Read Between The Lines - Slick Karl Is In Trouble

I just came across this excellent diary by redfed over at DailyKos For those of you unfamiliar with the federal criminal system, here is some insight into what has transpired over the past few days. There are at least two significant things to take from what Rove's attorney said and did NOT say that suggest Rove has some serious criminal exposure: First, Luskin claims that Fitzgerald told him that Rove was not a "target" of the investigation. In the context of a federal criminal investigation, a target is a term of art used very carefully by federal prosecutors and reserved only for those involved in an investigation that the prosecutor presently deems a "putative" defendant. It does not mean, as Luskin would have us believe, that his client is out of the woods (and he surely knows better). Second, Luskin claims that Rove never "knowingly" leaked classified information. Obviously, this is carefully parsed language and represents Karl's defense. Evidently, Rove was trying to discredit Wilson to the press by bringing up Wilson's CIA-employed wife, but Rove is apparently claiming that he did not KNOW that the information was classified and that Plame was undercover. So where is this going? We've heard that Rove has claimed that he didn't start talking about Plame until after the Novak story appeared. But if Cooper's notes suggest that Rove was spreading the Plame story BEFORE Novak's column, this would mean that Rove lied to the grand jury (and perhaps to the FBI) about when he started pushing the Plame story. Not only is lying about a crime a crime, but it is excellent evidence of the underlying crime itself. Thus, not only may Rove be on the hook for obstruction of justice, false statements and perjury, his lies could give Fitzgerald enough evidence to charge him with the underlying leak (or at least put enough heat on him to get to the original source of the classified information). This is an excellent analysis of what has taken place regarding Rove's Attorney Luskin's parsing of words. I would urge you to read the diary in its' entirety and keep in mind while doing so, Rove was thrown off the Reagan/Bush team for leaking information. Seems to me the leopard hasn't changed his spots. Read the entire diary HERE.....