Rove Indictment Imminent

The Fitzgerald Option

When will the people inside the Boosh Administration realize that Patrick Fitzpatrick is not to be lied to, and realize that he actually is serious about Plamegate? Fortunately, for those who would love nothing more than to see the end of the toxic fumes radiating from the White House, it looks more and more like they will never catch on. I told you a few weeks ago that Fitzgerald was about to strike again, and the time is now upon us. Karl "Boosh's Brain" Rove will soon be indicted, maybe within the next couple of weeks. No one has played a bigger role in this indictment (other than Rove himself) than his attorney, Robert D. Luskin. While successfully giving Mr. Fitzgerald "pause" to reconsider indicting Rove on Black Friday, the day I. Lewis Libby was indicted, Luskin may well have become the impetus for a Rove indictment. He did so by breaking the guidelines learned in Criminal Defense 101, that being, "keep your mouth and your client's mouth shut unless you have something helpful to say." Along with that, should you decide to speak, once you say what you think needs to be said, STOP. Luskin appears to have been caught up in the unmitigated arrogance that comes with being associated with anyone in Booshco, an "above the law" attitude that is pervasive among Booshies. This pattern of thought appears to be highly contagious, infecting even those hired to protect the evildoers. Like administrations in the past, it always seems to be the coverup rather than the crime itself that brings the tools of corruption down. And, Rove is a tool, in more than one sense.

A general rule of thumb in conducting Criminal Defense investigations and trials, is to stay relatively quiet, at least until the trail itself begins. This is why, when the media launches its probe prior to any trial, you generally only see members of the prosecution being quoted on television and in print media. The defense usually does more harm than good by speaking, plus get the benefit of learning about the case against thier client through the loose lips of the prosecutors. Luskin did not follow this rule. Another rule that was violated, and probably most damaging, is that Luskin allowed Rove to testify four times before the same grand jury. Testifying before a grand jury is a right afforded to all people, even those who might possibly be or someday become a target of that investigation. It is generally not a wise move to testify once, much less four times if there is even a remote possibility that you could be a target. Even if a person is telling the complete truth, it is difficult to stay consistent during two rounds of testimony, much less four. It becomes near impossible when one is twisting the truth to fit a specific pre-planned "fact" scenario, especially when dealing with a high profile case covering a long time frame. Not to menition testimony involving hundreds of people, most of whom you never thought would be allowed to testify due to confidentiality clauses. Allow an outstanding prosecutor four cracks at your client before the same grand jury, especially knowing full well that your client is likely one of the three top targets of the investigation, is simply bad lawyering. More bad lawyering is when you lie to the prosecutor on behalf of your client. It goes like this.

Rove told Luskin that he did not have a problem with any conversations with Matt Cooper, he said simply no such conversation occured. Later, Cooper testified that he spoke to Rove on July 11, 2003. Luskin thought he was safe because there was no log of the phone call on Roves' phone records. Rove's word against Cooper's, a hard sell when "beyond reasonable doubt" is the standard that must be met. So far so good. Unfortunately for Rove, it was learned that the call was made through the White House switchboard, thus no record of the call. However, it was eventually tracked to the source. Later, an internal White House memo to Stephen Hadley turned up confirming the conversation. Luskin approached Fitzgerald with the memo. This made it all appear to be an innocent mistake, and Rove/Luskin looked like the good guys by passing it on to Fitzgerald, showing that they were doing all they could to "straighten out the inconsistent statement." That was about the time that the "faulty memory" defense came into play. Not quite so good, but still somewhat believable. Now enter Viveca Novak, who knew about the phone call and told Luskin this, prior to the date of the Hadley memo. Probably in May of 2004. Inexplicably, Luskin chose NOT to tell Fitzgerald about this conversation when they turned over the internal memo.

Now we are no longer dealing with a "faulty memory," but a lawyer who has lied to the prosecutor about a key conversation with yet another reporter. Another reporter that Fitzgerald has latched onto, that puts Rove, through Luskin, in serious jeopardy of both conspiracy and perjury charges. There has become a pattern of lies on top of lies, (read conspiracy) all in an attempt to cover up the fact that Rove spoke to Matthew Cooper. Had Rove simply admitted the conversation from the beginning, it would likely have gone away a long time ago. Instead, he now faces certain indictment, and Luskin could well be indicted along with him. There is still another figure in jeopardy, whoever the source to Bob Woodward turns out to be. Woodward may be in an uncomfortable position as well, although an indictment for him looks like a long shot at this time.

What Does A Rove Indictment Mean?

Given that the true power structure in this White House is more like ghoulash than any normal White House arrangement, (meaning that the Veep is really the President) it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what impact a Rove indictment will mean. We will give it a shot, but I warn you it is a convoluted mess.

Cheney is the real target of Fitzgerald, so a Rove indictment will not directly impact that. Indirectly, though, it could create some movement in Libby. The good thing is that Rove is not a good candidate for prison. He would not do well there. He might be a vicious asshole in political circles, but physically he is less than imposing. In fact, some inmates might just find him to their liking. So, expect Rove to flip faster than a fried egg. But, what can he bring to the table that would aid Fitzgerald in reaching Cheney, the Holy Grail? Unfortunately, not much. He can babble about Boosh and war plans, but is not very close to Cheney. In fact, Cheney doesn't like Rove. The one positive purpose that Rove could serve is to help put additional pressure on Libby to start talking. Rove has already proven that he will run the bus over anyone to save his ass, has in fact already done so to Libby. Hopefully, Libby has not forgotten that.

Generally, in these types of situations, it is a race to the prosecutor to see who can talk first. The first talker wins, the other is hung out to dry. I do not see this as a typical situation, though, as no one knows how much Rove can contribute to reaching Cheney. We will know as soon as one of them starts singing. If it's Libby, that means that Rove knows enough to bring down the entire house of cards. Should it be Rove, I'm afraid that this indictment will be little more than a sideshow. The two participants are the only ones outside of Cheney, and perhaps Boosh, that know the answer to this. Libby has managed to hang on and keep his mouth shut up to now, but that can't last forever. Although a pardon is likely, 15 years in jail is a long time for one such as Libby, and he can't be 100% certain that Boosh will pardon him. Cheney knows that he is finished, with the scheme being that Libby proclaim his innocence until after the '06 elections, and then talk to save himself. Then Cheney will resign and walk away from it all. His sole mission is to stay in power until after the elections next year, then resign for "health reasons." Unless Rove knows enough, how long Cheney lasts rests in the hands of Libby. (and Fitzgerald should something else come up)

Rove, on the other hand, may simply not know enough about anything to aid Fitzgerald in reaching Cheney. If not, that is too bad. Rove and Luskin have done everything short of buying Fitzgerald flowers to prevent an indictment thus far. Now it is too late for talk to stop it. Fitzgerald will be more than happy to chat after charges are brought, but the rules for Rove just got a lot tougher. Fitzgerald does not like to be manipulated, and he will exact his revenge in a very forceful way. If Rove does know something that will allow Fitzgerald to take down Cheney, all the way down, then Rove has a chance. Otherwise, Fitzgerald will nail him to the wall. Luskin and Rove have pissed off their worst nightmare, a nightmare that no one would want haunting them. Whatever Rove has to offer, it had better be good. And, it had better be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help Rove's God.

It will be interesting to see the curtain pulled on Rove. We will finally learn how much Rove really knows outside of Boosh himself and attacking innocents, and can only hope that it includes a lot about Cheney's dirty laundry. Otherwise we are back where we started, waiting for Libby to crack, without the time to spare.

Cyclone