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Rove, Leopold, and an indicment

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Over the weekend, Truthout’s [tag]Jason Leopold[/tag] reported that [tag]Karl Rove[/tag] has, in fact, been [tag]indicted[/tag] for [tag]perjury[/tag] by [tag]Patrick Fitzgerald[/tag]’s grand jury. I’m more than a little skeptical about the report, but it occurs to me that I should take a moment to explain why, instead of just ignoring the [tag]Truthout[/tag] piece altogether.

Obviously, this isn’t a question of what I hope is true. A Rove indictment would be a stunning setback for the Bush White House and would be cause for celebration. (I especially hope it happens today, because it’d make a perfect birthday present.) At this point, however, I’m not prepared to believe the Truthout report, nor am I able to pass it along to readers as a credible news story with any confidence.

For one thing, the New York Sun and the National Review’s Byron York have offered compelling reports indicating that the Leopold article is simply mistaken.

“I talked with Rove defense spokesman [tag]Mark Corallo[/tag], who told me the story was completely baseless. Part of our conversation: Did Patrick Fitzgerald come to [tag]Patton Boggs[/tag] for 15 hours Friday? No. Did he come to Patton Boggs for any period of time Friday? No. Did he meet anywhere else with Karl Rove’s representatives? No. Did he communicate in any way with Karl Rove’s representatives? No. Did he inform Rove or Rove’s representatives that Rove had been indicted? No.”

Yes, these are conservative news outlets, but there are some basic facts at play. The Leopold article says Fitzgerald was at Rove’s attorneys’ office on Friday. The Sun says Fitzgerald was in Chicago on Friday. It’s a pretty straightforward question. If Leopold is wrong about this, the rest of his conclusions are obviously suspect.

Second, as Mark Kleiman asked, “Who [at the Bush White House] would have told Jason Leopold, but no reporter with a mass outlet, that Rove had been indicted?” It’s a perfectly reasonable question. Say what you will about the [tag]White House[/tag] press corps, but literally dozens of top-tier professional journalists cover the president every day, and it’s very difficult to believe that one Truthout reporter has insider access that no one else has.

And as my friend Peter Daou noted today,

From everything we’ve seen in public reports, it’s very possible Rove will indeed be indicted this week. In fact it’s looking more and more likely he will be. What was done to Valerie and Joe Wilson is a travesty and there will be justified celebration across America if Patrick Fitzgerald brings everyone who was involved in this repugnant and dangerous act to justice. Nevertheless, something just isn’t adding up.

No, it isn’t. If Leopold’s right, I’ll be thrilled. In fact, Rove may very well be indicted, even if the Truthout piece is complete fiction. But until there’s some additional confirmation, this scoop has “caveat emptor” written all over it.

Comments

  • Edo

    says:

    Ed,

    with all due respect, I believe it should be:

    …

    Happy Birthday, Dear Carpetbagger

    …

    ;->

    Many returns, Mr. Carpetbagger!

  • Frak

    says:

    Fishing? I’ll bite! Happy birthday, CB, and many, many more. And thanks for being such a great host for us Baggers.
    Karl Rove in handcuffs would certainly be a gift for us all.

  • burro

    says:

    Feliz Cumpleanos Hombre!

    If you get your wish, it will be a gift to us all. Good luck in your coming year.

  • Carpetbagger

    says:

    That’s an incredibly intricate way to go fishing for birthday wishes.

    Just for the record, I wasn’t fishing. I just thought it’d be nice timing if Rove got indicted today.

    That said, many thanks for the birthday wishes.

  • Brian

    says:

    Happy B-Day to the CB man. Many happy more.

    As for Leopold, I think he’s been wrong about this stuff before. Truthout is great, but with Leopold, fool me once… won’t get fooled again.

  • Colin

    says:

    While I am as anxious as anyone to celebrate Fitz de Mayo, I also like the idea of Rove squirming on the hook. The fixer thought he could outsmart everyone, screw anyone that got in his way, and finally he met his match Patrick Fitzgerald, who is taking his sweet time nailing him to the wall.

    On a side note, I read last week that Valerie Plame got a $2.5 million advance for her memoirs . Good for her. I hope it takes the sting off of having her career destroyed by those bastards. I’m looking forward to reading it.

  • Ed Stephan

    says:

    Edo (#2),

    Of course, you’re correct (I almost typed “right”, shudder). Although, considering the scansion involved (“carpetbagger” is a tetra-syllabic word) — not to mention the reich-wing’s reaction to “Brokeback” — maybe what I wrote in haste is better, especially if there are federal spies reading/storing all this.

  • Ms Carpetbagger

    says:

    I missed the party! Oh well, looks like you guys have it covered.

    And happy bday, babe!

  • Eleanora

    says:

    Happy Birthday, Carpetbagger! Thanks for all you do to make sure that your articles are reality-based, well-supported, and timely. A healthy skepticism helps to keep us all grounded in reality, no matter how sweet a Rove Frogmarch would be. Fitz’ll get him, sooner or later.

  • MNProgressive

    says:

    Happy Birthday CB! I will have an adult beverage this evening in your honor! Keep up the good work!

