Today Attorney Cliff Arnebeck, who last week filed papers seeking discovery and depositions from Karl Rove and others for election manipulation, wrote to Attorney General Mukasey asking for protection for GOP IT guru Michael Connell and his wife Heather.

Mr. Arnebeck stated that he had received credible confidential information from various sources indicating that Rove and his henchmen threatened Mr. and Mrs. Connell. In short, Rove et al, either directly or indirectly, demanded that Connell take the fall for the election manipulation or the Justice Department would target Mrs. Connell for some lobby related money laundering.

Arnebeck, an officer of the federal court, took these threats seriously. First he reported this to the federal judge handling the case, the Ohio Attorney General and the United States Attorney in Columbus.

Next he wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey insisting on protection for the Connells.

UPDATE ONE

Okay children - because that is what I am going to call adults who willfully mis-read information. I will say this AGAIN (as I have twice in the above entry and also used bold case so that no one would miss the caveat), I am NOT - I repeat NOT - saying this was a). a murder, b). that it was in any way connected to the White House or to Karl Rove, and c). that I am convinced of any of the above three.

UPDATE THREE

Okay, so I have some additional information from an airport source. Here is what I have learned:

1. Connell may not have run out of gas, but may have hit an ice patch. The initial call I got described him running out of gas. That is no longer what is said to have happened.

2. The problem with that is - as I just learned - his plane was "equipped to deal with ice on all key surfaces," like wings for example. Remember, I am not an expert on aviation or even mildly informed on different types of planes. So I will add to this when I get more information relating to the actual plane and its abilities, specs, etc.

3. He took off from a small airport called College Park.

4. He was aware of the ice conditions, and remained grounded at that airport for two hours until he felt comfortable to fly (again, from an airport source).

That is the latest. I will keep you posted - hopefully when I learn something new.

I have one small question. If the plane came down, innocently and without malice, because it ran out of fuel, what is the explanation of the following report of the plane's behavior after the crash?

LAKE TWP.: A single-prop, private airplane crashed next to a vacant house on Charolais Street Northwest Friday evening, exploding into flames and killing the pilot.

Michael Connell, 45, of Bath Township, was alone in the plane, according to State Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Sheppard.

UPDATE THREE

Okay, so I have some additional information from an airport source. Here is what I have learned:

1. Connell may not have run out of gas, but may have hit an ice patch. The initial call I got described him running out of gas. That is no longer what is said to have happened.

2. The problem with that is - as I just learned - his plane was "equipped to deal with ice on all key surfaces," like wings for example. Remember, I am not an expert on aviation or even mildly informed on different types of planes. So I will add to this when I get more information relating to the actual plane and its abilities, specs, etc.

3. He took off from a small airport called College Park.

4. He was aware of the ice conditions, and remained grounded at that airport for two hours until he felt comfortable to fly (again, from an airport source).