Patrick Fitzgerald Planned 2004 October Surprise

Newsmax ^ | Nov 4, 2005

[an amused spectator]

...a perjury that occurred during an investigation concerning a national security matter (the disclosure of classified information possibly endangering CIA agents and methods).

Victoria Toensing, the gal who wrote the law, says no crime has been committed, Plame does not qualify on several counts.

I'm sure that the allegedly "politically neutral" prosecutor Fitzgerald understands the legal breach he's investigating under MUCH better than the person who actually wrote the law. **snicker**

[notigar]

No, he didn't admit that.

[hummingbird]

We need to know the context of the quote. Was someone asking Fitzgerald about why it took two years to wrap up his investigation? If so, "I wish it was done in October 2004 instead of October 2005" is a perfectly legitimate and valid response. He'd just be saying that he wished the investigation had only lasted one year instead of two.

Agree on context, Terabitten. Will have to read over the transcript again, because I thought Fitz was saying the investigation could have been over much sooner had his investigation not been thwarted...which makes me wonder why media delayed testifying or whatever. THEY, of all people would have loved an October surprise right before the election. Something else is going on here for the media to have blown that opportunity.

As far as Shrum goes, I think he is twisting words...again....

[notigar]

Any one that can read can see that this piece is entirely misleading, the title, the text, and the implication. newsmax is pretty much worthless.

[popdonnelly]

"Same time Joey Wilson was advising Hanoi Kerry."

Which was the first time Wilson began peddling his story to Pincus (Washington Post) and Kristof (NY Times). The "I debunked the forged memo" story.

[Dems_R_Losers]

Can there be any more doubt that this was the whole point? Get an indictment of Karl Rove a month before the election! Kerry wins!

Some liberal bloggers have suggested that Libby really may have deliberately fallen on a grenade here - they suggest that he deliberately misled investigators by making reporters key witnesses to the grand jury, knowing that they would resist subpoenas and file motions to quash, and the subsequent legal wrangling would take the whole thing past the election.

I think it's a plausible theory, but with different motives than the liberals think. They think Libby was covering up for Cheney. I believe Libby knew this whole thing was a setup by the Kerry campaign in cahoots with some anti-Bush people in the CIA. He did what he had to do to stop them from succeeding, and that may have included lying and perjury.

[skinkinthegrass]

"We had to indict someone...If not Rove, then who?"...The ham sandwich.

..An awful rancid, one @ that...green eggs & ham, anyone?

[popdonnelly]

The original thrust of Wilson's Niger story, as first published by Pincus and Kristof, was: At Cheney's request, a former ambassador was sent to Niger to check out the contents of the forged documents. The ambassador came back and said there was no attempt to procure uranium, contrary to the documents. Cheney, having been informed, lied about uranium deals in Niger. That's the substance of the tale.

When it was revealed that Wilson's wife had recommended him for the Niger trip, that story dropped by the wayside. Because it could no longer be said that Cheney was responsible for Wilson's trip, it was evidently the CIA who sent him.

[george76]

Hat tip to Grampa Dave

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1515283/posts

[txhurl]

It was me.

[Peach]

Oh, sorry, txflake. I knew it was a freeper with tx in their name :-)

Anyway, good catch on your part!

[CFC__VRWC]

I hope Scooter Libby's lawyers were watching Chrissy last night.

[Sacajaweau]

Boy, Peach...That goes with my theory that Mandy Grunwald (Matt Cooper's wife) and Hillary were the hidden players in this.

Matt called Rove on the 11th. Wilson "said" he didn't even know about Novak's article until the 12th, when his attorney, best friend and next door neighbor waved Joe over to see Novak's article.

But Wilson talked to Rove before the article went to press and told him "leave my wife out of it". Don't tell me Joe didn't seek his attorney's advice before Novak printed his article. It's absurd.

Why weren't all the reporters swooning around Joe after Joe printed HIS outing?? Did the Kerry campaign hide him? We might look at when Kerry disappeared to one of his chalets and with whom or when there was a Big Dem meeting.

[eddie65]

No, Fitzgerald didn't admit this. The content of the article has no relation to the headline, as is typical with Newsmax.

[Sacajaweau]

Peach, Adding to my previous "stuff", I always said that the benefactor of all this was supposed to be Hillary not Kerry. He would benefit perhaps from the rhetoric but the true benefit, getting rid of Rove, was Hillary's goal.

Not too long ago, Bubba (high on meds) said: (IMOW) If we could get rid of Rove, we could get the Whitehouse back.

[Sacajaweau]

Fitzgerald's JOB is washing the sand out of his eyes. It was a lousy analogy.

[oceanview]

no surprise.

[oceanview]

nonsense. the basis of the case, whether Plame was covert or not, whether she was outed, was not in any way obstructed by Libby's recollections and timelines about when he knew and who told him. Establishing that Plame was covert (she was not) and covered by the statute (she was not) had nothing to do with Libby.

[toddlintown]

I watched his press conference and his point seemed to be that he would have wanted a much shorter process, not the opportunity to influence an election.

The article takes this way out of context.

[Sacajaweau]

The benefit of getting rid of Rove would go to Hillary. If Kerry did win, she might have had to wait until 2012. Tough odds on beating Bush. She didn't want Kerry to win, she wanted to start to weaken the Republicans. It's the game they've played all along.