Did Jack Abramoff sink Karl Rove?

Karl Rove certainly didn't look happy yesterday when he announced that he was leaving the Bush administration to spend more time with his family in Texas.

And that hand-shake-into-a-bear-hug the president gave him seemed to be heavily laden with emotion. Less like the kind of hug you'd see at a retirement party, and more like the kind you'd see before a hanging:





Maybe we're reading too much into it.

But did you know that on April 9th of this year, NBC News reported that jailed superlobbyist Jack Abramoff might get a reduction in his sentence based on his cooperation in a federal influence-peddling case? Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Schwartz recommended the leniency "based upon the defendant having provided substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and/or prosecution of others."

Did you know that Susan Ralston, a one-time associate of Jack Abramoff, went on to become Karl Rove's assistant in the White House?

Did you know that the House Oversight Committee asked Susan Ralston in May to testify about her knowledge of contacts between Jack Abramoff and the White House, and that Ms. Ralston refused to testify unless she was granted immunity from prosecution?

Maybe Karl Rove took off in the presidential helicopter yesterday because the Secret Service has a lot of experience keeping process servers away.


Copyright 2007

Editor's note: You might be interested in the earlier post, "Where the rivers of scandal join: Meet Susan Ralston."

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