A critical misstep for Rove?
It's still too early in the tale, and it's best not to get unduly excited, but here's what has developed since yesterday:
An MSNBC analyst has claimed that infamous GOP kingmaker and puppeteer Karl Rove was the source of the Valerie Plame as CIA agent "leak". The information about Plume was given to reporters Robert Novak, Judith Miller and Matt Cooper, passed into print and Valerie Plame's utility as an agent was largely history. This revelation of a government agent's identity is illegal. The penalties, as I understand them, are a fine ($50,000 was mentioned in an unverified source) at a minimum and/or a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Given the level of politics at which Rove has been operating, anything but the maximum penalty should be out of the question. This action would be one of near-treason, and done for political reasons. Then there's the question of a perjury rap for Rove if he told a grand jury that he wasn't the source of the leak to reporter Matt Cooper. You know, perjury, which when even done about something as completely innocuous as a consensual sexual relationship proved so absolutely egregious in the eyes and hearts of sanctimonious politicians and other morons that it was grounds for impeachment?
If nothing else, it should be fun to watch the denials, evasions, and qualifications from Rove and the rest of the GOP power elite as they struggle to decide who to stand with and whether standing with or stepping away from Rove will sink or preserve their careers. My advice to Democratic politicians (there are reportedly a few of them still out there, though I rarely see their like) is to press for details but otherwise let the ripples of fear rippling through the GOP and the White House to act on its members for a while. Keep the lights on high power so the shadow space to plot in is tough to come by, and see if they start to tear each other apart on this.
If you feel the need to make an early press on the issue with your elected representatives, be sure to do a little reading on the players first, or at least keep your statements to expressions of personal concern. Lean on how a partisanly politically motivated move not only revealed Valerie Plume's status, but with that information given to everyone, the enemies of the US could potentially backtrack her activities and start building information on the people that she interacted with in any capacity. Even people that interacted innocently with may suddenly have become suspected intelligence agents. Rove has made a career of dirty tricks to sink opponents and misdirect attention away from himself, being one of those people for whom the ends apparently justify any means.
Unfortunately, the most likely tactic will be for the White House and allies to circle their wagons around Rove, and count on the "two-witness rule" - a point of law that insists on two witnesses to the action in question. If Rove gave the information directly to Cooper then they may be able to count on this to protect Rove, regardless of any phone records, or however many colleagues, etc. Cooper may have told as he got off the phone. The details on this are hashed out here.
Let's give it a day or so to smoulder and put some early scare into the pachyderms, and then see where it's best to apply pressure. It's sad to think he might get away yet again with something, but that won't mean we're required to shut up about it and give them any peace...
Well, at least until Bush can pack the Supreme Court and lesser court system with enough idealogues to change that.
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