DAYS

LET THE FROG MARCH BEGIN
In Augsut of 2003, former ambassador and BushCo. thorn Joseph Wilson had this to say:

"At the end of the day it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs."

Well Joe, it's beginning to look like the frogs are marching.



The sphere (that's 'blogosphere' to you and me) is afire today with stories of Karl Rove's involvement in the outing of Valerie Plame, a covert CIA agent whose husband, Joseph Wilson, has been an outspoken, longtime critic of Bush's war in Iraq and the intelligence used to justify it. Two years ago, almost to the day, Plame was outed as a CIA agent in a column by conservative columnist Robert Novak in an attempt to discredit her husband who was, at the time, calling bullshit on the Bush administration's now debunked claim of Saddam seeking yellowcake uranium from Niger in order to justify its invasion. Novak cited senior White House officials as his source.

This raised more than an eyebrow in Washington because it is, for obvious reasons, a federal crime to knowingly reveal the identity of an undercover intelligence operative still in the field. For two years an investigation has been underway to discover who the leaker was. Back in October 2003, President Bush promised to punish the offender to the full extent of the law if and when he/she was discovered. Apparently, Bush's prediction at that time that the leaker may never be found was simply wishful thinking. Mr. President, it appears you may have to put on your punishin' shoes, if you own any that is. Or maybe you just want to grant the offending leaker, who appears to be your turdblossom buddy Karl Rove, a medal or something. That does seem to be your way.

A Newsweek story released yesterday cites e-mails between Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper (the one not in jail) and his editors which finger Rove as the "double super secret source" of the Plame leak. In a surreal press briefing today, press secretary Scott McLellan squirmed and squirmed and squirmed as the press corps woke up and demanded answers. Poor Scotty provided none. Crooks & Liars has the video here, it's a must-watch. Funnily enough, the White House failed to post video of today's briefing on its website, as Catch points out. By the way, here's what Scotty had to say in September 2003 about Rove's possible involvement in the Plame leak:

"I've made it very clear that it was a ridiculous suggestion in the first place. I saw some comments this morning from the person who made that suggestion, backing away from that. And I said it is simply not true. So, I mean, it's public knowledge. I've said that it's not true. And I have spoken with Karl Rove ... He's aware of what I've said, that there is simply no truth to that suggestion."

Uh huh. The frogs do indeed appear to be marching.



Of course, the Rove apologists respond that Bush's 'boy genius' didn't do anything wrong. Their defense? That he didn't reveal Plame by name. He only said that "Joe Wilson's wife" was a CIA agent, but never named her. Oh sure, that should clear him. It would've been extremely difficult to determine who Joe Wilson's wife was based on such vague information. Hell, a reporter would have to spend countless minutes on Google to figure it out. And really, what reporter is going to do that much work?

Lastly, let's not forget the bigger picture here. Why was Rove doing what he was doing? To sell a bullshit war to the American people, that's why. Don't forget that.

See you in the hoosegow Karl.

(Thanks to One Good Move for the photo.)

MORE
Frank Rich: Worse than Watergate
Countdown: It Was Rove (video)
Kos: Fun With Splicing.
Digby: On Everything.
Wonkette: Knew all along
Bloggerman: Politics first, counter-terrorism second. It’s as simple as that.
Everyone seems to have something to say about this. Even Taiwan.
TRati: karl rove