Buried Nugget: Fitzgerald deposed Luskin last Friday!!

[kpete]

Buried quietly in the CNN story on Vivak's deposition today was this little nugget:
Fitzgerald deposed Luskin last Friday. Time and Luskin refused to answer CNN's questions about Luskin's conversation with Novak.
How intriguing. So, Luskin was deposed first on Friday. Fitz went back to the G/J for more than three hours yesterday. Then spoke with Vivak today.

Wouldn't you give a whole helluva lot to know what was discussed? Ooooh, I can feel the screws tightening.
http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/08/cia.novak/

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. At the risk of sounding stupid

please tell me who Luskin is. I'm at the end of my shift and can't read the links now.

[MsAnthropy]

2. here

Luskin is the lawyer for White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and Novak spoke to him as part of the magazine's coverage on the leaking of the name of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Rove's attorney

[TahitiNut]

4. Does that mean Rove's lawyer needs a lawyer?

:evilgrin: Deposing an attorney of a potential 'target' seems a bit unusual, to say the least.

[Don Claybrook]

5. sure, it's unusual, but keep in mind....

Luskin and Rove came up with one huge whopper of a story for Fitzgerald, claiming that V Novak from Time had heard Plame's name from Luskin, not Rove, since "everybody" already knew she was CIA. Did I get that right, Plamegaters?

It's a little odd for your defense attorney to also be your brand new shiny alibi, but that appears to be what they're going with. I see it as a desparate 'Hail Mary' pass, and I assume Fitzgerald is going to make Luskin sorry he ever became an attorney.

We'll see.

[Zen Democrat]

9. I haven't heard that. Novak told Luskin that Rove was Cooper's source.

Rove had already testified to the FBI and the Grand Jury and never mentioned being Cooper's source. When VNovak told Rove's lawyer, Luskin, that everybody at Time Magazine knew Cooper's source was Rove, Rove's lawyer reported same to Rove, who checked his old emails and Voila! found a reference to his conversation with Cooper. Rove then went hat-in-hand to the prosecutor to expand his previous testimony.

Fitzgerald obviously believes Rove was intentionally withholding the Cooper leak until his lawyer found out that it was "common knowledge" at Time and that Cooper would eventually have to testify to Rove being his source.

It's a deathbed conversion situation for Karl Rove. I don't think it's going to keep him out of hell.

[emulatorloo]

13. and then all the sudden Karl "recalled" that he HAD talked to Cooper!

Novak's and Luskin's conversation was just the amnesia cure Karl needed!

IMHO this really puts Karl in hot water w Fitz.

[Me.]

26. It's About The Timing

Rove and Luskin were pretty sure they has pulled a fast one...however...it turns out that Luskin's account of when that little tete a tete took place differs from Novak's account and her testimony puts Rove right back in the cross hairs and may be a problem for Luskin. Novak says the conversation happened a lot earlier than Luskin does.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. If that's the case

than this is going to get really good. :popcorn: I got my popcorn and soda ready!

[Don Claybrook]

25. No. Not the case. Please disregard

I think it was the other way around, and I just plain got it wrong. Please see the other reply to my comment for the correct story.

It's still popcorn time, and it still smacks of collusion, but it goes the other direction.

I'm sorry for the confusion.

[MN ChimpH8R]

7. Veery eenteresting.

this just might mean that Fitz is looking for evidence of a further conspiracy to obstruct justice - this one between Rove and Luskin. Fitz keeps tightening the screws a quarter-turn at a time. Fat KKKarl and Luskin have got to be shitting tacks at this point.
:popcorn:

[SkiGuy]

6. Help please

How can I convince, or try to convince my repug boss that Plame was a covert agent?

[JackBeck]

8. The CIA asked for the orginal investigation as to who outed her.

Why would the CIA care if she was a nobody?

[SkiGuy]

10. Thank you

He's a repug, I don't really think it will convince him anyway. Nothing else does. But I did say to him that in a year or year and a half he's going to be in for a big surprise.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. Check this article out from CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/24/cnna.leak/

Snip: HEMMER: Tell me why you think it is such a big deal.

JOHNSON: Was 9/11 a big deal? It's a big deal in part because we saw the planes crash into the buildings and we saw the images and horrible vision of people jumping from those towers. We saw it. If we didn't see it and didn't read about it, we wouldn't know it happened.

