Rove in "furious effort" to save his butt

He's still in play:

Even as Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald wrapped up his case, the legal team of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has been engaged in a furious effort to convince the prosecutor that Rove did not commit perjury during the course of the investigation, according to people close to the aide. The sources, who indicated that the effort intensified in recent weeks, said Rove still did not know last night whether he would be indicted.

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Another RoveGate update - interesting...

From ThinkProgress:

Hotline says Time Magazine’s Mike Allen “has some of the best sources in Washington.” Here’s what he had to say about the leak scandal tonight on Hardball:

MIKE ALLEN: A lot of activity happening that we’re not seeing. A likely scenario for what happened today, Patrick Fitzgerald got some indictments from this grand jury. He is now able to go to the…

CHRIS MATTHEWS: You think they’re sealed right now?

MIKE ALLEN: Very possible. What I’m told is typically, in a case like this, he could get the 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.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: And he can give them a little Whitman Sampler of suggestions pleading to the charge of obstruction or perjury or…

MIKE ALLEN: I can add a bunch of counts. You can take a couple of counts or we can do a bunch more.

Later on Olbermann, The Washington Post’s Jim VanDeHei (who also has “some of the best sources in Washington”) assures us the wait is almost over: “I do not think we’ll see any extension of this grand jury. We will know on Friday what’s going to happen here.”

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Open thread

I wanted to mention that the Y2K? idea came from Teri Mackey, the mom of a US soldier who has served two tours in Iraq. I didn't want to mention Teri's name initially, as I wasn't sure she'd want me to, but she said she was okay with it, so there you are.

Terri wrote a recent piece for Buzzflash you might want to read:

"Hey Mom it’s me." Something my son always said every time he called, but this time his voice sounded unusual. He had a really serious tone in his voice and the automatic gunfire in the background was loud and more constant than usual. My heart began to race and I took a deep breath.

"Hey, I'm trapped on a rooftop and I don't think we are going to make it out of here, so I just called to tell you that I loved you and that I am thinking of all of you."

Read the rest at Buzzflash. Read the rest of this post...

BREAKING: Lead religious right group borks Harriet Miers, calls for her name to be withdrawn

Apparently Harriet didn't pass the loony-tune ban-all-abortions litmus test from the men at the Concerned Women for America:

“In fact, we find several aspects troubling, particularly her views on abortion and a woman’s ‘self-determination,’ quotas, feminism and the role of judges as social activists. We do not believe that our concerns will be satisfied during her hearing."

You have to read this entire piece. She's toast. But not only that, the far-right that controls the Republican party has now made it clear that the only candidate they'll accept is a fundamentalist extremist who is totally out of the mainstream of American thought and values.

The next nomination is already clear. It will be a far-right loon. Thanks to the Concerned (Wo)men for letting that cat out of the bag. Read the rest of this post...

VA GOP governor candidate, Jerry Kilgore, blowing off Bush event

Sounds like somebody doesn't want to be associated with the...

WORST.

PRESIDENT.

EVER. Read the rest of this post...

ConocoPhillips delivers 89% profit increase

Remember, we're all in this together. Read the rest of this post...

Exhale. We may be back at Fitzmas eve...

CrooksAndLiars talked to Fitzgerald's office... Read the rest of this post...

Republicans who are soft on treason

Courtesy of the Republican National Committee (thanks Ken!)

Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Republicans Defend Karl Rove From Partisan Attacks
Contact: Tracey Schmitt, RNC
202-863-8614

Senators And Congressman Rally Around Rove

Republican Senators Defend Karl Rove:

NRSC Chairwoman Elizabeth Dole (R-NC): “The Partisan Attacks Against Karl Rove Are Out Of Control And Entirely Inappropriate. He Is A Distinguished Member Of The White House And He Is My Friend.” (National Republican Senatorial Committee, “Elizabeth Dole Statement On Karl Rove,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

* Dole: “It Is Incredibly Irresponsible For Individuals And Organizations To Make Accusations Based On Rumor And Innuendo. It Is Unfair To The Investigation And Even More Unfair To Karl Rove.” (National Republican Senatorial Committee, “Elizabeth Dole Statement On Karl Rove,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN): “My Democratic Friends Would Be Doing The Nation A Great Service If They Spent Half As Much Time Getting Legislation Passed That Will Benefit The Country As They Do In Attacking Karl Rove.” (Sen. Norm Coleman, Press Release, 7/13/05)

