No Deal for Karl Rove

Jeralyn Merritt makes as candid and direct a statement as possible on the Rove matter. She talked to Robert Luskin, Karl Rove’s attorney, and was told his client made no deals with Fitzgerald.

It’s over, folks. Karl Rove will not be charged with a crime. He’s cooperated with Fitzgerald by testifying to the grand jury five times and providing whatever information he had without a safety net. Without a 5k. Without assurances he would not be indicted. That’s a hell of a risk, but Luskin pulled it off. My hat’s off to Luskin.

I opined repeatedly on TalkLeft and HuffPo that Karl Rove would be charged at least with making a false statement to investigators in the fall of 2003 before a grand jury was convened — the Martha Stewart crime. That was wrong.

I’m ready to put this to bed. Karl Rove walked. He’s one of the rare subjects of an investigation who was able to talk his way out of an Indictment.

Indeed, that’s truly amazing. When a special prosecutor/investigator/whatever has years and buckets of money to make a case, any case, against you, they usually succeed. Rove is either more honest or even smarter than his critics give him credit for.

FILED UNDER: Uncategorized, , , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is a Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. “These are not the drone’s you seek”

  2. Bhoe says:

    Rove is either more honest or even smarter than his critics give him credit for.

    There is a difference between honesty and breaking the law. If these reports are true, then it looks as if he is not going to be charged with a crime.

    However, Rove has already admitted to lying about his role in leaking info about Plame to reporters.

    The “truly amazing” thing about this is that Bush doesn’t have the guts to sack him even after Rove’s admission of mendacity.

  3. James Joyner says:

    Bhoe: When, exactly, did Rove admit such a thing?

  4. Charged says:

    Larry at ‘no quarter’ wants Rove’s clearance. They were banned for five years from committees because they were questioned about Plame, not good enough.

  5. ColfromColorado says:

    Lying Liberals hate it when decent, honest, honorable, patriot, terrorist-hating Americans get off scott free. If only we all hated America and loved Zarkawi the way they do… Yep, national security cannot be trusted to the Lying Liberal Democrats.

  6. lily says:

    No we hate it when the bad guy behind the scene, the manipulator gets away with the crime.

  7. McGehee says:

    No we hate it when the bad guy behind the scene, the manipulator gets away with the crime.

    Said crime being, “Beating Democrats like rented mules in the last three (soon to be four) elections.”

  8. Fersboo says:

    Squeal like a pig!

    v.

    Beat like a rented mule.

    Close enough.

    🙂

  9. Bhoe says:

    Bhoe: When, exactly, did Rove admit such a thing?

    In September and October 2003, Scott McClellan said he talked to Rove and indicated that Karl said “he was not involved.” During the RNC Convention in August 2004 Rove said “I didn’t know her name and didn’t leak her name.”

    On July 2, 2005 Rove’s lawyer comfirmed that Rove had talked to Matt Cooper of Newsweek on 11 July 2003 and corroborated Cooper’s claim that he learned of Plame’s identity from Rove.

    If Rove were honest he would either have corrected the record in the fall of 2003 as the spokesman for his office was spewing off untrue information.

    Furthermore, his 2004 statements can be understood as nothing other than pure subterfuge.

  10. James,

    “Rove is either more honest or even smarter than his critics give him credit for.”

    I’m not sure about the smarter, but surely the more honest than his critics gives him credit wouldn’t be a high bar. Of course, he told them just how he was going to win in 2004,then did it.

    I’ll stick with my first post that he used his Jedi mind tricks. So to those on the left, resistance is futile. Your actions are just what Karl wants you to do. Sorry, but when he can get into your mind like that, your screwed.

  11. Bithead says:

    �Rove is either more honest or even smarter than his critics give him credit for.�

    I suspect the former. After all, if you have that, you don’t need much else. And, that really is how to defeat the left these days; be honest. The left does it so seldom anymore, they don’t know how to deal with it.

  12. Maggie says:

    Rove DID NOT LIE TO THE FBI….he lied to everyone else.

    Rascally Republican!

  13. Anderson says:

    Maggie, isn’t that “wascally Wepublican”?