Conspiracy? Could Be. . .

Updates below

When I first heard of the fatal plane crash of Mike Connell, I briefly thought, "Well, that's suspiciously convenient for Karl Rove and the Bush administration," but I shook off the thought. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, and I'm leery of those who are. Yet as I read more and more about the story, I began to get suspicious again. If Dick Cheney can take to the airwaves and openly and confidently announce to the world that he helped instigate torture and that he thinks waterboarding is efficacious and necessary in warfare (when our own government has prosecuted people in the past who waterboarded prisoners), then who knows what these people are capable of doing.

Mike Connell was "a Republican media consultant who was instrumental in the presidential and gubernatorial campaigns of three members of the Bush Family" (CBS News, "Republican IT Guru Dies in Plane Crash," Dec. 23, 2008). He was also the chief IT consultant for Karl Rove. He had a

central role in building the IT infrastructure of the White House and his association with Karl Rove has brought him into the controversy surrounding missing White House e-mails relating to the firing of U.S. Attorneys and other topics, and the fate of e-mail communications sent by Rove and other administration staffers which were sent via a Republican Party Web site, gwb43.com, rather than through a whitehouse.gov address.

Connell had recently been "subpoenaed earlier this year to testify in an Ohio federal court regarding alleged voter fraud in the 2004 election. Despite exit polls showing a lead by Democratic nominee John Kerry of more than 4 percent, Mr. Bush won the state's vote by 2.5 percent, along with its crucial electoral votes" ("Republican IT Guru Dies in Plane Crash").

Evidently, Connell was worried about his safety. One news source reports that

Connell had recently said he was afraid George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [him] under the bus." Cliff Arnebeck had also previously alerted Attorney General Michael Mukasey to alleged threats from Karl Rove to Connell if he refused to "take the fall." (Amy Goodman, "Rove's IT Guru Warned of Sabotage before Fatal Plane Crash; Was Set to Testify," posted December 22, 2008).

CBS News reports that "twice in the past two months Connell, who was an experienced pilot, canceled flights because of suspicious problems with his plane" and that Connell "was warned at least twice about flying his plane because his plane might be sabotaged."

While investigators are looking into the causes of the crash, I suspect this story will soon be on the back-burner for lack of media interest. But how convenient for Karl Rove and the Bush administration. The one man who could have spilled all the secrets of those missing e-mails and the internet strategies for the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney campaigns has died in a fire-bomb plane crash, leaving behind a widow and four children.

But some are asking, "Where's the body?"

Updates: Steve Benen weighs in on this subject with some cautionary notes (cautionary about labeling this event as a conspiracy) and more information. He also provides a link to further discussion: "Michael Connell's Death Draws Scrutiny," posted December 26, 2008, on his Political Animal blog at Washington Monthly.