Raw Story reports that Fitzgerald is focused on the July 11, 2003 e-mail Karl Rove sent Stephen Hadley about Rove's call with Matthew Cooper. Did Karl Rove hide or purposely conceal the Stephen Hadley e-mail after Attorney General Gonzales ordered the production of e-mails and after the February 6 deadline for the White House to turn over subpoenaed contacts with reporters?

Rove's alleged failure to disclose his conversations with Cooper and Novak and the fact that he didn't turn over the Hadley email on two separate occasions is the reason he's been in Fitzgerald's crosshairs and may end up being indicted, people close to the investigation said.

It's also the reason Fitzgerald had grown suspicious at the time that Rove may have hid or destroyed evidence related to his role in the leak, they said, adding that Fitzgerald may have already been aware of the existence of the email, perhaps even obtaining a copy from a witness or another White House official, and waited to see if Rove would cite it or his conversations with Cooper in his grand jury testimony.

Raw Story connects the e-mail to Luskin's reported insistence that his tip from Time Reporter Viveca Novak occurred in February rather than in March or May as she testified:

The Senate has rejected the Patriot Act renewal legislation by a 52 to 47 vote. Frist said no to a three month extension.[Update: Roll Call vote is here.]

Huge defeat for Bush. But, they can still go back to the bargaining table and Frist might call for another vote before December 31 when the sunsetted provisions expire.

Cagey Frist: When he saw the bill was going down, he switched sides, so under the rules he can ask for another vote.

If your Senator voted against the Patriot Act, call them and thank them. Let them know you appreciate their vote for your freedom and privacy rights. And ask them to stand firm and reject a new compromise.

Intrepid reporter Murray Waas is back with a new article in the National Journal on why Robert Novak called Karl Rove on July 9, 2003: It was to discuss Frances Fragos Townsend, "a former senior attorney in the Clinton administration's Justice Department whom President Bush had recently named to be his deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism."

In a nutsell, Waas' latest goes like this: Cheney and Libby objected to Frances Townsend because she might not approve harsh interrogation techniques or secret renditions. The President wanted Townsend for the job. Libby embarked on a campaign to discredit her. Rove embarked on a campaign to support her. Rove and Novak spoke about her and it was at the end of the call when Valerie Plame came up. Novak then wrote his trash piece on Townsend on July 10, and his Plame expose on July 14.

One-third of my way through the article, I thought this is Team Rove's latest attempt to blame Libby to clear Rove. [ Update: On a second read-through, I'm not sure about this. There's enough later in the article that hurts Rove to suggest this isn't coming from Team Rove.]

Update: TV Newser reports Novak has been signed by Fox to be a contributor. Think Progress commenters called it.

*******
Romanesko has a copy of CNN's Statement advising that Bob Novak is leaving the network.

"After 25 years of serving as a CNN commentator and program host, our colleague Bob Novak's tenure on the network will come to a close (effective 12/31). Through the years, Bob has offered incisive analysis for much of CNN's programming, including Crossfire, The Capital Gang, Inside Politics, Evans and Novak, The Novak Zone, and Novak, Hunt and Shields. Bob has also been a valued contributor to CNN's political coverage. We appreciate his many contributions and wish him well in future endeavors," said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S.

Media Matters delivered 5,000 signatures on a petition last week calling for his termination. They argued:

One of TalkLeft's most astute readers (and a major expert on all Department of Justice matters) suggests a connection between today's two news stories - the Times disclosures about secret wiretapping of domestic telephone calls, and the President's apparent yielding on the McCain amendment.

According to the Times, the Administration justifies its wiretapping under the President's inherent national security authority, even though there are specific statutes by Congress that prohibit it. The Wiretap Act specifically says that all wiretapping not authorized by statute is illegal, and that "procedures in [the Wiretap Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillanc Act] shall be the EXCLUSIVE MEANS by which electronic surveillance . . . and the interception of domestic wire, oral and electronic communications may be conducted."

If the President can ignore that statute and authorized wiretaps "to protect the nation," then equally he can ignore the McCain Amendment and order torture of detainees "to protect the nation."

