Marc Ash posted this update last night:
UPDATE:8:23:pm:pdt:06.21.06
Sorry for the confusion, yes Jason Leopold categorically denies identifying himself as Joe Lauria. Other hysterias will no doubt evolve by morning and we’ll do our best to address them as they surface. Good night folks.
Let’s recap what Ash and Jason Leopold want us to believe:
• Robert Luskin, lawyer for Karl Rove, is lying about receiving this note from Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
• Mark Corallo, a former Justice Department spokesman employed by Rove, is lying about receiving a phone call from “someone named Joel something or other.”
• Jason Leopold, who has called journalistic ethics “a load of crap,” should be trusted.
1) If Robert Luskin is lying, his career would be over the instant Rove is indicted. His credibility would be completely shot. He knows this, and he also has no motivation to lie. He is representing Rove, and will still get paid no matter the outcome. Does Ash really think that lying to the public about Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will help to win his case in court?
2) Mark Corallo would’ve had to have acquired Joe Lauria’s name, telephone number, and employment records. He would’ve had to have known that Lauria had recently talked to Leopold. Then, in an act of pure malice and non-reason, he would’ve had to fabricate the entire story. Why? How? This scenario is even more ridiculous than Luskin lying about Fitzgerald.
3) Leopold has had a troubled history when it comes to ethics – personally, and professionally.
I do hope Ash responds to my “hysteria.”