Rove Volunteers New Grand Jury Testimony; Worried About Indictment?

When Karl Rove gave up the policy beat last week in the much-hyped White House 'shake up', I wondered whether this was just about putting him on the midterm elections beat or if there were Fitzgerald-related reasons to give some Rove duties to others. It would appear that those suspicions were true... the special prosecutor is heating up his investigation into Rove's role in the conspiracy surrounding the leak of Valerie Plame's identity. Karl Rove was back in front of the grand jury today to provide new testimony...

AP: Rove to Testify Again in CIA Leak Case

Top White House aide Karl Rove arrived at the federal courthouse Wednesday for his fifth grand jury appearance in the Valerie Plame affair.

Escorted by his lawyer Robert D. Luskin, Rove went into the building for a closed-door session with the panel and Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is heading up the inquiry into who leaked Plame's status as a CIA officer to the news media in 2003...

The most interesting aspect of this is that Rove was not subpoenaed, but instead volunteered this new testimony. An MSNBC.com report states that, "According to NBC News’ David Shuster, legal sources say Rove volunteered to testify and was no subpoenaed. Rove’s decision followed a recent conversation with Fitzgerald." Something tells me that conversation with Fitzgerald was not one that put Rove at ease. And this morning in a blog post, Lawrence O'Donnell (who was the first to reveal last summer that Rove was the Time magazine source on Plame) stated-

Karl Rove's return to the grand jury today could mean the end of the Rove investigation or the beginning of the Rove prosecution. It depends on who asked Rove to return. If Fitzgerald asked Rove to return to the grand jury, that means Fitzgerald thinks he doesn't have enough for an indictment.

If Rove asked to return to the grand jury, that means Rove's lawyer, Bob Luskin, believes an indictment is imminent and is sending his client back to make a final desperate attempt to avoid indictment...

Since it appears to have been voluntary, does that mean that his lawyer fears indictment?

That remains to be seen, but it's clear that Fitzgerald has found something that has them worried. We'll find out either way soon enough. Wonkette jokes that Fitzgerald should shit or get off the pot. I disagree. He's building a case and he's taking his time. The man is methodical and professional. It took two years just to get the involved reporters just to verify who their White House sources were. Scandals do not unfold in one day. I want accountability on this as much as the next person, but I understand that in the world of high-profile investigations, patience is the key.

Recent revelations that have placed the President and Vice President directly in the chain of events surrounding this case make it clear that Fitzgerald is onto something big. It's only a matter of time before the full story comes to light.