I'm coming to the conclusion that Fitzgerald isn't being any more forthcoming with Luskin than he has been with Sauber or any other defense lawyer, hence Luskin's recent silence. I wonder whether Luskin was suprised that Fitzgerald called Rove's aides to the grand jury. Most likely he found out from the aides' attorneys, after the subpoenas were issued and before the aides testified. Even though the attorneys may have told Luskin what their clients intended to say in their testimony, and later, after they testified, what the aides remember being asked and how they answered, I think Luskin isn't as sure as he has been in the past that his client isn't morphing from a subject into a target - hence, his silence.

All of this brought me to wondering how Rove hooked up with Luskin, a known liberal. Here's the answer from California law newspaper The Recorder (subscription required):

Luskin met Rove through a referral from Patton Boggs partner Benjamin Ginsberg, a legal adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign who in August 2004 resigned after revealing that he had also advised the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that sought to discredit John Kerry's military record.

Which now makes me wonder whether Ginsberg, as a partner of Luskin's, isn't one of the frequent "sources familiar with Rove's grand jury testimony." Is Ginsberg serving as an ex-officio, behind the scene counsel to Rove? Don't forget, Ginsberg both represented the Bush campaign during the 2000 Florida recount and served as counsel to the Bush 2004 re-election campaign.

The last quote I see from Luskin is in a July 25 Wall St. Journal article (free):

The grand jury's term "ends in October, but could be extended for six months if prosecutors believe there is a reason to continue." Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, "said that generally speaking, it wouldn't be unusual for a federal prosecutor to hold the current grand jury over." Among other things, prosecutors "seem to be interested in whether administration officials' stories match those of the reporters they talked to." Rove's "recollection of his conversation with Mr. Cooper may be of interest because of divergences with Mr. Cooper's account of its details."

So there have been no statements in the last nine days from Luskin reiterating that Rove is not a target. Is Luskin tired of repeating himself? Doubtful. Is he unsure? I suspect he is.