home

Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal?

By Jeralyn, Section Valerie Plame Leak Case
Posted on Thu Oct 27, 2005 at 11:26:11 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

As I noted earlier, the news reports on Rove are conflicting. But this statement by one "non-legal" member of his team, who I assume is the P.R. specialist Mark Carballo who signed on to Rove's team the other day, leads me to believe Rove took a deal and Fitzgerald has agreed not to announce it immediately:

A person outside the legal profession familiar with recent developments in the case said Thursday night that Rove's team does not believe he is out of legal jeopardy yet but likely would be spared bad news Friday when the White House fears the first indictments will be issued. Fitzgerald signaled Thursday he might keep Rove under continuing investigation, sparing him from immediate charges, the person said.

If they reached a deal, an Indictment is not necessary. A defendant can waive the right to be charged by Indictment and plead to an Information which is filed by the prosecutor. It's an ordinary occurrence in my district.

If they reached a deal where his continued cooperation is necessary, he can work with the successive grand jury. Or the investigators. After the people he gave evidence against decide to plea or go to trial, that's when he will get an additional 5k benefit. If he works hard enough and brings results, Fitz could request a probation-eligible sentencing zone for him.

Once again, my post, How Karl Rove Could Walk. I wonder if he read this version, published by Yahoo News.

< Plame Grand Jury Out of Extensions | Indictment Day: Open Thread >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? | 6 comments (6 topical)
    Re: Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:29 PM EST
    There is no question that Rove is cooperating with the investigation. But does he get to walk just for that? He must than be giving up someone higher up, but there is not much left above him and Libby. Or he may be giving up information about a new matter like the march to war and the manipulation of intelligence. Could the situation with Rove be explained as follows: Fitz does not at present have enough to get him indicted but he expects the others to talk at which point he may come back to deal with him.

    Re: Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:29 PM EST
    One possibility is that today we will see just one indictment -- Libby -- for false statements or obstruction, i.e., crimes related to the investigation itself, and that we won't be told who else was involved or who was Novak's prime source. The reason is that Fitzgerald could be holding back on a conspiracy indictment until he has finished all of his plea deals. It was mentioned over at Firedoglake that federal conspiracy charges must be brought in a single indictment that names all of the co-conspirators. There could also be "unindicted co-conspirators," e.g., Cheney, but that may be just wishful thinking.

    Re: Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:29 PM EST
    It was mentioned over at Firedoglake that federal conspiracy charges must be brought in a single indictment that names all of the co-conspirators. There could also be "unindicted co-conspirators," e.g., Cheney, but that may be just wishful thinking., Its true that conspiracy indictments generally join all defs in one indictment but the indictments are often superceded to add additional defendants over time. That's not unusual either when an investigation is ongoing.

    Re: Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? (none / 0) (#4)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:29 PM EST
    Fitz is nobody's fool. Friday afternoon announcement, very slick! My bet is that Libby gets it today, and Rove gets strung along, with a new GJ, if neccesary. Keep the pressure on Libby, and maybe a few others, and work it up the chain. Bring the case against Rove later, with more evidence.

    Re: Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:29 PM EST
    Mark Carballo who signed on to Rove's team the other day, leads me to believe Rove took a deal and Fitzgerald has agreed not to announce it immediately:
    If so, could Rove actually remain in his job? I can't imagine Fitz agreeing to defer announcing any charges unless Rove also agreed to resign, as it's clear the Preznit won't fire him unless he's been charged with a crime, and maybe not even then! I wouldn't think Fitz would consider Rove to be "fully cooperating" if he were still part of the White House slime machine, but you never know....

    Re: Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:30 PM EST
    Because the threat of a pardon means none of these felons will actually go to jail, the prosecutorial advantage in getting Rove to cop a plea is that it will directly enable RESTITUTION to the Wilson's via civil court. This way F. ensures that the Wilson civil case will pay out big. That's certainly one priority -- reimbursing the victims out of Rove's pocket.

    Does Rove Have a Secret Plea Deal? | 6 comments (6 topical)