Official Washington buzzes with the prediction Karl Rove will be
indicted this week. Now is a good time to buck the buzz and predict
he will not.
Just from reading the verbose news reports one can gather that
the chances of an indictment for Rove are minimal. For one, though
the press reports that lawyers (unnamed) say he has been told he is
in "serious" danger, this loose language is insufficient to
conclude indictment is near. I have yet to see it reported that
Rove has been notified that he is a "target" of an investigation by
the prosecutor, which according to the Justice Department
guidelines is mandatory if he were in "serious" danger. Nor does it
appear that he has even been notified that he falls into that far
lesser category, namely, "subject" of an investigation. For another
thing, the only problem with Rove's grand jury testimony that we
are aware of is that during one of his grand jury appearances he
neglected to mention a meeting with a reporter. It is unlikely that
this omission could constitute grounds for an indictment. Innocent
failure to recall when not asked a specific question is not a
crime. When Rove was asked specifically about the meeting he
apparently acknowledged it.
Thus my guess is Rove goes free. Karl, take the week off and
clean up your garage or head for the beach.
topics:
Law
About the Author
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. He is the author of the forthcoming The Death of Liberalism, published by Thomas Nelson Inc. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn't Work: Social Democracy's Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; The Clinton Crack-Up; and After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery.