* Coleman: “We Have Enough To Do In The Senate In Minding Our Own Business Than To Be Sticking Our Noses Into Someone Else’s Business. Everyone Needs To Cool The Rhetoric, Focus On The Business Of The People, And Allow The Investigation To Run Its Course.” (Sen. Norm Coleman, Press Release, 7/13/05)

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA): “I Don’t See Any Evidence Out There That He Violated The Law.’’ (Richard Keil and Holly Rosenkrantz, “Rove’s Role In Spy Inquiry Reverberates Throughout Capital,” Bloomberg, 7/12/05)

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT): “In All Honesty, The Facts Thus Far – And The E-Mail Involved – Indicate To Me That There Is Not A Problem Here…” (Jim VandeHei, “GOP On Offense In Defense Of Rove,” The Washington Post, 7/13/05)

Hatch: “I Have Always Thought This Is A Tempest In A Teapot." (Jim VandeHei, “GOP On Offense In Defense Of Rove,” The Washington Post, 7/13/05)

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “If Anyone Thought The Anger And Political Sniping That Infested The Capital During The Campaign Would End After The Election, They Were Flat Wrong. Partisan Attacks In Lieu Of The Facts Have Replaced Ideas, Action And Cooperation.” (Sen. John Cornyn, “Attacks On Rove ‘More Anger And Political Sniping,’” Press Release, 7/13/05)

* Cornyn: “Sadly, These Attacks Are More Of The Same Kind Of Anger And Lashing Out That Has Become The Substitute For Bipartisan Action And Progress. While Republicans Focus On Accomplishing An Ambitious Agenda For The American People, Some Democrats And Their Allies In The Hyper-Partisan Interest Groups Continue On Their Path Of Smear And Distract.” (Sen. John Cornyn, “Attacks On Rove ‘More Anger And Political Sniping,’” Press Release, 7/13/05)

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA): “I Support Karl Rove.” (Tom Raum, “Newsview: CIA Leak Probe Focuses On Rove,” The Associated Press, 7/13/05)

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL): “Karl Rove Is A Friend Who, By All Accounts, Is Fully Cooperating With The Investigation. He Has Been A Most Valuable Member Of President Bush’s Team And Has Always Conducted Himself According To High Standards. It’s Disappointing That Some Democrats Are Using An Ongoing Investigation To Try And Score Political Points. Instead Of Focusing On The People’s Business, Democrats Are Prejudging An Incomplete Investigation And Doing Nothing More Than Mounting Partisan Political Attacks.” (Sen. Jeff Sessions, “Statement Of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions On Karl Rove,” 7/13/05)

Republican Congressmen Defend Karl Rove:

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO): “I Think We See Too Many Efforts Now Where People Quickly Rush To Judgment, Rush To Call For The Most Bizarre Solutions To Problems That Are Problems That Are Often Just Created In Their Own Minds.” (Rep. Roy Blunt, Floor Statement, U.S. House Of Representatives, 7/13/05)

Blunt: “Karl Rove Has Fully Cooperated In Any Investigation, And For More Than A Year Now Has Permitted Investigators To Talk To Him.” (Rep. Roy Blunt, Floor Statement, U.S. House Of Representatives, 7/13/05)

House Republican Conference Chair Deborah Pryce (R-OH):” I Think What The Democrats Are Doing With Karl Rove Is Just Another Politically Motivated Part Of Their Agenda.” (CNN’s “Wolf Blitzer Reports,” 7/13/05)

NRCC Chairman Tom Reynolds (R-NY): “The Extreme Left Is Once Again Attempting To Define The Modern Democrat Party By Rabid Partisan Attacks, Character Assassination And Endless Negativity. And As Has Become Their Custom, The Rest Of The Democrat Party Is Standing By Silently.” (National Republican Congressional Committee, “NRCC Chairman Tom Reynolds Statement On Karl Rove, Democrat Partisan Attacks,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

