On Wednesday, the name of longtime Bush administration political guru Karl Rove was thrown into the mix as part of an alleged initiative to squelch the criminal investigation into Rezko by dumping U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald.

At a hearing outside the presence of jurors, one of Fitzgerald's prosecutors said former Blagojevich administration official Ali Ata was prepared to testify to a conversation he had with Rezko in late-2004 about a scheme to use Illinois' Republican National Committeeman Robert Kjellander to approach his good friend Rove. The idea was to get Rove to use his clout in the Bush White House to have Fitzgerald removed, the prosecutor said Ata would testify.

Ata pleaded guilty to corruption charges in a separate criminal case involving Rezko on Tuesday and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Government lawyers have also said they have another witness who would be able to back up the story that there was a move afoot to oust Fitzgerald.

Kjellander and a lawyer for Rove flatly denied they were involved in any such scheme.

This little gem is hidden in the mess that is the Rezko coverage. Influence peddling? To quote Kool-Aid Man, "Oh YEAH!"