The Amici Brief (The MSM claim that Plame was outed 1990's)

Baker & Hostetler ~ The Amici Brief in Confidential Sources Case on Behalf of 36 Media Organizations ^ | March 23, 2005

[Zacs Mom]

In spite of current articles and editorials to the contrary, in March of this year, 36 major news organizations and professional reporters' groups (including CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Reuters, The Associated Press, The Tribune Company, The Washington Post, The New York Press Club and The White House Corespondents) argued that NO CRIME had been committed in the Plame Leak case because, among other things, Valerie Plame's identity had previously been disclosed to both the Russians and the Cubans!

On March 23, 2005 these 36 "esteemed" news organizations and professional reporters' groups filed this linked legal motion which includes the following argument:

[Robert A Cook PE]

There are so many people who have admitted that Plame hadn't been covert in years that I'm surprised there was even an investigation.

What is NOT known is WHO at the CIA instigated

(1) the mission

(2) assigned/recommended/approved Wilson as the SINGLE person sent on the mission

(3) received the (oral) report when he returned

(4) financed and approved the money paid Wilson for his time (how much did he/her make on the trip?)

(5) Initiated the request to Justice for the "Edmund Fitzgerald" investigation to begin trying to dig up dirt and muck on Bush and Cheney AFTER the Noval column was written.

[Zacs Mom]

This is exactly the sort of disinformation I was referring to!! A screen crawl may seem insignificant but isn't .... it's subtle, but it is part of the repetition that serves to reinforce and validate false impressions.

[bpjam]

They didn't mention that as a covert agent - YOU DON'T SCREW AND THEN MARRY A FOREIGN SERVICE EMPLOYEE!!!!!!! How exactly do you claim that you aren't a US gov employee when you are MARRIED TO ONE!!! Idiots. This entire story never passed the smell test.

We need an investigation (a la Schumer/Reid) of whether somebody lied to cause this investigation to be initiated and whether that person(s) broke the law and should either be prosecuted or forced to resign.

[p23185]

We are under attack from an insidious enemy within and we need to take this very seriously! Perhaps what we really need is a Special Prosecutor appointed to investigate the collusion involved in the on-going efforts to unseat George W. Bush!

Well all of the Administrative branches of the Federal Government report to GWB - he better start cleaning house!! Goodness knows there are enough auditors to shake a stick at within the Admin - I know since I worked for Government contractors most of my working life.

Sure we can all write our Congressmen and ask them to start an investigation of the CIA and DOS, and I have done that more than once, but I don't hold out much hope with some of the morons we have in Congress. Honestly, how does Kennedy keep coming back and back and back - I wonder what's wrong with MA. And CA has some duzzies also.

[skr]

bump

[Zacs Mom]

Without a doubt, journalists have fallen from grace and that "The Fourth Estate can no longer be viewed as "Guardians of democracy ~ Defenders Of The Public Interest".

In 1945, the Supreme Court, in a case called Associated Press v. U.S., wrote that "...the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public..? Yet, under the Clinton Administration (and despite laws specifically designed to prevent it) merger after merger took place until the actual number of corporations dominating most of every mass medium dropped from 23 media firms to 6 mega-media corporations by the Spring of 2000!

But even this number is deceiving ~ the power and influence of these mega-conglomerates is understated by counting them as 'six' because, in reality, these six are actually intertwined! They own stock in each other, they cooperate in joint media ventures, and among themselves they divide profits from some of the most widely viewed programs on television, cable and movies.

  As foreseen by the Supreme Court in 1945, this consolidation of power and control has been to the detriment to us all as the media role shifted from ensuring democracy to undermining the function of true democracy.

Under this condensed, goal oriented management, our nation's "Guardians Of The Peoples Right to Know" have mutated into "opinion shapers" who present very specific information in a manner which meets a very specific agenda.

If you walk through the front door of Columbia School of Journalism, one of the first thing you would see is this paragraph, cast on a bronze plaque:



This paragraph is from an article written in 1904 by Joseph Pulitzer where he argued the need for a ethically trained and disciplined approach to journalism. Like the 1945 Supreme Court Justices, Pulitzer realized how very important certain standards are to the security of this nation.

[Zacs Mom]

Interestingly, at the end of the Amici Brief the claim is made that it was Bush's "house-cleaning" at the CIA after his re-election that sparked this whole investigation.

[petitfour]

Well, the media keeps sticking to the Fitzgerald story that Ms. Plame-Wilson was not known outside of the "intelligence community." That encompasses quite a few people/countries, I would think.

[catroina54]

.....maybe they mean ""known"" as in the way the Bible does ?

[nopardons]

Great thread; thanks for posting this!

[beyond the sea]

Check out this:

***

The French Connection (Wilson and and a new watergate)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1517406/posts

[beyond the sea]

I thought Patrick Fitzgerald was supposed to be smart?

A little smart, but just a functionary.

***

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1517406/posts

The French Connection (Wilson and and a new watergate)

[johnny7]

...and a person with the sincere desire to be "well informed" can easily be overwhelmed by it all!

Oh... so THIS is why the administration & Senate Rebublicans are letting themselves be railroaded out of Washington! Good to know... the dems & the MSM will take this into consideration during the impeachment hearings.

[Peach]

The media knows she wasn't covert; from what I gather - most of DC knew she wasn't covert anymore.

[Peach]

Good questions; I'm not sure we'll ever know the answers. After all, we're only the taxpayers who finance these things.

[ken5050]

Brilliant piece..mega kudos

[jwalsh07]

Nice one!

[bitt]

ping to a keeper

[Kenny Bunk]

We need an investigation (a la Schumer/Reid) of whether somebody lied

Reid and Schumer have W right where they want him. If enough of this silly putty sticks to the wall, the Republicans are out.

Say what you want. The Democrats know how to fight dirty. It looks to me like the Republicans don't really mind all that much.

[Kenny Bunk]

Great Post!

Increasingly frustrated by the alternative media's (especially talk shows) outstanding failure to gain traction on this issue and Able Danger.

The Democrats have their game plan and are sticking to it, like a good NFL team. You know they are going to pull the guards and sweep left, and apparently our coaches can't do a damn thing about it.

Just discovered a talk-show hostess on the Left, Diane Rehm, who interviews loony left icons on a daily basis. She's based at WAMU in DC and has access to them all on a daily basis, and thanks to good old NPR networking, she's national with her tax-supported electioneering.

The script remains absolutely the same, day after day. Remarkable discipline.( www.drshow.org.) e.g., Last few days: Biden, Richardson (particularly brilliant on the need for border security, while of course,"allowing millions of good hardworking Hispanics in!"), and numerous DNC functionaries, etc. The themes are "Incompetence and Corruption," "Wind down Iraq," "Horrible Outing of Valerie Plame." "We need to tax the rich." Folks, you can't say the Democrats are not tipping their hand!

We gotta organize a call-in freep!