CNN.com – It doesn’t look good for Karl Rove – Jul 15, 2005 You have to read this whole article. THIS is what this Rove thing is all about!
Irony abounds.
There is no solid information that Rove, or anyone else, violated this law designed to protect covert CIA agents. There is, however, evidence suggesting that other laws were violated. In particular, I have in mind the laws invoked by the Bush Justice Department in the relatively minor leak case that it vigorously prosecuted, though it involved information that was not nearly as sensitive as that which Rove provided Matt Cooper (and possibly others).
I am referring to the prosecution and conviction of Jonathan Randel. Randel was a Drug Enforcement Agency analyst, a Ph.D. in history, working in the Atlanta office of the DEA.
Randel was convinced that British Lord Michael Ashcroft (a major contributor to Britain’s Conservative Party, as well as American conservative causes) was being ignored by DEA and its investigation of money laundering. (Lord Ashcroft is based in South Florida and the off-shore tax haven of Belize.)
Randel leaked the fact that Lord Ashcroft’s name was in the DEA files, and this fact soon surfaced in the London news media. Ashcroft sued, and learned the source of the information was Randel. Using his clout, soon Ashcroft had the U.S. attorney in pursuit of Randel for his leak.
By late February 2002, the Department of Justice indicted Randel for his leaking of Lord Ashcroft’s name. It was an eighteen count “kitchen sink” indictment; they threw everything they could think of at Randel. Most relevant for Karl Rove’s situation, count one of Randel’s indictment alleged a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641
Rove has a reputation for talking to Novak. Apparently in 1992 Rove was fired from dubya’s father’s campaign.
“… George H.W. Bush, held the job of chairman of the Republican National Committee. It fell to the elder Bush to investigate allegations that Rove had used dirty tricks in a campaign for president of the College Republicans. The RNC chairman eventually cleared Rove, and was so impressed by the young operative that he hired him as an assistant.
Although Rove was an advisor ostensibly working behind the scenes, his name continued to be associated with public controversy. During George H.W. Bush’s second presidential campaign, Rove was fired from the campaign team because of suspicions that he had leaked information to columnist Robert Novak — the same columnist who first reported Plame’s CIA role in 2003, citing anonymous administration sources.
At the time, Bush’s campaign was in trouble, and there was concern that the president might not even win his home state of Texas. The Novak column described a Dallas meeting in which the campaign’s state manager, Robert Mosbacher, was stripped of his authority because the Texas effort was viewed as a bust.
Mosbacher complained, expressing his suspicion that Rove was the leaker. Rove denied the charge, but was fired nevertheless.”
By Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten, LA Times , July 13, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rove13jul13,0,602838,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
I still think the GOP will suffer from this.
If Randel had implicated Lord Ashcroft as “a certain British lord whose wife is so and so and whose operations are based in Belize, etc.” he would not have been prosecuted because he did not out him by name… or so the theory goes.
What I don’t understand is why the fact that Wilson’s wife worked in the CIA, or even suggested him for the operation, undermines his credibility on the Niger yellowcake issue. (as FOX news, Tucker Carlson, and others have now conjured up as an excuse for Rove) He was well qualified for the operation, being former ambassador to Iraq, former ambassador to Gabon, and formerly on the National Security Council for African affairs. The reason for Wilson’s public outcry was that the administration twisted his findings to suggest that Iraq was indeed successful in acquiring yellowcake from Niger (contrary to all three CIA reports on the issue) in order to justify the war.
In an act of revenge the administration revealed his wife’s name, jeopardizing her career at the CIA.
Perhaps this was a form of political payback by Rove, but done very deviously. Suppose Wilson were the leaker(to David Corn), then in the end the prosecutor might be sent after Wilson! All for an investigation that he demanded.
Hoo boy. Lookin’ kinda bad for Herr Karl, isn’t it? Not to worry, though.
Mark my words. Dumbya will go from “I will fire anyone who was involved in leaking the name of a CIA operative” to “let’s wait until the investigation is concluded” to some kind of lame defense based on Rove’s failure to have violated every one of the tenets of the labrynthine federal law governing this issue.
Cutting through the radical right bullshit for a moment, it is crystal clear to everyone of good conscience that Karl Rove identified Valerie Plame to his pajama buddy Novak. Whether he gave him her nomme de jeune fille or her married name, whether he supplied her telephone number with or without the area code, this is all just smoke and mirrors.
The fact is he outed her, and he did so in retribution for Wilson’s findings that one of the cornerstones of Dumbya’s long-planned war in Iraq was a figment of someone’s imagination.
All that remains to be seen is whether or not Dumbya will follow through on his promise to fire anyone involved in revealing the identity of an undercover CIA agent during the prelude to America starting a war with Iraq. Or if he will display the same level of courage and valor that he and the rest of the chickenhawks displayed when it was their turn to go to war for their country. Oh well, at least he didn’t get out of fighting on the basis of something as yucky as an anal cyst.
And dammit, will somebody tell me WHAT WAS THAT RECTANGULAR OBJECT UNDER DUMBYA’S JACKET DURING THE DEBATE???? Did the guy have a friggin’ walkie talkie in there, mouthing Rove’s words like a Charlie McCarthy dummy? Or what? Liberal elite press, I demand an answer!! Where are you in our time of need?
john the big Booooooby heist!–rb
>>>> Hold-ups held up
July 14, 2005
RIO DE JANEIRO: Armed bandits in Brazil have robbed a vehicle carrying more than 400 breast implants.
The assailants, apparently men, robbed a postal van with the implants in Rio de Janeiro. The breast implants, manufactured by Silimed, cost $535.55 each.
Silimed director Margaret Figueiredo said: “It happened last week, but we only learned about it recently as our clients started complaining. It is the hottest period of the year in terms of implant sales.”
The popularity of Brazil’s plastic surgery pioneer and trendsetter Ivo Pitanguy, whose clients include celebrities such as Sophia Loren, has made the tropical country one of the leading international nip-and-tuck venues.
Ms Figueiredo said demand was highest in July, during the southern hemisphere winter, because women scheduled surgery during the winter school holidays, which precede the beach season.
The implants, each bearing an individual number, could now only be sold for clandestine surgeries.
Horrific stories abound in Brazil about the illegal operations, which can cause gangrene and death.
Reuters }}}}
According to Novak, Rove only confirmed the story he got from someone else. Cooper says something similar, so how do you know that Rove knew she was a secret agent?
>>According to Novak, Rove…
Sweet mother of God. Now THERE are a couple of sterling examples of Truth In Action. And if Rove “only confirmed” that she was a secret agent, is that any better than giving out the information in the first place? Who was the first source, the guy who empties the wastebaskets? And what’s up with all these people not knowing anything about what’s going on in Washington? Is EVERYBODY in Dumbya’s regime as dumb as Dumbya? Kee-rist.
If that little chickenhawk doesn’t fire Rove, he’s going to lose any remaining shred of credibility that he has; even the home-schooled John Birch Society set is going to start thinking he couldn’t tell the truth to save his life.
Mister Mustard,
Ya got me laughing but Darn it all to heck, I like the way you put it.
There’s a difference between secret agent and CIA worker.