say this?

is your friend working from the same facts we have and drawing a (fascinating) conclusion, or does your friend have some information that we don't?

Thanks

[David Zephyr]

10. See in_cog_ni_to's post #5 above.

Sounds like he might have heard Mike Allen on C-SPAN. After he told me that, I got to thinking about the the symbiotic and tangled careers of both Rove & Gonzales and the striking "co-incidence" of timing of their exits, and it just seems logical.

Mostly, my friend astutely pointed out (I don't know if he heard this from Mike Allen or not because I didn't hear the C-SPAN program) that Rove's directing the hiring and firing of Justice Attorneys was a clear felony and violation of the Hatch Act and that the only way to protect Rove would require Gonzales to continue to perjure himself and to hide Rove's thousands of e-mails which is obstruction of justice.

It makes sense:

BUSH: Come on, Alberto, you are going to have to leave. You really screwed up in the hearings with the Senate. You looked like an idiot there. No one in the GOP supports you and you are a drag on the White House. We are friends, but you made the mess...

GONZALES: Listen, George...Karl made the mess. He set up the hiring and firings of the attorneys in my department. And for what it's worth, I'm not going to go down like Scooter Libby did for Karl Rove. I will not have my family suffer, I will not lie for Karl Rove and then go to jail and/or lose my license to practice law. I am not Scooter Libby.

ROVE: You fucked up in the hearings. Anyone could have handled it better than you did. You contradicted yourself. You were not prepared. Don't blame me, blame yourself.

BUSH: What are you proposing, Alberto? You are going to have to leave.

GONZALES: I'll leave when Karl leaves. After he leaves. He caused this problem, not me.

Curiously, the weekend before Karl resigned George W. Bush was in Kennebunkport with his father, Poppy Bush. And it was Poppy who had fired Karl once before. Bush meets with his dad and the following day...Karl Rove resigns.

Still I believe that Rove is calling the shots. And he just back in the White House again this week.

[L. Coyote]

15. Sounds like Poppy is calling the shots per this scenario! n/t

[lynnertic]

11. "just back in the white house"

didn't his resignation take effect Sept 1?
Doesn't he get to debrief and clear out his stuff?

[L. Coyote]

14. Interesting analysis. Good conclusion. Hatch Act booted Rove out of USG

but not out of the Republican party or off the Bush Team.

Of course, Gonzales has far more serious problems than his Rove problem. After all, the Hatch Act enforcement falls to Scott Blotch, Office of Special Counsel in the Executive. I expect to hear from Blotch as soon as Rove has "escaped" punishment for the Hatch Act violations. Once an official leaves government service, their Hatch Act violations become mute. The maximum penalty for Hatch Act violation is removal from government service.

Another possibility to consider is Did Gonzales violate the Hatch Act? Is he pulling the same Rovian escape act?
Have they been busted by the White House Office of Special Counsel?

While Bush praises Gonzo and the Rs maintain that up is down and down is up, your post helps keep us out of the R hole of self-delusion. Thanks.

More discussion on Rove here:
Has Rove's Egg Hatched? The Firing of KARL ROVE or Why His Family Needs Him Now.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1591504