Red Rover Come Over

MSNBC and others report that Karl Rove is back at the grand jury for the fifth time to testify in the Valerie Plame investigation. Never mind the fact that targets of investigations don't give the prosecutor this many chances to skewer them. Have you ever seen anyone get more opportunities to talk themselves out of a lie than Karl Rove? First he says one thing to the grand jury, then he goes back to clear up what he had said, then he goes back again to respond to somebody else's testimony that contradicts his... at some point, shouldn't you just put the hammer down and say "look, you said what you said, under oath, you lied and you're going to be charged for it."

If this wasn't someone this high up in the executive branch... and especially if this was an ordinary workingman and not somebody in government... they'd be at that grand jury once. And if their testimony was contradicted, the prosecutor would respond. Fitzgerald must be under some enormous pressure to let Rove wriggle off the hook here.

Still, having to come back again cannot be good for his potential indictment. If there was nothing to clarify, he wouldn't be sitting there today.