Rove Indicted for Perjury and Lying to Investigators

Update 5/16/06: Apparently there is still no independent verification of Rove’s indictment. TruthOut’s editors claim two sources near the investigation and are standing by the story. Did the web jump the gun? The political world waits on pins and needles. One thing is obvious: if he ain’t indicted yet, he will be.

It has finally come. The perp walk approacheth… well, OK, he’ll likely surrender in a dignified manner and smile hugely for the camera when booked, but it’s still nice to imagine.

Rove’s lawyers were served with an indictment for perjury in the course his testimony at one or more of the five Grand Jury appearances and lying to investigators regarding the Plame leak. There are also rumours of a shedding party organized by Rove at the White House, but I’m taking that with a cow lick of salt for now. At this time, there is no indictment of Rove for the more serious charge of obstucting justice, but I wouldn’t rule such charges out yet.

The White House is already spinning to try to minimize the significance of the news. Just yesterday White House sources said, "We need to start fresh and we can’t do that with the uncertainty of Karl’s
case hanging over our heads. There’s no doubt that it will be front page news if and when (an indictment)
happens. But eventually it will become old news quickly." Boy, talk about wishful thinking. Start fresh 5 and half years in? Who do they think they are kidding?

Rove’s arrest will require his resignation. The Administration – heck, the whole GOP – will be rudderless politically. It will be like someone put a bullet in Bush’s Brain. Without Rove directing strategy for the mid-term elections, the GOP Congressional caucus members will wander around aimlessly like the alien bugs in Starship Troopers after the humans captured the brain bug (come to think of it there is a resemblance, too, isn’t there?).

"Become old news quickly…" Bite my shiny metal ass.

The indictment of Safavian on unrelated corruption charges became old news quickly. The indictment of Libby in the Plame Affair is still providing law abiding, truthful people everywhere with a feeling of interconnected wholeness, as if connected by the roots like a grove of aspens. The resignation of Andy Card was likely a prelude to his indictment on related charges: staff shakeup, riiiight. Card’s indictment also will be big news if and when it happens, though less than if he were still Chief of Staff – which was the whole point, of course.

But Rove’s indictment by itself is rhetorical fodder right through the 2008 Presidential cycle, despite the reality-free zone that has been cultivated in, and apparently still prevails at the White House. Taken together, however, the indictment of the entire upper echelon of the White House staff will be politically legendary. And who knows where it could end? Cheney? Bush himself? Likely only prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald knows, and he is, rightly, not telling.

There’s only one word for the true feelings flowing through the bowels of White House tonight like nausea: Dread.