Category: plame leak case

A Fitful Fitzmas Eve

Back in the day, Monicagate established the gold standard for far-reaching investigations of the executive office. It solidified what DC-insiders and beltway pundits beyond look for in a criminal scandal: we like our prosecutors zealous, our grand juries leakier than an AU iPod Party and our material evidence so tainted that a luminol spray will yield enough luminescence to guide Marine One home.

Things are a lot different this time around. The lupine Ken Starr has been replaced by Patrick Fitzgerald -- who we've been told has such faultless integrity that it's like Gary Cooper done come walkin' out of The Fountainhead. The testimony yielded by this grand jury won't be like Starr's -- hell, that shit was indistinguishable from a Joe Eszterhas screenplay. And sadly, there's a distinct lack of bodily secretions, unless of course you count whatever effluvia leached from Kay Bailey Hutchison as her lips and gums and tongue made noises that sounded like she was trying to tell us perjury wasn't a crime or something.

Still, despite these unsexy deficits, anticipation for the final word from Fitzgerald hasn't seemed to ebb. In part, it's because a goodly portion of the politically peeping population wants to see Rove handed his head. Mostly, it's because the media has just gotten good at geeking us up for the next big thing. Come tomorrow, they won't be able to wait for the grand jury to come a-wassailing -- it's more likely they'll shoot their scare-quote wads at the poor schlub who first goes to the microphone to spit "Sibilance" into it.

As of this afternoon, all eyes were on the Boy Genius. But take our advice: when this thing climaxes, don't linger too long. With Rove, the devil is always in the denouement. — DCEIVER

Sources: Prosecutor focusing on Rove [CNN]

READ MORE: karl rove , patrick fitzgerald , plame leak case

Daily Briefing: 'No Mood For A Circus'

• Katrina relief costs estimated between $100b and $200b; Bush could be forced to trim his economic agenda. [NYT, WSJ, USAT, USAT]
• Bush promises to carefully study "wide open" list of potential justices. Senior administration official: "People are in no mood for a circus. The country is dealing with a terrible tragedy. The American people want a dignified process." [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Emotions run as Rehnquist's flag-draped coffin lies in Supreme Court building. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• Bush will order internal investigation to "find out what went right and what went wrong" with hurricane planning. Lott: "Nothing will be the same again." [WP, NYT, WT, USAT]
• Katrina crisis has increased polarization of the country, unlike period after 9/11. Professor: "Bush is the most partisan president in modern American history. As a result, voters in both parties are focusing on him, rather than on the specifics of the policies." [WP]

• The Coast Guard's chief of staff named to oversee Katrina-related operations for FEMA. [WP, USAT]
• Specter, after one-on-one with Roberts, says nominee displays confidence and humility. [WP]
• California legislature sends gay marriage bill to Schwarzenegger. Gay activist: "This is it. This is the tipping point." [WP, LAT]
• Roberts is from a Rehnquist mold. [USAT, USAT]
• Prosecutors in Plame leak case have a "long shot" loophole to try to convict administration official for leaking. [WP]
• Analyst: "Clearly we didn't get a coordinated governmental response in the case of Katrina. The same thing happened in Iraq. The mechanisms to integrate efforts across the government were just lacking.[WSJ]
• Pentagon defends response. Myers: "Not only was there no delay, I think we anticipated in most cases --not in all cases, but in most cases-- the support that was required." [USAT]
• Bush's trips to Europe have not helped his image there. [WP]
• Lawmakers at hearing on gas prices voice frustration over rising prices. [NYT]
• Democrats and labor groups in Ohio win drive for ballot initiatives. [NYT]
• D.C. loves podcasts. [LAT]

READ MORE: Democrats , Republicans , arlen specter , arnold schwarzenegger , congress , deficit , economic agenda , europe , fema , gay marriage , george w. bush , john g. roberts , katrina , ohio , plame leak case , podcasting , william h. rehnquist

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