Rove in the Hot Seat, Again

Karl Rove is testifying in front of the grand jury investigating the Plame Affair today in what will be his fifth appearance. Perhaps, most of those could have been avoided if he'd simply told the truth from day one. Maybe this latest appearance will result in obstruction of justice and/or perjury charges a la Scooter Libby if it can be shown through new evidence that Rove's so-called cooperation in the case has been less than forthcoming as he's attempted to cover his tracks.

People familiar with the case, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, said Rove was to answer questions about evidence that has emerged since his last grand jury appearance last fall.

That new evidence includes information that Rove’s attorney had conversations with Time magazine reporter Viveca Novak during a critical time in the case.

Months before Rove acknowledged speaking to Cooper about the CIA status of Plame, Novak told Rove’s lawyer the White House aide might have disclosed Plame’s CIA work to Cooper.

If Rove's lawyer knew that Novak had this information, yet it still took Rove "months" to reveal it to investigators, one can only ask why there would have been such a delay. The most obvious answer is that Rove and/or his lawyer thought it was incriminating. However, these are smart men. You'd think they would have figured out that Viveca Novak could just as easily, and perhaps did, contact prosecutor Fitzgerald with this revelation.

NBC News reported last week that the latest court filings refer to Rove as a “subject” of the ongoing grand jury probe, meaning he is still under investigation. But prosecutors have said Rove will not be a government witness, which leaves open the possibility of indictment.

In the end, the parallel to the Watergate scandal can't be overlooked: it's the coverup that will bring down these members of Bush's inner circle.

And, speaking of Watergate, the questions surrounding Bob Woodward's source in this case are still open. But, that is fodder for another post on this blog. Stay tuned.