Posted on 09/16/2006 4:01:54 AM PDT by libstripper
The CIA leaker has been found. No law was broken. Why is the prosecutor still going after Scooter Libby?
The New York Times and Washington Post are hard at work airbrushing history to obscure their role in promoting Joseph C. Wilson's incredible tale of his Mission to Niger and subsequent fantasy of martyrdom at the hands of Karl Rove. Both add insult to injury. While minimizing their own responsibility for the three-year witchhunt for an imagined White House conspiracy, they still suggest that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby--Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff and the only man indicted in the case--committed a crime for which he must be held accountable.
Really? It would appear that the Fourth Estate has been as inattentive to the criminal case as it was to the facts that led up to it. The case against Libby is as weak as the basis for the investigation was, and the animus that impelled it so distorted the investigative process as to make its continuation a travesty. It's long past time for Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to do the right thing and drop the charges.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Another great piece by Clarice, she hits it out of the park. I'm a big lurker at Tom McGuire's site and find it the most comprehensive place for anything plame related. Thanks for posting this great article.
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for later read
At least that's what I think I remember.
The man who needs to be charged with a crime is Fitzgerald.
His continuation of the investigation after knowing who the leaker was cannot be excusd by claiming incompetence.
It was without doubt an attack against the Bush administration.
What and admit that he wasted millions in taxpayer dollars.
Not to mention that he would have to find a new job which might require him to be productive.
When pubbies had the clintons nuts on the chopping block, NONE of this went on. No irresponsible prosecutions of peripheral crimes, hell, no prosecution of real crimes. Pubbies are pathetic and don't know how to fight.
is it any wonder that they are regularly beaten by a bunch as laughable as the dims?
Of all the things that disturb, if not plain old disgust me, about the Republicans is their hesitancy to stand up for what's right. If an example is not made of Fitzgerald and what happens when a prosecutor abuses his position then we can expect a lot more of the same thing.
That being said, he should have been tried for selling nukes to our enemies.
FYI
Libby's "crime" was that he simply did not recollect some of the details of what happened.
I've never understood the administration's reluctance to go after the liars on the left and it's only emboldened them to lie even more.
I know the president campaigned on changing the tone in Washington, a most worthy goal, but letting liars get away with misleading the public has not helped either the support for the war, military and Republicans but has also had the effect of letting the tone in Washington get increasingly ugly. I hope we're seeing a change in the administration's tactics and they will no longer let the Democrats malignant lies remain unchallenged.
This was a really terrific article that explains in great detail the timing of what should have been a non-event.
The MSM's utter incompetance in ferreting out the truth in this case effectively negates their claim as the "Fourth Estate" at the dawn of the new century.
Libby probably is telling the truth that he heard about Plame from Russert. Why journalists are given so much latitude and so little accountability is beyond me. Both Andrea Mitchell and Tim Russert have obvious animus toward the Bush administration and both would kill to protect their careers.
ping
The difference here is that Libby wasn't trying to coverup ..
The man who needs to be charged with a crime is Fitzgerald.
His continuation of the investigation after knowing who the leaker was cannot be excusd by claiming incompetence.
His acceptance of a position to prosecute a non crime is criminal. What other definition of despot is there?
Victoria Toensing was on CSPAN this morning talking about this case. She too simply does not understand why Fitzy went forward after Armitage admitted he was the leaker. She questions the indictment of Libby's perjury since his statements are not material -- as in, there was no crime committed. Fitzy needs to go to jail.
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(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Clarice Feldman does a great job of pulling things together here.
> When pubbies had the clintons nuts on the chopping block, NONE of this went on. No irresponsible prosecutions of peripheral crimes, hell, no prosecution of real crimes. <
Didn't Clinton apologists like Sid Blumenthal and Hendrick Hertzberg continually tell us back in 1998 that false testimony under oath isn't perjury when there's no underlying crime?
I've never known if there's a "controlling legal authority" to support their assertions. But if there is, one can only conclude that it doesn't apply to "neo-cons" like old Scooter!
man oh man, what a great read....I need more time to read this one again, & digest it all.
At the very least, Fitzgerald mislead the court on at least one occasion, according to Clarice Feldman. In discussing Fitz's affadavit of August 27, 2004, Feldman writes:
"This affidavit was a model of disingenuousness, misleading Judge David Tatel."
