The back-story on Matt Cooper's sudden willingness to release his notes and testify in the Plame investigation rather than go to jail for comtempt is extremely interesting. It looks like Luskin, Rove's attorney, was talking tough in an interview to the Wall Street Journal and Cooper took what he said as a release of journalistic confidentiality.
Josh Marshall has the story Here1, the back story on Luskin himself here2 and more on the history of Luskin and his history of fast-and-loose statements in defense of his clients here3.
In his first story, the issue is whether Matt Cooper was looking for a way out of going to jail and Luskin inadvertantly gave it to him. In the second, Josh looks at Luskin's history as an attorney for government employees accused of criminal misdoing.
In the third Josh looks at Lusin's history of being paid in gold bars by a defendent, Stephen A. Saccoccia, accused and convicted of laundering money by converting it into precious metals. The DOJ wanted the clients' illegal income, so Luskin had to pony up a great deal of what he was paid to defend Saccoccia. Saccoccia had paid his attorneys with gold bars, cash that was dropped off at hotels and trunks of cars, and money transfers from Swiss bank accounts. Is it reasonable to think that Luskin knew he was being paid with illegally obtained funds? It would be hard to convince me that he didn't know it.
This is the guy Rove has hired to defend him in the Plame investigation. Makes me wonder if Rove is so dirty that he can't hire an honest and competent attorney. Luskin doesn't look like he is either.
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