Have we been sold a bill of goods?

by TChris

The war against Christmas has been waged so clandestinely that only Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson seem to be aware of it. If that undynamic duo were less shrill about their pet peeve, the vast liberal plot to assist the Grinch might go unnoticed.

O'Reilly, Gibson, and the rest of them are supposedly all upset because some people are calling a Christmas tree a holiday tree, some stores aren't mentioning the word Christmas in their advertising, and some people are saying, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." So apparently, the essence of Christmas is, one, making sure a Christmas tree is called a Christmas tree instead of a holiday tree; two, saying Merry Christmas to people as opposed to Happy Holidays; and three, ensuring that advertisements use the word "Christmas."

Wouldn't it be fair to say that never on behalf of so large and all-powerful a majority has such a frivolous complaint been raised?

A bit of perspective:

If you don't have to go to court or the jail after that, then you can stay here and thread. There's lots going on. You can read the winners of the bipartisan Weblog Awards here, and nominate your favorite blogs for the just liberal blogs' Koufax Awards here.

Then there's torture, spying on Americans, the Patriot Act and the immigration acts now being considered by Congress to rant about.

On a lighter note, a hairstylist in Aspen has been accused of stealing Kevin Costner's laptop. So, whatever strikes your fancy is fine here.

I wonder what former President Ronald Reagan, so famous for his "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" statement at the Berlin wall, would think of his fellow Republicans in Congress last night passing a border bill that will result in five fences being built along 698 miles of the Mexico -United States border in an effort to block illegal immigration and drugs from entering the U.S.

The vote on the amendment was a victory for conservatives who had long sought to build such a fences along the Mexican border. But the vote was sharply assailed by Democrats, who compared the fences to the Berlin Wall in Germany. Twelve Republicans also voted against the amendment.

The New York Times has a ten page article explaining how President Bush, via executive order issued after 9/11, directed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on thousands of conversations and read e-mails, without a warrant. Not even a secret FISA warrant was obtained. The Times says it withheld reporting this for a year because the White House said it would alert terrorists.

Mr. Bush's executive order allowing some warrantless eavesdropping on those inside the United States ­ including American citizens, permanent legal residents, tourists and other foreigners ­ is based on classified legal opinions that assert that the president has broad powers to order such searches, derived in part from the September 2001 Congressional resolution authorizing him to wage war on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, according to the officials familiar with the N.S.A. operation.

As for numbers:

The New Jersey Senate today passed a one year moratorium on the death penalty.

A co-sponsor, Sen. Robert J. Martin, R-Morris and Passaic, noted that 50 of the 60 death sentences imposed since the penalty was reinstated in 1982 have been overturned. "Something is fundamentally flawed with that statute," Martin said.

If passed, New Jersey will be the first state in the modern era to legislatively enact a moratorium. Maryland and Illinois have imposed moratoriums based on executive orders. More details:

The state has 10 men on death row. The bill the Senate will consider would create a death penalty study commission to scrutinize the state's death penalty law, particularly whether it is applied fairly, its costs, whether it is a deterrent to crime and if it should be abolished. The commission would complete its work by Nov. 15, 2006. In the meantime, a moratorium would be imposed on all state executions until at least 60 days after the commission finishes its work.

by TChris

The two men who stole a Mustang in San Bernardino would have committed a better crime if they hadn't photographed themselves with the disposable camera they found in the car. When they abandoned the Mustang, they left the camera behind. Police developed the pictures which, together with fingerprints the thieves helpfully left in the car's interior, led them to Albert Engelsman. When the police knocked on Engelsman's door, he was wearing the same shirt depicted in the photographs. Confronted with the evidence, Engelsman ratted out his brother-in-law, the accomplice standing next to him in the impromptu photo shoot.

The Koufax Award Nominations are now open. Go on over and nominate your favorite blogs.

The Koufax Awards are named for Sandy Koufax, one of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time. They are intended to honor the best blogs and bloggers of the left. At the core, the Koufax Awards are meant to be an opportunity to say nice things about your favorite bloggers and to provide a bit of recognition for the folks who provide us with daily information, insight, and entertainment. The awards are supposed to be fun for us and fun for you.

Here's how they work.

You can nominate blogs in more than one category. TalkLeft has had the most success in the "Best Single Issues" category.