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Rove Update

Via Atrios, Newsweek's Mike Isikoff wrote this today:

Now the story may be about to take another turn. The e-mails surrendered by Time Inc., which are largely between Cooper and his editors, show that one of Cooper's sources was White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, according to two lawyers who asked not to be identified because they are representing witnesses sympathetic to the White House. Cooper and a Time spokeswoman declined to comment. But in an interview with NEWSWEEK, Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, confirmed that Rove had been interviewed by Cooper for the article. It is unclear, however, what passed between Cooper and Rove.

Initially, Fitzgerald's focus was on Novak's sourcing, since Novak was the first to out Plame. But according to Luskin, Rove's lawyer, Rove spoke to Cooper three or four days before Novak's column appeared. Luskin told NEWSWEEK that Rove "never knowingly disclosed classified information" and that "he did not tell any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA." Luskin declined, however, to discuss any other details. He did say that Rove himself had testified before the grand jury "two or three times" and signed a waiver authorizing reporters to testify about their conversations with him. "He has answered every question that has been put to him about his conversations with Cooper and anybody else," Luskin said. But one of the two lawyers representing a witness sympathetic to the White House told NEWSWEEK that there was growing "concern" in the White House that the prosecutor is interested in Rove. Fitzgerald declined to comment.

Digby weighs in on Lawrence O'Donnell. Bob at Swing State Project is calling it TreasonGate.

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    Re: Rove Update (none / 0) (#1)
    by theologicus on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    There's gonna be, a certain party at the station. ... Why would we have conflicting reports that Rove was not a target of the investigation, but that the prosecutor was interested in him? Can you afford to board Chattanooga Choo-Choo?

    Re: Rove Update (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:49 PM EST
    I'm not sure that's conflicting. There's a very legal difference between being a target and a subject of the grand jury. Fitzgerald advised Rove's lawyer he was a subject but not a target with respect to the leak. If Fitzgerald later came to believe Rove lied to his investigators or the grand jury, and the investigation expanded into one involving perjury or obstruction, Rove may have evolved into a target.