Here’s what we know, based on the two pieces of information we have — Lawrence O’Donnell and Newsweek:
Matt Cooper of Time Magazine was preparing a story on Joseph C. Wilson’s CIA-sponsored trip to Africa. Cooper spoke to Karl Rove. Presumably he talked to other people. Period. Cooper’s story never appeared. Lawrence O’Donnell said Newsweek was going to say “It’s Rove” who “outed” Wilson’s undercover-CIA-agent wife Valerie Plame. But Newsweek’s story doesn’t say that. It only says Rove spoke to Cooper, and Rove’s lawyer Robert Luskin offers a complete and flat denial that Rove said anything about Valerie Plame:
“Luskin told NEWSWEEK that Rove ‘never knowingly disclosed classified information’ and that ‘he did not tell any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA.’ Luskin declined, however, to discuss any other details. He did say that Rove himself had testified before the grand jury ‘two or three times’ and signed a waiver authorizing reporters to testify about their conversations with him. ‘He has answered every question that has been put to him about his conversations with Cooper and anybody else,’ Luskin said.”
Seems to me that unless Luskin is lying, Rove is in the clear.