Karl Rove: "Do Not Pass 'Go'"

This is Karl Rove:

Photo of Karl Rove

This is a picture of "Yellow Cake" uranium.


This is President Bush delivering the 2003 State of the Union Address:

President Bush delivering 2003 State of the Union

On January 28, 2003, President Bush at the State of the Union Address stated:

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

This is Joseph Wilson.

Photo of Joseph Wilson on NBC

This is a map of Niger.

Map of Niger

In February, 2002, Joseph Wilson went to Niger to find out if Iraq was trying to obtain Uranium.

On July 6, 2003, Joseph Wilson wrote in the New York Times about his trip to Niger and his findings:

I spent the next eight days drinking sweet mint tea and meeting with dozens of people: current government officials, former government officials, people associated with the country's uranium business. It did not take long to conclude that it was highly doubtful that any such transaction had ever taken place.

This is a photo of Matthew Cooper of Time Magazine after his Grand Jury testimony:


This is what Karl Rove did to Joe Wilson after Wilson contradicted the President; as reported:

White House political aide Karl Rove was the first person to tell a Time magazine reporter that the wife of a prominent critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy was a CIA agent, the reporter said in an article.

Magazine correspondent Matthew Cooper said he told a grand jury last week that Mr Rove told him the woman worked at the "agency," or CIA, on weapons of mass destruction issues, and ended the call by saying "I've already said too much".

This is a picture of Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary:


Scott McClellan Photo

This is what Scott McClellan said about the White House and the "leaker" on September 29, 2003:

MR. McCLELLAN: -- that suggests White House involvement. There are anonymous reports all the time in the media. The President has set high standards, the highest of standards for people in his administration. He's made it very clear to people in his administration that he expects them to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.

But now, Mr. McClellan says that Karl Rove has the confidence of the President. As reported on July 13, 2005:

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. He wasn't asked about his support or confidence for Karl. As I indicated yesterday, every person who works here at the White House, including Karl Rove, has the confidence of the President. This was not a question that came up in the Cabinet Room.

Not everyone is fooled.

John W. Dean, one or Richard Nixon's White House lawyers writes about a similar case involving Jonathan Randel, a Drug Enforcement Agency analyst in FindLaw:

Randel leaked the fact that Lord Ashcroft's name was in the DEA files, and this fact soon surfaced in the London news media. Ashcroft sued, and learned the source of the information was Randel. Using his clout, soon Ashcroft had the U.S. Attorney in pursuit of Randel for his leak.

By late February 2002, the Department of Justice indicted Randel for his leaking of Lord Ashcroft's name. It was an eighteen count "kitchen sink" indictment; they threw everything they could think of at Randel. Most relevant for Karl Rove's situation, Court One of Randel's indictment alleged a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. This is a law that prohibits theft (or conversion for one's own use) of government records and information for non-governmental purposes. But its broad language covers leaks, and it has now been used to cover just such actions.

Randel, faced with a life sentence (actually, 500 years) if convicted on all counts, on the advice of his attorney, pleaded guilty to violating Section 641. On January 9, 2003, Randel was sentenced to a year in a federal prison, followed by three years probation. This sentence prompted the U.S. Attorney to boast that the conviction of Randel made a good example of how the Bush Administration would handle leakers.

Dean goes on to evaluate the Rove/Plame affair and concludes:

While there are other potential violations of the law that may be involved with the Valerie Plame Wilson case, it would be speculation to consider them. But Karl Rove's leak to Matt Cooper is now an established fact. First, there is Matt Cooper's email record. And Cooper has now confirmed that he has told the grand jury he spoke with Rove. If Rove's leak fails to fall under the statute that was used to prosecute Randel, I do not understand why.

There isn't much to add to this. Karl Rove participated in his usual dirty tricks, outed a CIA agent. He didn't say her name. He just said whose wife she was. He compromised national security with his act, endangering the life of this agent and all of her contacts. He gave aid and assistance to our enemies.

What to do?

I thought of my younger days playing Monopoly, and only one thing came to mind:

Monopoly "Chance" Card

And please, no "get out of jail free" card for Rove!

America deserves better. America deserves a President and his Administration that respects the law, abides by their word, and does not sacrifice national security for the purpose of punishing political opponents.

Bob