Another "Watergate" fizzles

UPDATE: (*snicker*) At long last, National Review Online reveals Vanity Fair magazine's true identity as a neocon wingnut Chimpy McBushrovehitlerburton tool by pointing out this incriminating photo of Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame sans disguise, which ran in VF's July 2005 issue.

Really!  The depths that the Bushies will sink in order to smear America's true heroes!

Where's the outrage??!!  (*snort*) 

CUE "SECRET AGENT MAN"

(h/t Michelle Malkin)

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If you've been reading blogs this weekend, you've no doubt seen the excitement swirling around the allegation by Lawrence "Liar! Liar!" O'Donnell that Karl Rove was the mysterious White House source who "outed" Valerie Plame, the not-so-secret agent married to Joe Wilson, the not-so-believable former ambassador who burned through his 15 minutes of Bush-bashing fame last summer.

The Newsweek article, written by Michael "Koran in the Commode" Isikoff, turned out to be, well, disappointing:

The e-mails surrendered by Time Inc., which are largely between Cooper and his editors, show that one of Cooper’s sources was White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, according to two lawyers who asked not to be identified because they are representing witnesses sympathetic to the White House. Cooper and a Time spokeswoman declined to comment. But in an interview with NEWSWEEK, Rove’s lawyer, Robert Luskin, confirmed that Rove had been interviewed by Cooper for the article. It is unclear, however, what passed between Cooper and Rove.

... He did say that Rove himself had testified before the grand jury “two or three times” and signed a waiver authorizing reporters to testify about their conversations with him. (emphasis added)

So was this item published in the Washington Post:

Rove is identified in Cooper’s notes from that time period, which Time turned over Friday to special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald — under court order. Fitzgerald is investigating whether senior administration officials leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame’s name to reporters in July 2003 as retaliation after her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, publicly accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence to justify a war with Iraq.

Rove’s lawyer said Rove never identified Plame to Cooper in those conversations. More significantly, Robert Luskin said, Fitzgerald assured him in October and again last week that Rove is not a target of his investigation. (emphasis added)

Michelle Malkin has a good roundup of links to sensible commentary about this story, which mostly falls into the "wishing will make it so" category.  Alas, another "Watergate" fizzles.

But don't believe for a minute that these developments have derailed the impeach Bush crowd.  No siree Bob.  To them, this is a crucial piece in the Chimpy McBushRovehitlerburton uber-conspiracy that involves Valerie Plame, Jeff Gannon, the Downing Street Memo (um, you did know that they were all part of the same related plot, right?) and whatever else they can lump together.  After all, you never toss aside a piece of the puzzle that seems to fit the others, even if you have to chop the ends off to make it fit.

Good grief, were Republicans this stupid about Bill Clinton?

Comments

[SAM]

I AM NOT A DEMOCRAT NOR A REPUBLICAN...BUT LEAKING THE NAME OF AN ACTIVE NO MATTER HOW COVERT CIA AGENT IS A CRIME. PERIOD. ANYONE WHO PLAYS DOWN THIS FACT IS SIMPLY PUT A COMMIE WHO WILL DO ANYTHING FOR HIS/HER COMMIE PARTY.