Goldman Sachs' new motto: Take the money and run.

By now you've probably heard about the 18-day gap in the 3,000 documents released by the DoJ on the U.S. attorney purge.

What's missing -- and what will be found -- in that gap is important to understanding the role the White House played in the purge. ThinkProgress explains:

The gap extends from mid-November to early December, “which was a critical period as the White House and Justice Department reviewed, then approved, which U.S. attorneys would be fired while also developing a political and communications strategy for countering any fallout from the firings.”

During today’s press briefing, CNN’s Ed Henry noted that one of the last emails before the gap is from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ ex-chief of staff Kyle Sampson to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, asking, “Who will determine whether this requires the president’s attention?”

White House spokesman Tony Snow refused to explain the gap, telling reporters, “I’ve been led to believe that there’s a good response for it.” He said President Bush “has no recollection of this ever being raised with him.”

What's in the gap?

If you want to know why Republicans believe power is an end unto itself, you need look no further than how Dennis Hastert turned $207 million of your federal tax money into a $1.5 million personal profit.

Somebody ruined Fitzmas:

op White House aide Karl Rove has been told by prosecutors he won't be charged with any crimes in the investigation into leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer said Tuesday, lifting a heavy burden from one of President Bush's most trusted advisers....

Fitzgerald called Luskin late Monday afternoon to tell him he would not be seeking charges against Rove. Rove had just gotten on a plane, so his lawyer and spokesman did not reach him until he had landed in Manchester, N.H., where he was to give a speech to state GOP officials.

"In deference to the pending case, we will not make any further public statements about the subject matter of the investigation," Luskin said. "We believe the special counsel's decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr. Rove's conduct."

Well, it seems clear that Mr. Rove's conduct placed partisanship over national security; that it didn't rise to the level of a crime-- or that Fitzgerald was unable to muster enough evidence to form an airtight indictment-- does little to exonerate him. What is already publicly known is damning enough: the White House, with the complicity of some of the most prominent journalists in the nation, waged a retributive campaign against a political enemy and outed an undercover CIA officer out of petty revenge. That's not speculation, that's fact. And Mr. Rove's conduct will be judged by history, if not by a jury.

In short, enjoy the exoneration, Carl. It may be the last piece of political good news you hear for a while.