* Reynolds: “Democrats Are Bitter About Losing In 2004. And They Will Stop At Nothing To Accomplish Through Character Assassination What They Could Not Accomplish At The Ballot Box.” (National Republican Congressional Committee, “NRCC Chairman Tom Reynolds Statement On Karl Rove, Democrat Partisan Attacks,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA): “Karl Rove Is Just The Latest In A Long Line Of Targets For The Democrats Vitriol And Political Games. The American People Want To Know How Congress Is Going To Keep The Economy Growing, Lower Energy Prices And Keep Them Secure At Home.” (Rep. Eric Cantor, “Cantor Statement on Democrat Attacks On Karl Rove,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA): “Karl Rove Who Did Not Even Know This Woman’s Name Did Not Have Any Information Of Her Acting In Any Covert Manner. It Is Just Silly.” (“Fox News’, “Fox News Live,” 7/13/05)

* Kingston: “The Democrats Are Absent On Issues Such As Social Security, They Are Ambivalent About Iraq To Begin With And They’re Throwing Up One More Smoke Screen Aimed At Karl Rove Who They’re Mad At.” (“Fox News’, “Fox News Live,” 7/13/05)

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX): “I Support Karl Rove …” (Tom Raum, “Newsview: CIA Leak Probe Focuses on Rove,” The Associated Press, 7/13/05)

DeLay: “This Is Typical Of The Democrats. They Smell Blood And They Act Like Sharks. Karl Rove Is A Good Man. He Was Doing His Job. He Was Trying To Talk A Reporter Out Of Filing A False Story Based Upon False Premise. I Don’t See That He Has Done Anything Wrong.” (Fox News’ “Studio B,” 7/13/05)

Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX): “The President And Karl Rove Are Doing Exactly What They Should. They Are Cooperating Fully With The Pending Investigation.” (Rep. Kay Granger, “Congresswoman Granger Calls Democrat Attacks On Rove Partisan Gamesmanship,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

* Granger: “He Knew Then That Much Of What Joe Wilson Was Saying Was Untrue. The Calls For Mr. Rove’s Resignation Are Simply Partisan Gamesmanship.” (Rep. Kay Granger, “Congresswoman Granger Calls Democrat Attacks On Rove Partisan Gamesmanship,” Press Release, 7/13/05)

Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY): “Republicans Should Stop Holding Back And Go On The Offense: Fire Enough Bullets The Other Way Until The Supreme Court Overtakes.” (Jim VandeHei, “GOP On Offense In Defense Of Rove,” The Washington Post, 7/13/05)

Read the rest of this post...

New Information says indictments still might happen today

Very interesting update via Larry Johnson's blog. He has a post from Richard Sale who Johnson finds "to always be on target":

Two top White House aides are expected to be indicted today on various charges related to the probe of CIA operative Valerie Plame whose classified identity was publicly breached in retaliation after her husband, Joe Wilson, challenged the administration's claim that Saddam Hussein had sought to buy enriched unranium from Niger, acording to federal law enforcement and senior U.S. intelligence officials.

If no action is taken today, it will take place on Friday, these sources said.

I.Scooter Libby, the chief of staff of Vice President Richard Cheney, and chief presidential advisor, Karl Rove are expected to be named in indcitments this morning by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

Also, CNN just reported that Fitzgerald did have a 45 minute meeting today with the Judge overseeing the case. Read the rest of this post...

I'm working on "Merry Fitzmas" gear - open to suggestions

UPDATE: I've changed the base of the "Fitzmas Tree" below and changed it to "Merry Fitzmas."

I'm open to suggestions for Fitzmas gear to sell, but keep the following requirements in mind:

1. I don't do graphics. So I can't draw pictures of things.
2. Anything I use in the shirts/products needs to be public domain (meaning, we can only use photos that are on .gov Web sites, photos that YOU OWN and give us, or photos on sites that say outright that they're public domain).
3. Images, graphics etc need to be at least 150 dpi, but preferably 200 or 300 dpi. Typically, I use a 10 inch by 10 inch, 300 dpi canvas for creating the shirts, for example (that's a good template to use across the board).

So, those are my constraints. If anyone wants to design any shirts and offer ownership of the designs to the blog as a contribution, they'd be most welcome (keeping in mind that we'll need to make the final decision as to whether we like the design enough to run with hit.) Also, feel free to simply suggest Merry Fitzmas shirts as well, meaning, even if you can't design anything you can describe the shirt in writing in the comments.

