Rehnquist denies he'll retire, and attention stays on Rove
It was something we were expecting sometime this summer: for the Chief Justice to announce he does not intend to leave the Supreme Court anytime soon:
Karl Rove continues to dominate the headlines across America as new information spills out about his involvement in Plamegate:
The White House desperately wants Plamegate and the attention on Rove to go away. They're hoping the scandal won't continue to simmer through the summer - but it may. Reporters and journalists who feel Scott McClellan lied to them are mad as hell, and that doesn't help the administration one bit.
Journalists hate being lied to. Especially by the White House press secretary.
While issues such as the Downing Street Memo remain important, this one is too. There are so many angles - national security, Iraq, reporters' right to keep confidential sources, leaks, and of course, corruption.
It's "political payback" that reeks of the Nixon administration - especially the break ins into the offices of the DNC and Daniel Ellsburg. As usual, the cover up is worse then the crime. Bush and his surrogates should have expected the truth to get out eventually.
It will be interesting to see how much special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is able to find out.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, ending months of increasingly frenzied speculation about his retirement plans, declared on Thursday night that he would continue to serve "as long as my health permits."We didn't think he was leaving. Not Mr. Rehnquist.
The chief justice's announcement, released without advance notice by his family, was completely unexpected and took the White House and Supreme Court officials by surprise. It first appeared on The Associated Press wire shortly before 9 p.m.
The statement said: "I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement. I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as chief justice as long as my health permits."
Karl Rove continues to dominate the headlines across America as new information spills out about his involvement in Plamegate:
Karl Rove, the White House senior adviser, spoke with the columnist Robert D. Novak as he was preparing an article in July 2003 that identified a C.I.A. officer who was undercover, someone who has been officially briefed on the matter said.Now we learn Rove had a conversation with Novak.
Mr. Rove has told investigators that he learned from the columnist the name of the C.I.A. officer, who was referred to by her maiden name, Valerie Plame, and the circumstances in which her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, traveled to Africa to investigate possible uranium sales to Iraq, the person said.
After hearing Mr. Novak's account, the person who has been briefed on the matter said, Mr. Rove told the columnist: "I heard that, too."
The previously undisclosed telephone conversation, which took place on July 8, 2003, was initiated by Mr. Novak, the person who has been briefed on the matter said.
The White House desperately wants Plamegate and the attention on Rove to go away. They're hoping the scandal won't continue to simmer through the summer - but it may. Reporters and journalists who feel Scott McClellan lied to them are mad as hell, and that doesn't help the administration one bit.
Journalists hate being lied to. Especially by the White House press secretary.
While issues such as the Downing Street Memo remain important, this one is too. There are so many angles - national security, Iraq, reporters' right to keep confidential sources, leaks, and of course, corruption.
It's "political payback" that reeks of the Nixon administration - especially the break ins into the offices of the DNC and Daniel Ellsburg. As usual, the cover up is worse then the crime. Bush and his surrogates should have expected the truth to get out eventually.
It will be interesting to see how much special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is able to find out.
