A Rove Perjury Rap? The speculation grows intense — without any evidence (CIA LEAK)

NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE.COM ^ | JULY 26, 2005 | BYRON YORK

[leftcoaster]

**Big Question/Worry for me is WHY ARE THE DEMOCRATS GOING SO FAR OUT ON THE LIMB? If Rove is not indicted or severely criticized by the Grand Jury report, then the Democrats and their media allies are going to have egg on their face big time.**

Ah, but which prominent Dems have gone out on a limb on this? I can't think of any.

Streisand, and various other usual nutjobs, but even Dr Dean (who really went after Delay, among others) hasn't been quoted much, if at all, on this one.

It's mostly the Chris Matthews types in the MSM that are screaming about it, and they don't/won't have to run for re-election.

[lugsoul]

A couple of questions that have occurred to me about the Rove / Cooper exchange:

Was welfare reform in the news at all in summer 2003?

Did Cooper actually write a story about welfare reform?

Was there any notable welfare reform legislation passed or proposed and debated in that time frame?

I can't remember any, so I've always thought that was odd. Anyone remember a welfare reform bill from that time?

[Cicero]

I only would depart from your position to suggest that the plot originated with Plame and Wilson together. They are, after all, husband and wife, and both of them appear to be flaming liberals who hate Bush.

My question has been, why did the CIA allow Plame to get away with it? Who approved giving the assignment to Wilson? Or did Plame do it all on her own?

Tenet was still director. Did he know about this beforehand? It was, after all, a critical mission at the time, because it was in an area touching on the administration's highest priorities. It must have been evident that a screwup, accidental or intentional, could blow up in everyone's face.

[Steve_Seattle]

"The prosecuter is looking into difference between rove and novak's testimony, likewise they are looking at difference between libby and russetts testimony."

How do you know what the prosecutor is looking into? The workings of the grand jury are supposed to be confidential. Maybe we need another investigation to find out how this GJ info is leaking out?

[DBrow]

Steve_Seattle, is the brief online/do you have a link? I'd love to use this but I need a reference.

Tx

[maryz]

According to the article:

Cooper wrote that after reviewing his e-mails from the days in question, "it seems as if I was, at the beginning of the week, hoping to publish an article in Time on lessons of the 1996 welfare-reform law."

Sounds as if he was writing an article, but an after-the-fact analysis rather than covering breaking news. The sort of article that shows up when the news is slow -- not especially time-sensitive.

[Steve_Seattle]

I see that as the "Rove/Libby/Cheney deliberatley outed a covert CIA operative to get her killed" story evaporates, the Dems have switched the crime; now they are hoping for perjury.

[Terabitten]

an informed source saying that Fitzgerald is now " looking at a coverup: perjury, obstruction of justice, false statements to an FBI agent.'"

I'm sure he is. He's just not looking at who the media thinks he's looking at.

[Steve_Seattle]

There was a link to the brief last week in a story on National Review Online. I forget the author; I printed it out, and I have a copy at home.

[Darkwolf377]

I'm starting to think the welfare story was BS he used as an "in" with Rove, to loosen him up about a non-controversial story so he could then say "OK, thanks, oh, and one more thing..." and ask the REAL question he was interested in. AKA "bait and switch."

[Trimegistus]

"First Rove said he'd 'heard Wilson's wife was CIA' but in later testimony he said 'someone TOLD him Wilson's wife was IN THE CIA.' Note the inconsistency! There must be a COVERUP! Impeach Bush!"

[ken21]

the cia has its liberal components too.

[Steve_Seattle]

media friend-of-court brief

I looked it up on NRO - the link is in a July 18th story by Andrew McCarthy called "Did the CIA 'Out' Valerie Plame"? The link is several paragraphs into the story. Check the archives, I don't think you need to sign up.

[Steve_Seattle]

" . . . its hard to believe that Rove didnt remember at the time who told him. And since it was so important he surely wouldnt forget it."

I don't think it's hard to believe, because no one had any reason to think this would become such a big deal. A guy like Rove undoubtedly has numerous contacts with reporters and numerous briefings on all sorts of topics, numerous emails and phone calls, and conversations. Identifying the source - weeks or months later - of a fact that was of only passing interest at the time - can be difficult, and it would be very easy to argue poor memory. The Clinton folks did that all the time. When these investigations get going, people try to map everything out and put it into a big, coherent picture.

I talk to people on line, but I don't always remember who I told something to, or whether I told them something at all, or who told something to me for the first time, or whether I first heard it from "A" or from "B".

One thing is clear - Plame's identity was a poorly kept secret, and was known by more than a few in DC. As this info circulated through various channels - media, gossip, intelligence, etc. - it probably very quickly became confusing as to who told who what, and when. It seems like a big circle. Even if there end up being discrepancies on this question of who told who, and when, I think it is a stretch to turn it into a perjury thing, particularly since there is huge doubt as to whether the information was even classified. For there to be a "cover-up," there had to be something significant that was being covered-up, and I don't think there was in this case.

[DBrow]

http://www.bakerlaw.com/files/tbl_s10News/FileUpload44/10159/Amici%20Brief%20032305%20(Final).PDF

Thanks! The link to the brief is above, lifted from the article, should anyone else wish to read it.

[Cicero]

OH, yes. The liberals have been pretty well running the CIA for some time. What I was wondering is whether anyone will try to establish who in the CIA approved this deal? And maybe hold them accountable.

[lepton]

But it is a conflict, at least from what is publicly known, between an account — Rove's — that is supported by an e-mail written at the time, and an account — Cooper's — that is based on a lack of recollection, hedged by Cooper's concession that he had, in fact, been working on a welfare reform story.

It is also consistant with the idea that, in being just a distraction from what Cooper really wanted to talk about, it wasn't important enough to remember.