Fineman: "People Are Out For Karl Rove Inside That White House"

[JABBS]

HOWARD FINEMAN (NEWSWEEK): Right now, my sense, in reporting this, Chris, is that the Bush family, political family, is at war with itself inside the White House. My sense is, it‘s, it‘s, it‘s, it‘s Andy Card, the chief of staff, and his people against Karl Rove, the brain.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Right.

FINEMAN: And that runs through a whole lot of things, whether it‘s Harriet Miers or Katrina. But it all starts with Iraq.

And some submerged, but now emerging divisions within the administration over why we went into that war, how we went into that war and what was done to sell it. There are people are out for Karl Rove inside that White House, which makes his situation even more perilous.

My understanding, from talking to somebody quite close to this investigation, is that they think there are going to be indictments and possibly Karl Rove could be among them, if not for the act of the leaking information about Valerie Plame, then perhaps for perjury, because he‘s now testified four times.

And there are conflicts between what Matt Cooper told the grand jury and what Rove evidently told the jury himself. And Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, is an absolute stickler for detail who has no political axe to grind here, other than keeping his own credibility. Having put Judy Miller in jail, having gone to the lengths he had, my understand is, he has got some people here, not only Rove, but perhaps Scooter Libby, the vice president‘s chief of staff.

MATTHEWS: I also get the sense he reads the law book. He doesn‘t care about the politics.

FINEMAN: That‘s what I meant. That‘s what I meant. He doesn‘t care about the politics.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you, you just raised a curtain-raiser for me. I didn‘t even know this.

You believe that the fight between those who may be headed toward indictment, the vice president‘s chief of staff, Karl Rove, there is a war between them and the people who are going to survive them, Andy Card, etcetera.

FINEMAN: Yes.

MATTHEWS: But is Andy Card saying now, here‘s his chance to prove the war was wrong? Is that what this — it‘s a shadow fight over that?

FINEMAN: I think it‘s possible. I think it‘s possible. Look, when you are up, you‘re up big time. Karl Rove was the boy genius.

MATTHEWS: Right.

FINEMAN: Karl Rove could do no wrong. But now Karl Rove seems to have been caught overstepping on this.

MATTHEWS: Right.

FINEMAN: <strong>And now people are questioning everything about it</strong>. And it goes back. If you have to have an organizing principle, it‘s the war in Iraq. That‘s what it is.

-- MSNBC's Hardball, Oct. 10

***

This item first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.

[Beetwasher]

1. Chris Matthews Only Now Figuring Out What We At DU Have Known

for quite some time. Whatidiotic gas bags BOTH of those clowns are.

[JABBS]

4. matthews

I don't like Matthews, the faux liberal, but to his credit, he has been anti-war from the get-go.

[Dr Fate]

10. I dont recall Matthews being against the intitial invasion of Iraq.

n/t

[JABBS]

16. check the archives

[smartvoter]

17. Yes he was. One of the few, actually. nt

[Dr Fate]

19. Did he do extensive coverage of Powell's lies to the UN?

Did he have on guests every night who refuted the lies his network was telling- or did he mostly have on Republicans & DEMs who voted with Bush?


How much time did he spend on the forged Nigerain Documents and plagerized British intellegence reports? Did he ever ask any of his Republican guests about these things?

Did he do extensive coverage of the DSM when that came to light? Is he STILL investigating it and asking his Republican guests about it?

I thought he claimed Bush was "Churchillian."

I'm still not sure we can make the sugestion that he was outspoken against the war.

[smartvoter]

20. Sure we can. Just because his reasons for not wanting it are

different doesn't mean he didn't want it. He thought it would never work because of nationalism and for fear that it would create more terrorists and resentment.

He doesn't have to walk our line to be against it. No one does. (Not that I like him. I can't stand him. But he WAS against it.)

[writes2000]

2. Damn, I'm frustrated that I missed this.

[thebigidea]

3. what a bunch of crap. As if Andy Card was the good guy here.

probably just damage control and the inevitable sinking ship syndrome.

Fineman is such a smug little shit...

[Demoiselle]

5. Yes, Fineman is a smug little shit...But still (as I've said before...)

I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN SINCE WATERGATE!!!!
And last week I erupted in such noisy glee when they announced the DeLay indictments that all of my animals (two huge dogs and 7 cats) ran out of the room. They've calmed down since, but I'm hoping to repeat the performance when Mr. Fitzgerald finally tells us what he's been up to,

[Demoiselle]

6. Yes, Fineman is a smug little shit...But still (as I've said before...)

I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN SINCE WATERGATE!!!!
And last week I erupted in such noisy glee when they announced the DeLay indictments that all of my animals (two huge dogs and 7 cats) ran out of the room. They've calmed down since, but I'm hoping to repeat the performance when Mr. Fitzgerald finally tells us what he's been up to,

[Neil Lisst]

7. Fineman is on top of it ...

The feuding between the president's men and the vp's men and women is serious. And this new wrinkle of tension between Card and Rove makes sense.

The Bush Crime family is like the fictional Corleone family. When a guy becomes a threat to the family - bada bing - that guy disappears.

Rove has become a danger to the Bush Crime Family, and there's no doubt Rove would like to see Scooter take the fall.

It's going to be reminiscent of the end of Godfather.

Rove, dead.

Libby, dead.

Hadley, dead.

Figuratively speaking, of course.



-------
today I shout out to posters at DU
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst/

[Toots]

8. Didn't Matthews also testify to the Grand jury?

Or am I thinking of Russert? :shrug: As far as I am concerned Matthews is as complicit in this as the rest of the Media and all of the Republicans. They all knew the books were getting cooked.

[JABBS]

9. russert

[CatWoman]

11. Tweety is the one who called Wilson

to inform him that Rove considered his wife "fair game".

Tweets also told him that he'd testify to that fact as well.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

12. Fineman's talking out his ass,

as usual, and Tweety's sniffing it up.

This investigation has leaked nothing. To anyone. Anywhere. It's the most air-tight investigation ever conducted in DC, according to some of the old-time lawyers I've talked to, and, in my 30 years as a Washington lawyer, I've never seen anything so closely held.

The fact is this - no one knows anything, and no one will know anything until Fitzgerald decides it's time.

End of any discussion. This blowing smoke crap is worthless.

[DemocracyInaction]

13. Beautiful--was wondering when the vermin turn on each other

No one wants to go down for this. And, I'm thinking that if "someone" is implicated then their boss is too--i.e, Rove/Bush or Scotter/Cheney. It's time the rat's start fighting for "first off the ship". And, I couldn't help thinking (never turn your back Carl on the crime family)that with Bush's numbers in the sewer that it could be very easy to do a 'MY GOD I DIDN'T KNOW CARL WAS SO EVIL AND HE MISLEAD ME ABOUT THIS WAR' act in hopes of looking like the innocent babe again betrayed by those who should be serving him. These people are ugly, they are dangerous and they are vile. And...while I'm at it...will someone please pull the plug on this Bush cares for those in NO, etc. shit. I truly can't stand it.

[AlCzervik]

14. They might all go down because of Rove so now they want him out

everybody is running for cover.

[Neil Lisst]

15. It's not a leak from the prosecutor, it's from CARD

The Fineman info is not coming from the prosecutor, but from CARD.

For every leak, there is a leaker who has an agenda. Card is clearly the source of this story.

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst/neillisst/series.php

[Supersedeas]

18. It is the war in Iraq...but to suggest that the Admin can isolate this to

Rove is ludicrous.

The Corporate Media is continuing to run damage control for these people.