You probably won’t hear me say this much, but kudos to Sen. Chuck Grassley for voting to hold Karl Rove and Josh Bolten in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas investigating the fired US Attorneys probe. It proves that every once in a while Grassley can be a respectable Republican.
Archive for the 'PlameGate' Category
Currently, the Government Services Administration (specifically their administrator) is under investigation by Congress for alleged acts of pure partisanship in an agency of the federal government that is supposed to be entirely nonpartisan — basically violations of the Hatch Act. TPM Muckraker and Speaker Pelosi’s blog “The Gavel” have more on the investigations, but I thought it was worth showing this video of Rep. Bruce Braley grill the GSA Administrator, Lurita Doan, about a PowerPoint presentation given by Karl Rove’s deputy to members of the GSA on how they could help out Republicans.
As they say on the internets, pwnd.
For a long time, before this blog got a specifically Iowa politic focus, I blogged a lot about the Valerie Plame/CIA Leak investigation, colloquially known as PlameGate. You can find the archives of all the stories I’ve written on the investigation here. And if you’re interested in following the trial live, which is probably even better coverage than you’ll find on cable news, make sure to check out Firedoglake for their live-blogging of the trial. The trial just started this morning and should definitely be worth following.
The UofI has some fantastic lectures that I would love to see this coming academic year, so I might be having to make frequent trips over to the Iowa City area. Some of the lecturer’s include author Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis), columnist Nick Kristof of the New York Times, and former CIA Operative and the heart of the CIA scandal Valerie Plame.
Hat-tip to Century of the Common Iowan.
State 29 seems a bit frustrated by the AP piece talking about Robert Novak’s column in the Chicago Sun-Times today where he revealed…kind of…who is source was for Valerie Plame’s identity in the whole PlameGate fiasco.
The revelation in Novak’s piece wasn’t that he learned of Valerie Plame from Who’s Who, contrary to what State wrote, but that CIA public information officer Bill Harlow was another one of his sources as well as the confirmation that Rove was another one of his sources. As Novak admits in the column, he had three sources. One was a primary source, who has still not signed a waiver to allow Novak to release his or her name. The two other sources are Karl Rove (whom we knew) and Bill Harlow (which is what was just revealed). Numerous times in the past Novak has published and said he got Plame’s name from Who’s Who. But it helps to have confirming sources like Rove and Harlow, as well as a primary source.
Anyway, the AP doesn’t think you’re stupid since the Who’s Who part at the end of the column wasn’t a revelation. They think you’re stupid since you think that’s the revelation in the piece, State.
Oh, and a lot of papers, including the Register can’t publish Novak’s column in full because its a syndicated column and you have to pick up the syndication for more than one column, which is a bit pricey. And besides, who in Des Moines would want to read Robert Novak when we already pick up the shit coming from Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post?
Looks like Republicans are really fighting hard to keep the IA-01, but I doubt it will do them much good. From KCCI:
“An aide to 1st district congressional hopeful Mike Whalen said Vice President Dick Cheney will come to eastern Iowa to campaign for the Bettendorf entrepreneur.
Whalen’s campaign manager, Russ Perisho, said the vice president will be in Davenport, but no dates for the visit have been released yet. Whalen, a Republican, is running against Democrat Bruce Braley of Waterloo to replace U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle, a Republican from Manchester who is leaving the seat to run for governor.”
If you’ll remember, Whalen had Bush advisor Karl Rove in town for him earlier this week, probably figuring out new ways to avoid indictment or something Rovian like that. I guess he loves having the people in the current administration who have taken this country to hell in the last six years come campaign for him.
If I remember correctly, in the little bit that I followed from the GOP primary race in the Iowa-01, Whalen ran as the outsider or at least claimed to not be a part of the Washington Republican establishment. Scoop from Iowa’s First seems to remember the same thing:
“The next Whalen campaign event is to feature VP Cheney.
Again, I find it interesting that the candidate in the GOP primary that ran as the “outsider” to the Washington establishment chooses to bring in people that couldn’t possibly belong any more to the Washington establishment.”
If you live in the Iowa-01, just remember that its the same old Washington Republican leadership that will come from Mike Whalen. Do yourself a favor and vote for Bruce Braley.
UPDATE: Sorry this link is getting to you guys late, here’s the way the AP covered the event.
As I reported a little over a week ago, Karl Rove is in Iowa today campaigning for Mike Whalen in the IA-01 and Jeff Lamberti here in the IA-03. KCCI has a bit of a story here, but nothing too fancy. I’m hoping that the Register will have a story up on the events eventually, but I’m making no guarantees.
Anyway, as of about right now, if you’re in Des Moines you’ve still got about 20 minutes to make it to this:
Polk Co. Dems: “Congratulations For Not Being Indicted Karl Rove!”
