Stop Rove-ing and Get Back on the Story!


It's certainly important to cover John Roberts' nomination to the Supreme Court. With Roberts' confirmation more or less a foregone conclusion though, it's important that the media keep its eye on another big story: Karl Rove's outing of a CIA officer.

We know that Rove revealed the identity of an undercover CIA agent to reporters Matt Cooper of TIME and columnist Robert Novak. It's also pretty clear that Rove did it in order to discredit a critic of the Bush Iraq policy.

Think of this! The administration's claims about WMD in Iraq, ties to terrorism, and the costs and difficulty reconstruction have all been proven wrong. Now we find out that Rove was leaking information in order to punish a critic of the war for pointing out some of the administration's misinformation. Thousands have died in Iraq and the nation has become a breeding ground for terrorists! Yet no one has been held accountable!

The White House claimed repeatedly that Rove was not involved with the leak. They sneered at reporters' questions. They told blatant falsehoods. Now they obfuscate and equivocate.
There needs to be a full accounting to the American people about what happened in this case. The President needs to demonstrate that his word means something, outside of when he promises the religious right to appoint ultra conservatives to the Supreme Court.