So at a minimum, it appears that Fitzgerald should be disciplined for misleading the court.
Now would a Freeper lawyer please tell us, How might a disciplinary proceeding be initiated? Only by Judge Tatel? By the Justice Department's professional responsibility shop? By an amicus curiae? By Larry Klayman?
As Corn and Newsweek's Michael Isikoff learned in reporting their new book Hubris, Armitage knew from a description in a follow-up column Novak published on October 1, 2003, that he was Novak's primary source.
Armitage was never in doubt as to who Novak's source was. He as much as invited him to drop the little nugget of Plames CIA employment in the column. Heck, he invited Novak in for their little chat for the express purpose of getting the column written.
Bump
"The president ordered anyone in the administration who leaked this information to report it immediately to him". No MSM mention that Colin Powell and Richard Armitage disobeyed this Presidential order.
"Powell, Armitage and Taft, the only three officials at the State Department who knew the story, never breathed a word of it publicly and Armitage's role remained secret."
With Scooter Livvy neutralized, the following is still inplay, and still indangering our country:
" ..the aggressive and able work of Scooter Libby on the president's behalf made him a target of those who opposed the White House view that the normal tools of law enforcement were insufficient to protect this country from further terrorist attacks."
Right you are. I have suspected for some time that McCain also has his fingers in this. Powell writing that ridiculous letter has only made me more convinced that I am on the right track.
The MSM were not being incompetant in this story. They were being complicit with Wilson from before the very beginning. This whole thing developed in the atmosphere of the election and while the Democrat 9 were appearing on TV day after day relentlessly hammering away at Bush trying to grab the nomination for themselves. A so-called scandal was exactly what they and the media wanted and once they got this they had no interest in finding out what was really going on. This was 'Ground Zero' of the "Bush Lied" meme and provided the initial basis for Kerrry and the rest for denying that they had voted on the war fully informed of the facts.
I can understand why Clarice didn't go there. Novak is the only person who has claimed that Armitage intenionally revealed Val's identity and role in order to get them published. As such, it is open to speculation.
Ms. Feldman chose to only use items accepted as facts to lay out an indictment against Fitzferbrains. It is a damning indictment, made more powerful by avoiding anything the least bit speculative.
Besides, Novak's claim that Armitage "invited Novak in for their little chat for the express purpose of getting the column written" leads down a different road than where Clarice is going. It's a road of conspiracy and intrigue between the State Department and Wilson that will surely be investigated, but apart from the prosecutorial misconduct of Fitzpatrick.
This my take on that sordid deal: Grossman knew Wilson and the two cooked this whole thing up. Grossman, however, as a suborinate of Armitage, couldn't order Armitage to talk to Novak. So Grossman went to Powell, probably with Armitage's knowledge, for permission to spring the trap. Powell gave it his blessing, knowing that his ever loyal Armitage would serve as the cut out man. A neat little three man conspiracy (four, if you count Wilson) amongst people who will forever remain tight lipped. All of the other players--the MSM, DOJ, CIA etc. acted rather predictably.
Totally plausible. And John McCain is running around saying that Powell's opinion on detainee treatment should be given deference because of the high quality of his character. Feh!
The "Bush Lied" mantra from Liberals is based solely upon Joe Wilson's lies and The Administrations ill-advised recant of Niger intel which later proved to correct after all!
Republican politicians need to make a stand and defend The President regarding the "Bush Lied" lie!
Powell is a primary conspirator in the cover-up of the Media-inspired leaker of a never covert CIA employee, allowing The Presidents enemies at home to scream impeachment and war-criminal to the delight of Big Media pundits who were also partners in the conspriacy to cover the actions of one of their ideological own in the State Department.
did you see the following, courtesy of STARWISE?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6G07pb9GBeg
Ditto your remarks, Peach.
Truth was on our side, yet....?
Thanks for the ping, Carolinamom.
This article is now posted up on Libby's Legal Defense Fund Site. Its the top story on the news tab on Libby's site. FYI.
In a few minutes American Thinker will post a letter to the DoJ Office of Professional Responsibility which was mailed today. Tom Maguire of Just One Minute may post it as well.
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