Truth in Packaging
Jul 22nd, 2005 at 11:48 pm by Susie
Via Raw Story, the L.A. Times uses the “P” word and the “O” word on the front page - for perjury, obstruction of justice and Karl Rove:
The sources also said prosecutors are comparing the various statements to the FBI and the grand jury by Rove, who is a White House deputy chief of staff and President Bush’s chief political strategist. Rove in his first interview with the FBI did not mention a conversation he had with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, according to lawyers involved in the case. The White House aide has been interviewed twice by the FBI and made three appearances before the grand jury, they said.While no one has suggested that the investigation into who leaked Plame’s name has been shelved, the intensity of the inquiry into possible perjury charges has increased, according to one lawyer familiar with events, who spoke on condition that he not be identified because he did not want to anger Fitzgerald.
The investigation’s change in emphasis comes amid indications that Fitzgerald’s inquiry has gone well beyond scrutinizing the actions of top White House officials, such as Rove and Libby, who is chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, to searching for the potential source of the leak in other parts of the White House and other executive branch agencies.
the WashPo iz more oblique:
Lawyers involved in the case said there are now indications that Fitzgerald either did not initially know or suspect that Rove was Cooper’s primary source for the reporter’s information about Plame. That raises questions about how much Rove disclosed when first questioned in the inquiry or how closely he was initially queried about his contacts with reporters. Rove has testified before a grand jury and been questioned by FBI agents on at least five occasions over the past two years.
Two lawyers involved in the case say that although Fitzgerald used phone logs to determine some contacts between officials and reporters, they believe there is no phone record of Cooper’s now-famous call to Rove in the days before Novak’s column appeared in July 2003. That is because Cooper called the White House switchboard and was reconnected to Rove’s office, sources said.
Initially, Fitzgerald appeared focused on the theory that Libby had leaked Plame’s identity, according to lawyers involved in the case. He had interviewed three other reporters about their conversations with Libby, but all three indicated he either did not discuss Plame or did not reveal her identity.






