Moment of Weakness

The worst week of George W. Bush's presidency ends with a bang today, as special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald announces the results of his nearly two-year investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity.

As of this writing, signs are that Fitzgerald will indict I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, but let Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, off the hook -- at least temporarily.

Jim VandeHei and Carol D. Leonnig are reporting for The Washington Post this morning that "Rove provided new information to Fitzgerald during 11th hour negotiations that 'gave Fitzgerald pause' about charging Bush's senior strategist, said a source close to Rove. 'The prosecutor has to resolve those issues before he decides what to do.' "

David Johnston and Richard W. Stevenson wrote in the New York Times last night that Rove "will remain under investigation, people briefed officially about the case said. As a result, they said, the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was likely to extend the term of the federal grand jury beyond its scheduled expiration on Friday."

One thing I can add to the debate over what Fitzgerald's options are when it comes to continuing his scrutiny of Rove: I have it on impeccable authority that there is absolutely no way that Fitzgerald could extend the term of this particular grand jury.

Fitzgerald has been on the case for 22 months, but he is using a regular federal grand jury that was impaneled two months earlier -- in late October 2003. Grand juries typically are impaneled for 18 months. The rules are clear: They can be extended in extraordinary circumstances for six more months, as this one has been. But beyond that there are absolutely no exceptions.

So if Fitzgerald wants to pursue this investigation, he'll have to use another grand jury. That's quite doable -- he would just have FBI agents read out loud, to the new grand jury, the relevant testimony from the old grand jury, and then take it from there.

But the group of jurors who actually heard Rove's testimony with their own ears will officially be disbanded -- and sworn to secrecy -- as of today.

A Vulnerable Presidency

Badly wounded and weakened, Bush heads for the hills tonight -- to spend the weekend at Camp David. His traditional opponents -- those on his left -- now see him as vulnerable, an emperor with no clothes. Longtime allies on the right suddenly feel like they can push him around.

With fire coming from both sides, the end result could be a loss of his ability to govern.

Todd S. Purdum writes in the New York Times: "George W. Bush has been in the White House for 248 weeks, through a terrorist attack, two wars and a bruising re-election. But it seems safe to say that he has never had a worse political week than this one - and it is not over yet. . . .

"The biggest question for Mr. Bush now is what he can make of the 39 months remaining in his presidency. For this horrible week has been months - even years - in the making. The 2,000th American fatality in Iraq was just the latest daunting milestone in a war that will soon be three years old. The C.I.A. leak investigation that threatens to indict a top White House aide or two on Friday grew out of the fierce debates over the flawed intelligence that led to that war.