Plame Grand Jury Meeting (Again?) Today - Is Rove Next?

[kpete]

Plame Grand Jury Meeting Today - Is Rove Next?

by Steve Soto
According to ABC News’ The Note,http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238 Patrick Fitzgerald has already convened the latest Plame grand jury this morning, at 9:30 AM. Atrios http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_04_16_atrios_archive.html#114557897566312013 and ThinkProgress http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/21/msnbcs-shuster-signs-point-to-rove-indictment/ noted that last night on Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown”, MSNBC’s David Shuster reported that there are signs that Fitzgerald has now focused on an indictment of Karl Rove, confirming a story that Jason Leopold had at Truthout.org earlier this week.

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/007439.php

[H2O Man]

1. Gracious.

Events are picking up speed. Tighten your seat belt, Mr. Rove -- your ride is about to begin.

[kpete]

2. Where is Stop the Bleeding?

Is he taking time off before "the shit hits the fan"?

[H2O Man]

4. Good question ....

I am wondering, also.

[0007]

5. Yes indeed. I thought that it would be coming next Friday

Is it possible it could come late this afternoon?

[H2O Man]

10. A couple thoughts ....

If we remember back to 10-26-05, on Hardball, Matthews was talking to Time's Mike Allen. At that time, the grand jury's time was about done, and people were speculating. Here, of course, the grand jury has plenty of time, and we are just speculating.

But Allen said to Chris, "Well, Chris, there's a lot of dead horses being beaten here. But there is a lot of activity happening that we're not seeing. What a likely scenario for what happened today is Patrick Fitzgerald got some indictments from this grand jury. He now is able to go ..."

CM: Oh, you think they're sealed right now?

MA: It's very possible. What I'm told is typically in a case like this, he could get indictments and now he can go to the targets and say, you can plead to these or I'll go back Friday and get more. You have 12-to-24 hours to think about it.

CM: I think you get a little Whitman's sampler of suggestions like you can plead to the process charge of obstruction or perjury. Or --

MA: Or I can add a bunch of counts. You can take a couple of counts, we can do a bunch more.

Matthews goes on to note that before accepting a deal, an official would likely go first and "check with the president" before making a final decision. In Libby's case, he seems to have dealt more with Cheney, of course. But some reporters have noted that since finding out what Libby said to the grand jury about Bush, his testimony is now referred to as The Gospel of Judas.

[Peace Patriot]

11. In citing The Gospel of Judas, I presume they understand that, in that

newly discovered gospel, Judas betrays Jesus by permission of Jesus! (--the implication being that Judas-Libby is merely part of a coverup conspiracy, that Libby--as suspected--is the willing fall guy, and anything he would reveal about Cheney or Bush would be part of a coverup; for instance, the papers he filed claiming that the NIE that he leaked had been de-classified by fiat of Bush/Cheney, trying to establish their tyrannical powers in this respect, which could bleed over into the Plame/Brewster-Jennings leak*??).

Or am I being too subtle?

Also: "Some reporters have noted that since finding out what Libby said to the GJ about Bush" --since WHO found out???

And: "his testimony is now referred to as The Gospel of Judas"--referred to BY WHOM?

(--passive tense makes it unclear. Reporters? GJ members? WH insiders? Patrick Fitzgerald?)

--------------

*(As to this, I have a legal question: Isn't declassifying a doc like the NIE quite a different matter than leaking the names of a covert CIA agent and an entire CIA counter-proliferation project--which put the covert agents' and covert contacts' lives in danger (not to mention destroying a project that was vital to National Security)? There is a federal law specifically forbidding the second kind of leak--specifically designed (by Bush Sr, as I recall) to PROTECT the lives our covert agents. Does the President have the technical legal power to disobey this law, and disclose covert names (to the press, for political revenge...geez!)? But, really, does this agent protection law not trump any real or presumed powers of the President to declassify information?)

[H2O Man]

13. I do not think

they are going any deeper than the surface. They are concrete. I don't see Dick Cheney curling up with one of the gnostic gospels, or calling Elaine Pagels any time soon. They should, of course.

[worldgonekrazy]

14. That is interesting

I had not though that Fitzgerald might offer a deal to avoid further indictments. That does make sense in the context of the few bits of hard information we've been getting of late.

[rodeodance]

7. ~~take me out to the ballpark~~``

[rodeodance]

3. toes and fingers crossed.

[rodeodance]

6. lets not get ahead of ourselves as ABC does not know why GJ is conveni

ng--only a short note from above link

......The grand jury investigating the CIA leak is scheduled to meet at 9:30 am ET.

[kpete]

9. Rodeodance

You sound a just a "little" excited!

I am gone this weekend - so I am not as eager as you.

I am hoping NEXT Friday.

But as long as it HAPPENS...even if its takes all year, I am HAPPY!

Peace!

[rodeodance]

12. yup I am excited.Have a good weekend.

[rodeodance]

8. k