Back to the Grand Jury

Lest anyone still think that Patrick Fitzgerald's inquiry into Karl Rove's role in the CIA leak is over, he's still questioning people under oath:

According to lawyers familiar with the case, Fitzgerald is trying to convince the grand jury that Rove made false statements during the three times he testified under oath and misleading statements to Justice Department and FBI investigators when he was first interviewed about his role in the leak in October 2003.

The attorneys told RAW STORY that Fitzgerald has called Rove’s former personal assistant, Susan B. Ralston -- who was also a special assistant to President Bush -- to testify before the grand jury for a third time, perhaps as early as Monday. She is not said to be in legal jeopardy.

Fitzgerald wants to question Ralston again about several telephone calls Rove allegedly made to a few reporters, including syndicated columnist Robert Novak, lawyers close to the investigation say. Novak first disclosed the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson in his July 14, 2003 column.

Furthermore, the attorneys said that Fitzgerald wants Ralston to clarify some of her previous testimony regarding statements she made about a phone call Rove had with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.

Ralston testified that Cooper’s name was not noted in the call logs from Rove’s office, those familiar with the case say.

Ralston told the grand jury that Cooper’s call to Rove was transferred to Rove’s office by the White House switchboard. She testified that the call was not logged by Rove’s office because Cooper had not called Rove’s office directly.

Sources say that Fitzgerald has obtained documentary evidence proving that scenario does not jibe with other unrelated calls to Rove’s office that were also transferred to his office by the switchboard but were logged.

One of the best contributors online to information about the leak case, ReddHead at firedoglake,

What could this mean? It could sure as hell show some state of mind in terms of wanting to hide the phone call, and that the person wanting the call kept off the books had some knowledge that what they might be doing would get them in trouble. In other words, that they might be doing something...erm...illegal. Ahem.

And that knowledge that someone might be "saying too much already" and disclosing information that should not be disclosed? Well, that just might fit right into an IIPA prosecution, depending on whether that knowledge included the fact that Valerie Plame Wilson was a covert operative. If Fitz can make that nugget work, then behavior that shows Rove trying to pre-emptively cover his tracks by not properly recording the call from Matt Cooper? Well, that's just an awfully helpful little piece of information for a jury, now isn't it?

I just think that it's a joke that Karl Rove has this reputation for having a photographic memory and being a boy genius, yet his defense is that he forgot about the phone call to Matt Cooper. Add that to the deliberate dumping of phone calls related to the case as "off the books," and you have some smoke, and possibly some fire.

Rove should do the right thing and resign now rather than have to do so in the event of an indictment.