County Democrats to Present Embattled Deputy Chief of Staff with Giant Greeting CardDES MOINES – On Monday, June 26 at 5:30 p.m., Polk County Democrats Chairman Tom Henderson will present a gigantic greeting card to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove with the following message:
Dear Karl Rove,
Congratulations on not being indicted.
Sincerely,
Concerned Iowa FamiliesThe greeting card is 8-feet-tall and 8-feet-wide. Members of the Polk County Democrats will also distribute balloons to celebrate the occasion.
Rove recently dodged an indictment for involvement in the Valerie Plame scandal, in which a CIA agent’s identity was leaked to the press. The White House leak breached many ethical barriers and possibly defied federal law. A federal investigation is on-going.
WHO: Tom Henderson, Polk County Democrats
WHAT: “Congratulations For Not Being Indicted Karl Rove” Greeting Card Giveaway
WHERE: On the sidewalk near 4000 Turnberry Drive, West Des Moines
WHEN: Monday, June 26, 5:30 p.m.
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Oh, if you’re not indicted, you’re exonerated? Is that how that works?” Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), June 14, 2006, Congressional Quarterly Today, Page 1
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it but if there are any pictures taken of the event, I’ll try and get them up here on the site. And today’s campaign events just go to show you that Lamberti and Whalen are part of the same Washington Republican status quo that Karl Rove represents and are more loyal pawns to Bush’s flawed policies.
The Des Moines Register has a story today with information you should have read here first: Karl Rove is coming to Iowa to campaign for Republican congressional candidates.
I first reported this 8 days ago (at least that he’d be in town for Lamberti), but I guess the Register at least got the scoop on the Whalen event.
At least we know that my blog at least reports some actual news every once in a while.
If anyone doubted that the IA-03 isn’t one of the biggest congressional races of 2006, then I’ve got the cure to your doubts. Just look at the fundraising help that Leonard Boswell’s challenger Jeff Lamberti has gotten (or will get) just this month:
- Tuesday night: Fundraiser for lots of 2006 candidates, including Lamberti, hosted by Rudy Giuliani’s PAC — which raised about $2 million
- Tonight: Fundraiser for Lamberti hosted by Sen. Bill “I dissect cats” Frist (R-TN) — Roll Call provides details:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser on Wednesday for state Sen. Jeff Lamberti (R), who is seeking to oust Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) this fall in the Des Moines-area 3rd district.
The event, asking for $1,000 from political action committees and $250 from individuals, is set to occur at Shelly’s Back Room.
An easy way for Lamberti to make a few more bucks.
- June 26th: Fundraiser in Polk County with Karl Rove as keynote speaker
Why would anyone want to vote for Jeff Lamberti? It’s just more of the same Republican shit. He won’t come into Congress and change things. He’s part of the Republican establishment, meaning he loves his Republican values of cronyism, corruption, deficit, and debt. Thanks to Chet Culver for coining that line. The Republican leadership, including the leaker Karl Rove and Bill Frist (the guy with blind trust issues), is full of corruption and these guys emulate it in some of the best ways possible.
In the most recent filings, Boswell had a $300k CoH advantage over Lamberti which probably explains the mad dash for cash right now. Going into the summer recess and campaigning against an incumbent with a cash disadvantage is terribly hard to do. This is going to be a tough race over the next couple of months, but I’ve got Leonard Boswell’s back. As the Democrat best poised to reprsent this district right now, we Democrats have got to unite behind him, urge him to vote the way we want him to, and protect his seat from the control of Karl Rove Republicans, like Jeff Lamberti.
So, if you can, give Congressman Boswell a couple of netroots bucks. Sen. Boxer helped him, now you can too here at ActBlue.
Wow, this is classic. Everyone should go spam the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Trust. Absolutely ridiculous. Oh, and sign up for their email updates.
And oddly enough, Francis Fukuyama wrote an op-ed for the Times the other day stating that neoconservatism — a category in which his ideological beliefs lie — was dying or on it’s way there. Maybe his status on the Libby Advisory Committee can help resuscitate it.
I didn’t point this out last week, but Murray Waas had a new piece in the National Journal that alleges Vice President Cheney authorized Scooter Libby’s possible outting of CIA covert agent Valerie Plame:
“Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, testified to a federal grand jury that he had been “authorized” by Cheney and other White House “superiors” in the summer of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration’s use of prewar intelligence in making the case to go to war with Iraq, according to attorneys familiar with the matter, and to court records.”
If this information is true, it is quite damning for VP Cheney in a time where his bad publicity is going through the roof (I guess that happens when one SHOOTS somebody).
Democratic Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh was in town speaking to the Iowa House Democrats yesterday and spoke about the leak issue. From the Des Moines Register:
“”A leak in classified information is against the law, and if he was urging that, then obviously that would be a very serious thing,” Bayh, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in an interview. “But I think we’ve got to find out what the facts are.”
Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff, told a federal grand jury last year that his superiors authorized him to disclose the identity of a former CIA agent, according to documents filed last week in his perjury and obstruction trial.
“If Vice President Cheney has, in fact, ordered the leaking . . . of intelligence information, that means he has to step aside,” Dean said Monday during an appearance on CNN.”
The executive branch of the government isn’t immune from prosecution for crimes like these or the NSA wiretaps. I’d take Gov. Dean’s side and say that if Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation confirms that Cheney did authorize the leak, then he should resign or be dealt with. The fact is, however, that the chances of that happening before Bush’s term ends in January 2009 are quite slim so Republicans shouldn’t get too antsy over Dean’s comments.
Oh, and let me pass along this little bit of gossip and say that the House Democrats were very impressed with Sen. Bayh. Though I’m sure they were before his arrival because of his 21st Century Scholars program which they want to emulate in Iowa.
Talk about destroying a reputation.
“Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward testified under oath Monday in the CIA leak case that a senior administration official told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame and her position at the agency nearly a month before her identity was disclosed.
In a more than two-hour deposition, Woodward told Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald that the official casually told him in mid-June 2003 that Plame worked as a CIA analyst on weapons of mass destruction, and that he did not believe the information to be classified or sensitive, according to a statement Woodward released yesterday.”
Oops. The text of Woodward’s formal statement is here.
I don’t suppose he forgot about it or something? Nah, he just kept trying to downplay the significance of the investigation over and over and over and over again.
Atrios gives a good reason as to why his claim that the source told him in off the record, almost gossip-like style doesn’t really seem to match up with the fact that their was some kind of confidentiality agreement.
Josh Marshall also has a good review here, but I think he might grant just a bit too much leeway to Woodward.
What does this mean for the continued investigation of Patrick Fitzgerald? A lot. It shows just how much information there still is to gather and how deep the investigation goes. The West Wing is about to get a lot more hectic trying to combat stories, rumors, and a pissed off press corps who can’t get answers. Oh, and prepare for Bush to get even more ponies as his poll numbers will continue to drop.
In the past few days the White House has been trying to set a new frame of mind for Karl Rove–essentially one where he’s come back to work at full strength and is operating normally. The problem is that really isn’t the case because he’s still under investigation and could be for a very long time to come. As Murray Waas in the National Journal writes:
“Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald delayed a decision on whether to seek criminal charges against Karl Rove in large part because he wants to determine whether Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, can provide information on Rove’s role in the CIA leak case, according to attorneys involved in the investigation.
Even if Fitzgerald concludes in the near future that he does not have sufficient evidence to charge Rove, the special prosecutor would not rule out bringing charges at a later date and would not finish his inquiry on Rove until he hears whatever information Libby might provide — either incriminating or exculpatory — on Rove’s role, the sources said.
[. . .]Fitzgerald did not seek an indictment of Rove, opting to present any potential new evidence on the White House deputy chief of staff to a new grand jury. In recent days, Fitzgerald has reinterviewed several witnesses with knowledge of Rove’s role in the Plame leak and talked with attorneys of other potential witnesses.
The ongoing investigation means that Rove’s legal status is likely to remain up in the air until the final disposition of Libby’s case. That could be two years from now, or even longer. Rove’s predicament contradicts recent news accounts indicating that Fitzgerald will conclude his probe of Rove in the near future.”
Again, all this information leaves things hanging the air. It appears that Rove could be a stigma on Bush for a while to come, especially if Democrats can effectively keep harping on the fact that Rove is still a target and that for the potential crime committed by Rove there isn’t any kind of statute of limitations.
When it comes time for the 2006 midterms, its going to be a tough sell to the American people to elect people of the same party as President Bush and his corrupt and criminal pals.
Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC says she can report that the “Under Secretary” in the indictment of Scooter Libby is Marc Grossman, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
That would make sense to me. He’s been involved in the investigation all along.
From a CBS News Report:
“Rove’s lawyer said he was told by the prosecutor’s office that investigators had “made no decision about whether or not to bring charges” and would continue their probe into Rove’s conduct.
Fitzgerald’s spokesman, Randall Samborn, said the investigation will continue but with a new grand jury. The term of the current grand jury cannot be extended beyond today.
The lack of an indictment against Rove is a mixed outcome for the administration. It keeps in place the president’s top adviser, the architect of his political machine whose fingerprints can be found on virtually every policy that emerges from the White House.
But leaving Rove in legal jeopardy keeps Mr. Bush and his team working on problems like the Iraq war, a Supreme Court vacancy and slumping poll ratings beneath a dark cloud of uncertainty.”
So, what does all of this mean?
We honestly don’t know. It is looking like the next investigation won’t last more than a couple of weeks or a couple of months.
Raw Story is reporting that Fitzgerald is still going after Rove, probably with tougher charges. Take that with a grain of salt.
