With reports buzzing around the web that hard evidence exists linking Presidential Advisor Karl Rove to the leak of CIAster Valerie Plame's identity, I'm tempted to go down to the local grocer and pick up a bottle of their finest bubbly. We've all waited years for this beautiful moment: Rove's hands finally caught in the cookie jar.
The story, if you're not familiar, goes like this: husband of CIA operative speaks out against White House; White House official leaks name of CIAster wife to press; NY Times, Time Magazine, and Robert Novak all work on stories regarding the leak; reporters for NY Times, Time Magazine pressed to reveal sources, which they refuse to do; Grand Jury battle erupts in leak investigation, putting NY Times writer Judith Miller in jail for contempt of court; Time Magazine hands over reporter Matthew Cooper's notes to Grand Jury, Cooper then agrees to testify for Grand Jury and avoids jail time.
There are so many unsettling things about this story. Robert Novak's column dealt the serious blow in Plame's outing, yet he was never under the legal pressure to reveal his sources that Miller and Cooper were. No surprise, I suppose (one of these reporters is not like the other...). Novak charachterizes his sources as "two senior administration officials" - yet no inquiry into his role. The NY Times had this to say today:
The affair has been brewing in Washington for two years. It reached a new intensity this month with the jailing of a New York Times reporter, Judith Miller, who never wrote an article about the affair but resisted demands from prosecutors to reveal whom she had talked to about it.
Another reporter, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, avoided jail when his company yielded a demand to turn over his notes on the matter. Mr. Novak, meanwhile, has appeared to be under no threat of jail, for reasons that are not clear. He has said he will be able to clear things up one day.
The best bit of irony in this ongoing saga might end up being that Karl Rove was actually FIRED from George Bush senior's campaign in 1992 for, you guessed it, leaking information to Robert Novak himself (see here for Houston Chronicle article). Good ol' Rove - his wormy history repeating itself. We all knew he was doing naughty things. We only dreamed that he'd be silly enough to get caught doing it.
Bush previously stated that he would fire any person caught for leaking this information. The White House has since backed off these claims, but no one has forgotten them. Even the oft-boring White House Press Corps hasn't.
The bottom line: Rove may be the new Spam-like alternative for kids across the nation. Dig in and enjoy!