Here's my first attempt at a Merry Fitzmas product.

Read the rest of this post...

Condi ♥ Muslim-Americans. What will we tell the bigoted Christian conservative children?

I can't wait to see the religious right bigots blow a gasket over this. Mark my words...

Secretary of state hosts Muslims at State Department iftar dinner

In recent months, Muslims around the world have demonstrated the qualities of generosity and benevolence that are at the heart of religious traditions surrounding the holy month of Ramadan, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“[I]n the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Muslim nations extended some of the most generous offers of support that we received,” Rice told guests at the State Department’s seventh annual Ramadan Iftar dinner October 25. “And after the recent earthquake in South Asia, the entire world watched as thousands of Muslims, deep in the observance of Ramadan, led the relief effort without breaking their fast.”

The secretary said that Muslims in all nations deserve the basic human rights to which all people aspire: “the right to live without oppression, the right to worship without persecution, and the right to think and speak and assemble without wrongful retribution.”

The United States supports “people of every culture and race and religion who wish to make their own decisions and choose their own governments and speak their own minds,” she added.

Rice said that compassion, cooperation and charity, as reflected in Islam and other faiths, are fundamental elements of every society, but especially democracies, which depend on the respectful exchange of ideas.

Read the rest of this post...

A plausible PlameGate scenario from Raw Story

I have no way of knowing whether Raw Story's sources have the story right, but the scenario sounds correct.

Fitzgerald has also asked the jury to indict Libby on a second charge: knowingly outing a covert operative, the lawyers said. They said the prosecutor believes that Libby violated a 1982 law that made it illegal to unmask an undercover CIA agent.

Libby’s attorney, Joseph A. Tate, did not return a call seeking comment.

Two other officials, who are not employees in the White House, are also expected to face indictments, the lawyers said.

The grand jury had not yet decided on whether to make indictments at the time this article was published. It appears more likely that the jury would hand down indictments of perjury and obstruction than a charge that Plame was outed illegally.

Those close to the investigation said Rove was offered a deal Tuesday to plead guilty to perjury for a reduced charge. Rove’s lawyer was told that Fitzgerald would drop an obstruction of justice charge if his client agreed not to contest allegations of perjury, they said.

Rove declined to plead guilty to the reduced charge, the sources said, indicating through his attorney Robert Luskin that he intended to fight the charges. A call placed to Luskin was not returned.

Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Keep stirring it up. Read the rest of this post...

AP and CNN: no public announcement from Fitz today

Not much new here. Indictments expected still, unclear who, but no public announcment today. That surely won't prevent leaking....so soon we'll see who really had the best info. and the best sources.

AP:

Lawyers representing key White House officials expected Fitzgerald to decide this week whether to charge I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, and top presidential political adviser Karl Rove.

A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the grand jury probe, said no announcement was expected Wednesday by Fitzgerald.

CNN:

The federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity could hand up charges as early as today, but Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is not expected to make any public announcements Wednesday, one source with knowledge of the probe told CNN.

Read the rest of this post...

Here is the crime in outing a CIA agent

By Gary Hart:

The federal statute making it a criminal penalty to knowingly divulge the identity of anyone working undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency was not enacted in a vacuum. In the early 1970s, in part as a result of the radicalization of individuals and groups over the Vietnam War, a former CIA employee named Philip Agee wrote a book revealing the identities of several dozen CIA employees, many under deep cover and some including agency station chiefs in foreign capitals....

Richard Welch, a brilliant Harvard-educated classicist, had been stationed in Greece as CIA station chief only a few months before he was murdered, by a radical Greek terrorist organization called the 17th of November, in the doorway of his house in Athens on Dec. 23, 1975. Had Agee not divulged his name, there is every reason to believe that Welch would be alive today after decades of loyal service to his country....

So, there's the crime. To casually and willfully endanger the life of an undercover CIA agent is a felony. You either believe in taking the laws of the United States seriously or you do not. Citizens - even highly placed ones - do not get to pick and choose which laws they will obey and which they will not. Miller and her publisher may think she's a hero, but I don't. It is well established that there is no First Amendment protection for a journalist or anyone else to withhold evidence of a crime.

