As is often the case when an important news story gathers intensity, there are lots of Novak-Plame-gate developments as the grand jury’s expiration date of October 28 approaches.
- Recent stories claiming that Karl Rove falsely told President Bush that he had no involvement with the leaking of Plame’s CIA status may have been incorrect. The NY Daily News reports today that the information behind that story was false, and was leaked by the White House to protect Bush. According to the NYDN, Bush knew about Rove’s involvement, and was quite angry at Rove – not because what he did was wrong, but because he did it so clumsily. Moral: if you’re going to betray your country by outing a CIA agent, be sure to do it well.
- In one of its few significant stories on the subject since its Miller expose, the NY Times today reports that (1) the special prosecutor does not plan to issue a "final report" on his investigation, leading many to conclude that he does plan to issue indictments, and (2) who will replace Karl Rove is an active topic of discussion at the White House.
- Raw Story, which has been quite reliable on this business, reports that the previously-unnamed "cooperating Cheney aide" is John Hannah, who worked both for Cheney and for John Bolton. And, curiously, Hannah’s name is mentioned for no particular reason at the very end of today’s NY Times story, which suggests to me that the NYT thought Hannah had become a significant enough player to mention his name but could not confirm to their satisfaction by press time that he was a cooperating witness. Raw Story also claims that there is another aide who is cooperating, but offers no further information as of now.
- US News reports that Cheney resignation rumors have begun floating around Washington, though the scenario is still considered "doubtful." Still, hope springs eternal.
Please share widely!
