Scandalized.

As Washington waits for the Plamegate endgame and the administration prepares for a possible White House without Rove and Libby, the Post offers brief primer on the major figures in the scandal. Meanwhile, fresh off his felon photo-op, the Hammer tries to get a new judge in his Texas money-laundering case, and seems to be trying every trick in the book to turn his trial into a partisan sideshow. But remember, Boss DeLay, the Abramoff case is closing in fast…

Dubya in the loop?

“Bush did not feel misled so much by Karl and others as believing that they handled it in a ham-handed and bush-league way.” (Then again, pretty much everything about this administration is bush-league.) A new report indicates that, contrary to previous White House statements and leaks, Dubya knew about Rove’s role in Plamegate from the start. Strange this information is being leaked on the eve of indictments

MillerTimes.

“Greg Mitchell, who edits Editor & Publisher, writes, ‘Miller did far more damage to her newspaper than did Jayson Blair, and that’s not even counting her WMD reporting, which hurt and embarrassed the paper in other ways.’ Jay Rosen concurs. ‘There’s no question,’ he says, ‘this is bigger than Jayson Blair.'” Salon‘s Farhad Manjoo deconstructs the NY Times coverage of Judy Miller’s involvement in Plamegate (available here), and explains why Cheney chief Lewis Libby, in particular, may now be facing an obstruction of justice charge. If it’s any consolation, Scooter, Rove’s in hot water, too.

Pick your Poison.

“‘The one that people are most worried about is Abramoff because it seems to have such long tentacles…This seems to be something that could spread almost anywhere…and that has a lot of people worried.'” As Rove testifies for a fourth time before Patrick Fitzgerald’s inquiry into Plamegate and Boss DeLay’s phone records are subpoenaed by Texas DA Ronnie Earle, the WP surveys the political fallout from the many GOP corruption scandals currently in play.

Karl Marked.

There is no reason for Rove to make this appearance unless he and his counsel believe he is at serious risk of indictment. None.” On the day after former White House procurement chief David Safavian is indicted on five counts of lying and obstruction of justice, Karl Rove decides to testify for a fourth time before the grand jury delving into the felonious unmasking of Valerie Plame (presumably to stave off his indictment, or that of someone above him.) So…Rove, Safavian, Libby, Abramoff, Frist, DeLay…how many investigations and indictments can the GOP leadership rack up? Is the whole rotten edifice of GOP corporate cronyism threatening to topple? One can only hope.

Leakin’ Libby & Ramblin’ Rove.

“As the CIA leak investigation heads toward its expected conclusion this month, it has become increasingly clear that two of the most powerful men in the Bush administration were more involved in the unmasking of operative Valerie Plame than the White House originally indicated.” Bringing the somewhat bizarre recent revelation of Judith Miller’s source to bear on the story, the Washington Post surveys the roles of Karl Rove and Scooter Libby in Plamegate. “[Lawyers with inside info] surmise that [Special Prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald is considering whether he can bring charges of a criminal conspiracy perpetrated by a group of senior Bush administration officials..”

From Gitmo with shame.

“‘Reasonable people always suspected these techniques weren’t invented in the backwoods of West Virginia,’ said Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch. ‘It’s never been more clear than in this investigation.'” A new report by military investigators finds the tactics of Abu Ghraib in full use at Guantanamo. “The report’s findings are the strongest indication yet that the abusive practices seen in photographs at Abu Ghraib were not the invention of a small group of thrill-seeking military police officers…they were used on Qahtani several months before the United States invaded Iraq.”

A Traitor in the White House.

“Inside the Bush administration, lying to reporters doesn’t even come close to being a firing offense…But Rove blew the cover of an undercover CIA official. If Dubya doesn’t fire the man he nicknamed ‘Turd Blossom’ for this offense, he’s an even bigger hack than I think.” Slate‘s Tim Noah explains why Karl Rove really has to go, now that his central role in Plamegate has come to light. Update: The White House clams up.

Check it with Chertoff.

Rick Perlstein’s recent comparison of Dubya and The Sopranos is given more credence with the revelation that Homeland Security nominee Michael Chertoff also vetted torture law for the Bushies in 2002-2003. “While the details remain classified, one method that he opposed appeared to violate a ban in the law against using a ‘threat of imminent death’…But Mr. Chertoff left the door open to the use of a different set of far harsher techniques proposed by the C.I.A.” Hmmm…and you thought Tom Ridge knew some crazy uses for duct tape.