There is one final irony to this story. On Christmas Eve in 1975, I got a call at my home from the director of the CIA, William Colby. He asked if I would intervene with the White House to obtain presidential approval to have Welch buried at Arlington National Cemetery, a hero fallen in service to his country. I quickly called President Ford's chief of staff on Colby's behalf and made the request. Within two hours, the president had agreed to sign the order permitting Welch to be buried at Arlington.

The chief of staff's name was Richard Cheney.

Read the rest of this post...

Harriet's tanking, so the WH says "give a speech"

The more the GOP Senators know her, they less they like her. Isn't that the opposite of what Bush said would happen?:

The drumbeat of doubt from Republican senators over the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers grew louder Tuesday as several lawmakers, including a pivotal conservative on the Judiciary Committee, joined those expressing concerns about her selection.

Emerging from a weekly luncheon of Republican senators in which they discussed the nomination, several lawmakers suggested that as Ms. Miers continued her visits on Capitol Hill, she was not winning over Republican lawmakers.

"I am uneasy about where we are," said Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican on the Judiciary Committee who had so far expressed only support for the president's choice. "Some conservative people are concerned. That is pretty obvious."

Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, called Republican sentiment toward Ms. Miers's nomination "a question mark."

"There is an awful lot of Republican senators who are saying we are going to wait and see," he said.

But, the brilliant strategists at the White House have a solution -- not kidding -- they want Harriet to give a speech:

The Bush administration, concerned that vocal critics are wounding Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers while she quietly prepares for her Senate hearing 12 days from now, is considering ways to fight back -- possibly by having her make a speech -- sources familiar with the discussions said yesterday.

Because that strategy has worked so well for Bush.... Read the rest of this post...

Most Americans believe administration acted illegally or unethically

Now that is a serious hole to climb out of. Only 1 in 10 actually believe that the Bush administration did not act unethically or illegally according to a new CNN poll. Read the rest of this post...

Early AM Open Thread

Just watched CNN's Bob Franken kickin' it old school - that guy gets in the field and covers a story. Right now, he's out in front of the Grand Jury courthouse talking over my favorite kind of Republican B-roll - cameras rolling from in front of BOTH Rove's and Libby's houses this morning as they left for work. (Other TV reporters could learn from Franken, he really just sinks his teeth into a story like a pit bull. If showing up with a camera in front of someone's house at 6AM and shouting questions doesn't give you a rush, get a new job.)

Open thread away! What a great way to wake up Fitzmas Morning (could it be here finally!?!?). Read the rest of this post...

The Iraqi death toll

So is Bush also laughing about the thousands of Iraqis who have died as well? Estimates vary but a reasonable starting point seems to be around 30,000 Iraqi deaths since the beginning of the US/UK invasion of Iraq. With the faux constitution that does not address any of the serious issues (once again put off for another day) there is no reason to think that the Iraqi deaths will decrease. The numbers are pretty bad:

• One U.S. military spokesman said it is possible the figure for the entire war could be 30,000 Iraqis...
• Iraq Body Count estimates roughly 1,000 Iraqis die each month
• Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution who has closely followed the war's casualties, said an average of 1,500 to 2,000 Iraqis have been killed each month
• While American troops are killed at the rate of about 60 to 70 per month, the new Iraqi military suffers that many deaths in a week, mainly from insurgent attacks that rose to about 90 per day in September, O'Hanlon said.
• Iraq has the highest crime rate in the region with around 10,000 homicides a year

"Most Iraqis remain less secure than they were under Saddam, less secure even than they were in the first year of the American occupation," said James Dobbins, a former Bush administration envoy to Afghanistan and veteran diplomat who now directs the Rand Corp.'s International Security and Defense Policy Center.

Read the rest of this post...

Compassionate conservatives hack Medicare/Medicade budget

Go figure. The poor and elderly are first to get hit with budget cuts by the GOP. Heaven knows we wouldn't want to upset the energy industry who has been showered with give-aways by the GOP and cutting that might mean less campaign money. It's not like Big Oil is enjoying record profits or anything.

When Man-Dog Santorum says it's the fraud and health care providers that are being cut, does anyone actually believe him? Read the rest of this post...

Wal-Mart meet the ADA. ADA meet Wal-Mart

Nasty, nasty company. Read the rest of this post...