It's Official: Rove Won't Be Charged

Did you hear that high-pitched sound this morning ringing across the nation?

That was the collective sigh of relief from a White House which just got very good news...

AP: Rove won't be charged in CIA leak case

Top White House aide Karl Rove has been told by prosecutors he won't be charged with any crimes in the investigation into leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer said Tuesday, lifting a heavy burden from one of President Bush's most trusted advisers.

Attorney Robert Luskin said that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald informed him of the decision on Monday, ending months of speculation about the fate of Rove, the architect of Bush's 2004 re-election now focused on stopping Democrats from capturing the House or Senate in this November's elections...

At least this will end all the right-wing blogs from labeling Fitzgerald as some out-of-control liberal maniac out to destroy the White House. The man is one of the most respected federal prosecutors and has conducted this investigation professionally. While I am not happy with this decision, I have no doubt that Fitzgerald carefully considered all the information he had at his disposal before making it.

So kudos to Mr. Rove, who gets to give his undivided attention back to dividing America for short-term political gain.

On another note, now that Rove is no longer the subject of the "ongoing investigation" in the Plame leak, will the White House finally answer questions about his role in the whole affair? It's a valid question. It's one I doubt will be addressed. The media has never been interested in this story and, sadly, I doubt that will change now, even though one of the White House's top stonewalling reasons has been removed. The many lingering questions- who was Novak's source, how coordinated was the leak between the various officials involved, why did Rove and Libby mislead McClellan about their involvement, etc- still need to be answered.

In conclusion, I think Howard Dean sums up my feelings on this decision:
"If Karl Rove had been indicted it would have been for perjury. That does not excuse his real sin which is leaking the name of an intelligence operative during the time of war. He doesn't belong in the White House. If the President valued America more than he valued his connection to Karl Rove, then Karl Rove would have been fired a long time ago. So I think this is probably good news for the White House, but its not very good news for America."

[PS- Some early analysis from the gang at Firedoglake, who've followed the case closely.

UPDATE: More analysis and speculation on Rove's status by Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake.]