  • Edo

    says:

    Ed,

    oh man. NOW you mention the federal spies angle. D’oh! Double D’oh! I hope they’re not waiting for me when I get home tonight. My wife will be so unhappy about strangers tramping mud all over the floor. ;->

  • Edo

    says:

    (from the caught-in-the-crossfires of blog posts going up and then down)

    Mrs. Carpetbagger,

    since you posted, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thanks to you from all of us for the excellent behind-the-scenes work you do to make The Carpetbagger Report available. I’m sure Mr. Carpetbagger is good enough to thank you often, but I just wanted you to know that we are aware of what you do and appreciate your efforts as well.

    And of course, Happy Birthday, Mr. Carpetbagger!

  • hark

    says:

    Yes, Happy Birthday, CB. And as an added bonus, you are now more than half my age, which makes me feel better!

    One has to ask, what the hell is Truthout doing publishing stories that appear to be pure fabrications? This isn’t the first such article that has been published on that site by Leopold and which later turned out to be completely wrong. Has anyone contacted them for comment on this?

    What a letdown, too. I saw this article Saturday evening and thought maybe, just maybe, we were getting the big break that would finally ignite a firestorm of demands for investigations.

    Apparently not. Big sigh.

  • JoeW

    says:

    Happy B-day CB!
    As for the Rove story, I think there’s probably some truth to it, but it’s likely overstated. When Leopold says that Rove notified the WH of his indictment, it’s likely he said probable indictment.

    Then there’s the Friday news dump. If Rove had been indicted on Friday, wouldn’t the WH fire him late Fri afternoon, in the bizzare hope it cooled by Monday? That’s the standard procesdure with Bush. Then again, I constantly misunderestimate his stupidity and arrogance.

  • Curmudgeon

    says:

    Hey, Happy Birthday, CB!! And I add my continuous thanks to Mrs. C as well. As long as strong and unpolluted voices can still be heard in this land of ours, the Republic will inevitably prevail.

    What the heck….three cheers for all of us!!! 🙂

  • prm

    says:

    Happy Birthday, Carpetbagger.

    Here’s hoping we all get your birthday wish. I hope there’s a frog march involved.

  • &y

    says:

    Patience, Carpetbagger, patience. I’d been hoping for indictments as a wedding present last October–and was actually a little disappointed when nothing happened on the 21st (the Friday before My Big Day.) One week later, BAM!

    In other words, based on my vast experience, Fitzgerald lets us simmer and worry for about a week. Then he delivers the goodies.

    Anyway, happy birthday.

  • BuzzMon

    says:

    Happy B-day, to my favorite political news filter. And thanks for everything you do.
    As for Mr. Fitgerald & Mr. Rove, I would prefer the term “Fitzivus.”
    May it come soon.

  • Ed Stephan

    says:

    As I understand it, Rove has 24 *business hours* to wrap up his affairs, so it still could come this week. Hope, hope hope.

    Add my molti ringraziamenti to those already directed toward la signora CB.

  • coolgeek

    says:

    for what it’s worth, Truthout is standing behinfd the story, and Leopold indicated in an interview over the weekend that he would expose his sources if it turns out that they lied to him

  • Rian Mueller

    says:

    ZOMG it’s your birthday? Who let the cat out of the bag?

    Happy birthday man!

    More substantively, I am confused. When Libby was indicted, it was a huge media brouhaha, with Fitzgerald himself making a speech about it and announcing it in person. Why all this uncertain speculation this time around?

    Thom Hartmann, smart lefty radio host, gave it even odds Friday morning that the indictment would come the same day. I didn’t hear anything, and was going to wait until it was similarly pasted all over the news like the Libby indictment. Why for all this speculation instead?

    I’m confuzzled.

  • Dale

    says:

    Happy Birthday CB and many thanks to you and the Ms. Today’s my birthday too so surely the cosmos can come up with a gift-wrapped Rove for us today.

    Sounds like Truthout may have left the truth out in this story, but we can always hope. Sounds like the Rove-ing reporter roved a little too far.

  • Lance

    says:

    Now I’m beginning to suspect that I’m the third oldest person to comment on this blog.

    Happy Birthday CB. Keep up the good work!

  • Jim B

    says:

    Happy Birthday, CB. You are now only 29 years younger than me. You would of loved being 30 years old when Nixon went down. Maybe you can be 33 when Bush does.

  • marcus alrealius alrightus

    says:

    Happy Birthday Steve

    FWIW — For only being 33, it seems like you have some good accomplishments under your belt with this blog and the other writings you do.

  • petorado

    says:

    Fitz is probaly delaying the announcement so you can enjoy the evening with your family and not have to blog furiously through the night. I’m sure all of us in the peanut gallery will be raising a glass to your continued health and success for yet another year.

  • dajafi

    says:

    Happy birthday, Steve. Having turned 33 just 15 days ago… I’m mostly honored to share an age with you. Thanks for this site and keep up the great work.

    And, yeah, you know what to wish for when it comes time to blow out the candles.

  • TuiMel

    says:

    Happy birthday, CB. If not today, maybe the birthday of one of your commenters will be the day. I’m sure we’ve got some cusp Taurus’s or Gemini’s in the house…