Last night, CBS’s 60 Minutes followed-up on the case of Don Siegelman, who was released from prison recently after an appeals court said his conviction “raised substantial questions of law or fact.” The former Alabama governor said that Karl Rove had “accomplished his goal” of ending his political career. “What we need is Karl Rove to get himself over to the Judiciary Committee and put his hand on the Bible and take an oath and give testimony,” Siegelman said Sunday. “And he can either tell the truth or take the Fifth, either one will satisfy me.” In response to Siegelman, Rove told 60 Minutes, “I never talked to the Department of Justice about Siegelman. I never talked to anyone in the White House about Siegelman.”
Democrats are slow learners. When Rove says, "I never talked to the Department of Justice about Siegelman. I never talked to anyone in the White House about Siegelman.", one needs to recall Rove’s saying, "I never said … her name." about Valerie Plame. What that means is that he never said "Valerie Plame." That didn’t mean he hadn’t said "Wilson’s wife." Rove didn’t say, "I never spoke to anyone about Governor Siegelman or his case." While it may seem a trivial point, it is not at all. It’s Karl’s M.O. through and through. In fact, it may well be a clue. Having eliminated the DoJ and the White House, who else could Rove have spoken to as an intermediary?
Recall that this was the case where a lawyer, Dana Jill Simpson, overheard this:
According to Simpson’s statement, she was on a Republican campaign conference call in 2002 when she heard Bill Canary tell other campaign workers not to worry about Siegelman because Canary’s "girls" and "Karl" would make sure the Justice Department pursued the Democrat so he was not a political threat in the future. "Canary’s girls" supposedly included his wife, Leura Canary, who is United States Attorney for United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama and United States Attorney for United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Alice Martin. Leura Canary did not submit voluntary recusal paperwork until two months after Siegelman attorney David Cromwell Johnson’s press conference in March 2002.
So, for example, Bill Canary was not in the White House or the DoJ. Christy at FDL has some other possibilities [she’s not aslow learner]:
Now, because this is Karl we’re talking about, I’m just not content to let that stand as definitive, because Mr. Parsing My Words Razor Thin left some gaping wide holes there that need further questioning:
- Did you talk with anyone in Alabama? At the USAtty’s offices? At the Alabama Republican party? Among your pals in Alabama GOP politics, many of whom you worked for early in your political ops career? Among political operatives — in Alabama or any other state, through whom you may have laundered a suggested nugget of wisdom about potential politically advantageous targets?
- Did you e-mail anyone at the WH or the DOJ about this? Using either your RNC blackberry or some other method of IM or e-mail communication? Any method of communication whatsoever, do share.
- Did you speak or e-mail or otherwise contact or discuss with anyone at the RNC about this? Or your KStreet pals? Or anyone tangentially related to Republican politics that could pass on a message?
- When you say you never talked with the "Department of Justice," what precisely does that mean to you? Because "DOJ" is sort of a catch-all amorphous designation which allows for a whole lot of slippery around the edges.
And that’s just for starters. I’m just getting warmed up …
But maybe when he fingered the Governor, he said "Governor" instead of "Siegelman"…
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