KARL ROVE CLOSE TO PERP WALK

President Bush's closest political pal is in hot water, close to a boil. He's offered to testify -- for a fourth time -- before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA agent's name.

The White House first denied Rove had anything to do with the leak -- specifically denied it. Now we all know better, and even if Rove did not know Valerie Plame had been an undercover operative, he's left with the slimy fact that he helped leak her name to discredit her husband.

God, does the Mafia stoop this low? Last we heard, they'd whack a guy but leave his wife alone. Honor, you know.

The Associated Press reports the beginning of the end of Rove:

Federal prosecutors have accepted an offer from presidential adviser Karl Rove to give 11th-hour testimony in the case of a CIA officer's leaked identity but have warned they cannot guarantee he won't be indicted, according to people directly familiar with the investigation.

The persons, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, said Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has not made any decision yet on whether to file criminal charges against the longtime confidant of President Bush or others.

The U.S. attorney's manual requires prosecutors not to bring witnesses before a grand jury if there is a possibility of future criminal charges unless they are notified in advance that their grand jury testimony can be used against them in a later indictment.

Rove has already made at least three grand jury appearances and his return at this late stage in the investigation is unusual.

The prosecutor did not give Rove similar warnings before his earlier grand jury appearances.

Now, how to spin the inevitable resignation? "To devote every waking hour to prove his innocence?" "To spend more time with family?" Or, how about the truth: Karl Rove is dirty, and such an alleged man shouldn't be allowed in the White House.