Well, Isn't That Interesting?
I'm up, drinking my coffee, watching Imus because he has Timmeh on this morning. And lo, and behold, Timmeh starts talking about his time before the Grand Jury.
Hallaleujah! It's a miracle.
And he said that he testified that he had never before heard of Valerie Plame, and that he was not the recipient of any leak.
Wow, that was tough. And it took him this long to say it? Good heavens!
Russert also says that they are expecting the announcement from Fitz sometime this afternoon. Which, of course, gives Fitz much time with the G/J for the morning if he needs it for voting on things like, say, large indictments and stuff. Luskin spent all that time phoning in the spin last night, and it may be all for nothing. Isn't that sad? Ahem.
Intriguingly, Imus (who I know isn't exactly accuracy in media or anything, but still...) reported this morning that Rove, himself, was the source for some of the reporting, according to the AP. Let me just say that if a client of mine started calling reporters about whether or not he was innocent or wouldn't be indicted, reporters here would just laugh and hang up. Man, I'd love to know for whom Rove was a source, if that's true. That's just hilarious.
Reuters is reporting the following this morning:
One lawyer involved in the case said the attorneys made final appeals to Fitzgerald to try to avoid indictment, raising the prospect of last-minute plea agreements.MSNBC is reporting that Rove is telling people he will remain under investigation, that he will not be off the hook at all, and is telling them that he will not be indicted today. (Again, I'm not believing anything until I hear it from Fitz directly. Everything else is spin.)
When asked whether Rove was trying to negotiate Fitzgerald down to a lesser charge, Luskin responded: "False."
Luskin has been making the case that any errors in Rove's testimony were inadvertant, according to Bob Kerr on MSNBC. And Fitz is not satisfied with that as an answer. Libby shopping for a new trial attorney (Jeralyn covered this yesterday -- trial is a whole different ballgame, and she's absolutely right that this is the best move for Libby if he's facing indictment.)
Bascially, no reporter really knows much of anything about what will happen today, other than to say that something will likely happen today. More non-news -- and hopefully some actual news -- when we get it. G/J scheduled to meet at 9 am ET, so here's hoping.
UPDATE: MSNBC reporting that at noon, there will be a release of documents. And at 2:00 pm ET, there will be a news conference from Patrick Fitzgerald.
UPDATE #2: Just a reminder about a couple of issues. If there is a plea agreement that includes an information rather than an indictment, that will likely be a part of the document dump today at noon. Also, and this is important to remember, if there is an allegation of a conspiracy, there can be multiple defendants included in a single indictment -- so one indictment may not mean only one person. Wait until you read the actual documents to see what is being alleged at this point.
UPDATE #3: The WaPo has updated its article from last night. A few new interesting tidbits, including:
Fitzgerald has a number of legal options. They range from concluding that no one broke the law, to charging a number of government officials with a conspiracy to unmask Plame or obstruct justice during the investigation. But it was hard to find anyone involved in the case yesterday who believed Fitzgerald will not indict someone today.Well, that's quite a bit different from last night's all rosy spin zone, now isn't it? Additionally, they expressly say:
It was unclear yesterday whether Fitzgerald had issued formal letters notifying anyone that he or she was a target of the investigation. However, that step might not be necessary for Libby or Rove, who previously have been warned verbally that they face possible legal jeopardy.Which pretty clearly says, "Hello I'm Pat Fitzgerald, and I may indict your ass." And then there is this:
"The Special Counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he has made no decision about whether or not to bring charges and that Mr. Rove's status has not changed," said Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, in a statement released this morning. "Mr. Rove will continue to cooperate fully with the Special Counsel's efforts to complete the investigation. We are confident that when the Special Counsel finishes his work, he will conclude that Mr. Rove has done nothing wrong."Well, that says absolutely nothing. As Fitzgerald is meeting with the Grand Jury as we type, and had a whole night to think about things anew, we really will not know anything until he makes an announcement today.
posted by ReddHedd @ 10/28/2005 05:37:00 AM
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