The problem with this is a lot of the damage that has occurred is not going to be seen. It can't be photographed. We can't bring the bodies out because in some cases it's going to involve protecting sources and methods. And it's important to keep this before the American people. This was a betrayal of national security.

[FreedomAngel82]

18. And the FBI

Remember there was a guy next to Fitzgerald at his press conference who was FBI.

[LSK]

11. Brewster Jennings

When it is printing in the newspaper that she was CIA, agents from every country would have looked up where she worked, who she met with, etc etc. It was a domino effect.

[SkiGuy]

12. If this doesn't work..

I'll give up. Besides, I need the job. :)

[Justice Is Comin]

19. Ask him if he thinks Bush's attorney general would have

sanctioned a federal investigation into the outing of a desk clerk? And then even turn it over to a special prosecutor?

And then call your friend an idiot.

[SkiGuy]

23. Screw him

If he's too stupid and thick headed to see the obvious, not my problem. Besides he's my boss. Don't want to cause any riff. BUT, I will be the first to shove it up his ass when the impeachment hearings start.

[WolverineDG]

14. K&R

because i've said that luskin will either be fired by rove or withdraw from representating rove since libby was indicted. rove's lying & he's about to get slammed by fitz!

dg

[savemefromdumbya]

15. How come this isn't a prominent story? Rove in deeeeeeep sh&t

Deposed - how come the mainstream haven't homed in on this?

[KharmaTrain]

16. Check Out H2O Man's Posts...Ya Snooze Ya Lose Around Here

This story was all over firedoglake the other day. Yes, quite an interesting development...add to this the several hours Fitz spent with the GJ on Wednesday, then his meeting/deposition of Vivecka Novak last week. Now if it was HER story he wanted to check out, why would he be interviewing Luskin first?

Luskin was able to get Fitzgerald to back off of indicting Rove by throwing in this last second "stinker" that made it difficult for him to indict Rove...as it could be strongly argued that there was other possible evidence that hadn't been investigated. Fitz, smartly punted and is playing a cat and mouse game with Luskin that looks like its about to blow up big in Rove's face.

Reports are that Novak and Luskin's stories don't quite jive. Rut Roh. Someone's lying again. Now who would have the motive to lie or obstruct this case from moving forward?

Fitzgerald's not quite set to spring a trap yet...IMHO...he's still going for the big fish here. His case is to find who started the leak...which he said quite clearly he hasn't be able to do since someone has been "putting sand in the eyes of the umpire". Hopefully not only is Fitz getting the sand out but is working on connecting the dots that lead right to Crashcart's door. If that happens, we could have a Fitzmas to be 'em all.

[Justice Is Comin]

21. You saved me some typing.

I will only add that the call between Cooper and Rove didn't appear on the White House call log. Susan Ralston testified she took the call.

Also V Novak claims she didn't "tip off" Luskin. But rather expressed the "common knowledge" info that was going around. If it was so common, how come Rove didn't remember it when he talked to the FBI OR the grand jury when Cooper said Rove insisted the conversation be on "deep DEEP" background?

I think there may be a possibility of a charge that Luskin and Rove conspired to withhold information from Fitzgerald. That's why he's comparing notes right now in Luskin's sworn deposition. That's not even mentioning the Woodward contact who was also in the White House.

They have no idea how sharp Fitzgerald is. His disarming manner is like a ninja.

[KharmaTrain]

22. These Bastards Think They're Smarter Than The Law

That's the sword that ninja wields...Fitzgerald has a lot of pieces that Luskin and others haven't seen...it's the most powerful weapon Fitz has and the most damning to so many others inside the Beltway.

Luskin gambled that Fitzgerald would not only not indict, but that his original Grand Jury would expire and he wouldn't want to set up a new one...just taking his indictment of Libby and going with that. Luskin gambled wrong.

The speculation game is who is cooperating with Fitzgerald...and how he's using these people to work up the food chain. I've seen his handiwork being played out on George Ryan here in Illinois and it's a slow, deliberate, but very thorough game. It's one these goons...who've always lived by cutting corners...aren't used to playing.

I initially predicted there would be obstruction and conspiracy charges...and looks like we could be getting more than we expected.

BTW...Woodward's source? He wants you to wait and spend $99.95 for that pleasure. I have a feeling Fitzgerald already knows and won't even have to wait for the book.

Cheers...

[jazzjunkysue]

24. Cowbell, and kick!

"Rove's attorney has said Fitzgerald is still investigating his client."

Yessss!

[freedomfries]

27. kick for kpete!