Like pancakes, my children.
Rumors of up to 22 indictments in the offing? How convEEEEEEnient. Nothing like a pending indictment to focus the mind.
At the Huffington Post, Lawrence O'Donnell, who first fingered Rove as Matt Cooper's source on Plame, has some informed speculation. Talk Left offers further insight.
UPDATE: The AP reports Rove is cooperating. And please don't forget, now that Fitzy is turning the screws, Rove is the only one we currently know about who wants to sing sweet melodies to the prosecutor. Who else is creeping out from under the rocks to croon? The legal and strategic analysis in the sources I quote is worth a thorough reading, to get a sense of what's going on. This could conceivably tie in to the Abramoff investigation, too - see the comment way downthread.
More on the flip.
From
the Huffington Post:
If Karl Rove's lawyer, Bob Luskin, is still as easy to read as he has been since I broke the story that his client was Matt Cooper's source, then we now know that Rove has received a target letter from Patrick Fitzgerald. How do we know it? Luskin refuses to deny it.
Fitzgerald does not have to send Rove or anyone else a target letter before indicting him. The only reason to send target letters now is that Fitzgerald believes one or more of his targets will flip and become a prosecution witness at the pre-indictment stage. A veteran prosecutor told me, "If Fitzgerald is sending target letters at the end of his investigation, those are just invitations to come in and work out a deal."
Prosecutors prefer pre-indictment plea bargaining to post-indictment because they have more to offer you, like not being indicted at all or downgrading your status to unindicted co-conspirator. And pre-indictment plea bargaining can greatly enrich the indictments that the prosecutor then obtains. If, for example, Fitzgerald has a weak case against, say, Scooter Libby, imagine how much Rove's cooperation might strengthen that case.
If no one RSVPs to Fitzgerald's invitations, look for indictments as early as next week. If anyone does sit down with Fitzgerald, he will probably have to move to extend the grand jury, which now has only thirteen working days left in its term.
Prediction: at least three high level Bush Administration personnel indicted and possibly one or more very high level unindicted co-conspirators.
Though, to be fair, these may not be "target" letters, per se, in legal parlance. From Talk Left
I'm beginning to see some people, including at least one news service, misapply the term "target letter."
Just so it's clear, a "target letter" is what the prosecutor provides to a witness who has been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. It is an advisement of rights, particularly the right to counsel and the right to not testify.
Once the investigation is complete and the grand jury has heard all the evidence and is about to return Indictments, target letters are no longer used. [Addition by LNILR: They are not reissued everytime a witness/target comes in.Any competent defense lawyer has already met with the prosecutor to learn the client's status and role in the alleged offense under investigation. Target letters go out after the targets and subjects are identified by the prosecutor and investigators. The investigation may be years old before target letters go out. A "target letter" is just what it implies: You are likely going to be indicted, and you better act accordingly.]
Once an indictment is returned, the Prosecutor may notify the lawyer for the indicted person and concerning agreements on whether a summons will issue or arrest warrants, and, if it's going to be an arrest warrant, whether the person will be allowed to surrender at the courthouse or FBI office rather than be arrested at home or at work and bail amounts can be agreed upon. At this point, the case is past the "target letter" stage. The notification of indictment and arranging surrender can be formal (by letter) or by a telephone call.
From the U.S. Attorney's Manual:
9-11.151 Advice of "Rights" of Grand Jury Witnesses
It is the policy of the Department of Justice to advise a grand jury witness of his or her rights if such witness is a "target" or "subject" of a grand jury investigation. See the Criminal Resource Manual at 160 for a sample target letter.
A "target" is a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant....
A "subject" of an investigation is a person whose conduct is within the scope of the grand jury's investigation.
Here's the Department of Justice's sample target letter.
This letter is supplied to a witness scheduled to appear before the federal Grand Jury in order to provide helpful background information about the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury consists of from sixteen to twenty-three persons from the District of _. It is their responsibility to inquire into federal crimes which may have been committed in this District.
As a Grand Jury witness you will be asked to testify and answer questions, and to produce records and documents. Only the members of the Grand Jury, attorneys for the United States and a stenographer are permitted in the Grand Jury room while you testify.
We advise you that the Grand Jury is conducting an investigation of possible violations of federal criminal laws involving, but not necessarily limited to *. You are advised that the destruction or alteration of any document required to be produced before the grand jury constitutes serious violation of federal law, including but not limited to Obstruction of Justice.
You are advised that you are a target of the Grand Jury's investigation. You may refuse to answer any question if a truthful answer to the question would tend to incriminate you. Anything that you do or say may be used against you in a subsequent legal proceeding. If you have retained counsel, who represents you personally, the Grand Jury will permit you a reasonable opportunity to step outside the Grand Jury room and confer with counsel if you desire.
That being said, the use of the word "target letter" by reporters and others would be appropriate if, for example, after Judith Miller's testimony Fitzgerald was offering Libby or others the chance to come back before the grand jury and give their final version. Had their classification changed from "subject" to "target" because of her testimony, he would have to advise them of that before they testified.
But, it sounds like this grand jury is complete, and notifications are going out to various lawyers that their clients are being or have been indicted, and as a courtesy, they can bring their clients in rather than face the humiliation of an arrest at home or work.
I'm in schadenfreude overload. I'm going to wet myself.