Posted on 10/28/2005 12:22:42 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Newsweek magazine reporter Howard Fineman, who's been at the forefront of recent media speculation that top White House official Karl Rove would be indicted, has pronounced Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's decision to indict only Cheney aide Lewis Libby "a victory" for the Bush White House.
"Given the expectations that have evolved around here in the last week or so, if it turns out that this phase of the grand jury ends with only Scooter Libby being indicted," Fineman told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough last night, "that will be seen as almost be seen as a backwards kind of victory here."
Scarborough agreed, saying that the indictment of Libby without Rove would be, "a huge political win for the White House."
Fineman said Rove, not Libby, was Fitzgerald's "big fish."
"Karl Rove is a big national figure and as close to the president of the United States as you can get without being a member of the president`s family," he told Scarborough. "And so, politically, Karl Rove is the much bigger fish here."
"It's not over yet. He'll charge Rove before he's through."
I agree. If Karl Rove spits his gum out on to the ground at the White House, he'll have him charged for defacing government property.
Not really. The indictment pretty much spells it out.
He said/ he said. If they are gonna indict Libby...they need to indict Russert and Cooper.
Can Libby plead out and end this? It would stop a whole lot of extra info that Fitz. is hoping to find in the trial. Could Bush then pardon?
Tomorrow GWB should nominate someone like Brown or Owens to the SCOTUS (read, someone who is ultra-conservative and who *will* overturn Roe v. Wade). If that's not sticking it to the Libs, I don't know what is ("no Libbygasm for you!")
Dont count your chickens.
During the press conference Fitzgerald refused to answer whether the Grand Jury refused to go along with other charges against other people.
To me, that meant THIS grand jury felt Rove was not guilty of anything.
It also means that Fitzgerald, the a-hole that he is, will continue to go after Rove with another grand jury.
Just go away, Howard.
Secondly, it is obvious that he has been stung by the criticism by both Republicans and by MSM organs like the Washington Post, that he is being over-zealous in chasing after Libby (and possibly others) for matters other than the crime mentioned in the original referral. His attempted baseball analogy was as lame as it was obtuse. He might have done better to mention the fact that Al Capone was finally brought down for tax evasion, not for the murder, extortion or bootlegging that were his most serious crimes. Even a better analogy, however, cannot obscure the fact that Fitzgerald knows that given the history of leaking in Washington, he could have cut Libby a break, and that his decision to prosecute him was more related to enhancing the Fitzgerald image than in punishing the "damage" done by Libby's alleged crimes.
They were saying it was starting to feel a lot like Christmas.
Well, the SP said that the "leak investigation is not over" and that he "will be keeping the grand jury open to consider other matters".
This guy is a monster that isn't going to stop. Damn, not good.
How do you figure that? Did Russert lie to the GJ? Did Cooper lie to the GJ?
Pfft. Rove didn't break the law, or they would have indicted him today. This isn't about getting convictins. It's the Socialists' old game of "the seriousness of the charge" to smear someone. They can't touch Rove, but they'll try to keep the story alive as long as they can, even up to next year's election if at all possible.
The best thing to do is get them off the news cycle by slamming them with a SCOTUS appointment that will give them fits.
No, becase Rove was SMART ENOUGH to tell the truth. Let's face it, Libby is not the smartest tool in the shed if he lied as he did. I feel bad for him but he bought it on his own head.
Agree. Libby didn't break the law, right up until he lied (aleggedly) to try to protect either himself or his superiors (from what is anyone's guess, but perhaps from the smear that the leftist media would all but certainly attempt to perpetrate on them). If he lied, then he was as dum as Martha Stewart, and the thing to do is cut him loose for now and pardon him on January 19, 2009.
Let's hope that the big fish (Rove) and his bigger fish buddy (Bush) learn something from this, like don't try to be the bigger fish and make friends with the snakes (democrats) and don't let your arses hanging in the breeze by taking their buddies in the press lightly!
I have to say it; "God, I think this President is totally naive about the people he is dealing with". I sincerely hope he wakes up and smells the coffee before some real bad $hit happens to him by trying to "reach across the isle".
Three words on the way to handle the "leakgate" media smear campaign.
Janis Rogers Brown
What deep point am I missing beyond that?
And the MSM big bad wolf huffed and puffed (loudly I might add) but couldn't blow down the brick house. I think this event adds to the common perception that the press is full of itself, loves to hear its own voices, and is particularly biased against this President.
If you nominate her or someone like her you put the Leftists in an impossible position. They have the choice of either letting her get on the court without much of a fight (which pretty much sacrifices Roe v. Wade in the process, as well as many other things) to keep the leak scandal alive, or they fight her confirmation and throw this issue away.
That Libby lied to the GJ. What he told Russert is irrelevant - he could come into the GJ and say "I lied to Russert," and he'd be fine.
But several reporters say they learned of Plame from Libby - Libby says he learened of Plame from reporters, and independent notes indicate that Libby knew of Plame before he talked to reporters.
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