The Indictment
I have much more I want to post about this, but a few thoughts for now:
1. Patrick Fitzgerald is welcome in my foxhole any day.
2. It is important to let neither the plausibility of the charges against Libby nor the fact that this has been expected for so long dull an appropriate sense of outrage. Fitzgerald explained the reason for this. If guilty, Libby has committed a crime against every one of us, and put us all in danger.
3. Having read the indictment, I am amazed by the lengths to which Libby allegedly was prepared to go to coverup, conceal and deceive. He is not accused of a momentary lapse of memory or a casual misstatement of fact. He is accused of a pattern of premeditated, easily uncovered illegal activity by which he willfully placed himself in extreme personal jeopardy. Libby himself is an attorney. Why would he do this? There can only be two possible reasons: either he's stupid, or he believed the risk/reward made it worth committing multiple felonies. I don't think anyone believes the former. So what was---or is---he hiding so desperately? That's why this story has legs, and today may have been the tip of the iceberg.
4. The indictment also makes clear the extreme lengths to which this administration was willing to go to discredit Joe Wilson, and how much effort was put into accomplishing that. Why? If the administration was so confident that WMD's would be found, why the obsession with and vendetta against Wilson? Remember, when our troops arrived in Iraq, securing potential WMD sites was not exactly a priority. Was the effort against Wilson the canary in the coal mine for this administration's knowledge that there were never any WMD's thus none would be found?
5. All along, the line from the administration and its apologists has gone something like this: No one in the administration was involved, ok some might have been involved but no crime was committed, even if a crime technically was committed it wasn't intentional, even if it was intentional it wasn't serious, even if it was serious there was no real harm done. Fitzgerald addressed the last claim today. What will the apologists try to foist on us next, and how much of their remaining credibility will they surrender?
1. Patrick Fitzgerald is welcome in my foxhole any day.
2. It is important to let neither the plausibility of the charges against Libby nor the fact that this has been expected for so long dull an appropriate sense of outrage. Fitzgerald explained the reason for this. If guilty, Libby has committed a crime against every one of us, and put us all in danger.
3. Having read the indictment, I am amazed by the lengths to which Libby allegedly was prepared to go to coverup, conceal and deceive. He is not accused of a momentary lapse of memory or a casual misstatement of fact. He is accused of a pattern of premeditated, easily uncovered illegal activity by which he willfully placed himself in extreme personal jeopardy. Libby himself is an attorney. Why would he do this? There can only be two possible reasons: either he's stupid, or he believed the risk/reward made it worth committing multiple felonies. I don't think anyone believes the former. So what was---or is---he hiding so desperately? That's why this story has legs, and today may have been the tip of the iceberg.
4. The indictment also makes clear the extreme lengths to which this administration was willing to go to discredit Joe Wilson, and how much effort was put into accomplishing that. Why? If the administration was so confident that WMD's would be found, why the obsession with and vendetta against Wilson? Remember, when our troops arrived in Iraq, securing potential WMD sites was not exactly a priority. Was the effort against Wilson the canary in the coal mine for this administration's knowledge that there were never any WMD's thus none would be found?
5. All along, the line from the administration and its apologists has gone something like this: No one in the administration was involved, ok some might have been involved but no crime was committed, even if a crime technically was committed it wasn't intentional, even if it was intentional it wasn't serious, even if it was serious there was no real harm done. Fitzgerald addressed the last claim today. What will the apologists try to foist on us next, and how much of their remaining credibility will they surrender?
posted by The Cunning Realist at Friday, October 28, 2005
15 Comments:
Fitzgerald is a credit to this country, all law biding citizens and his profession.
How refreshing.
If someone makes a poster of Fitzgerald, I may put it on my wall with a big lipstick kiss. Not because of the indictment(s), but because he is an antidote to the poison of what politics has become.
And to our host here, on the content of this post? Amen, and Amen.
Great post, some good points. Your last point about the shills' defense is definitely pithy.
Have to agree with the above comment. Would be nice if we had such integrety on the Hill or in the White House. Might as well wish for the moon - we will never get it.
As far as to the outcome so far, I guess it just shows that the covering up at the White House was even greater than has been realized.
I bet Libby will cut a deal and go to jail for 6 month, early next year and then the whole cabal that is called the Bush White House can carry on as usual.
NOTHING WILL HAVE CHANGED.
Am just wondering if they now will think they have a free road to starting a war with Syria and / or Iran. I will put nothing past them.
If they do it I think we can kiss most of the oil from the middle east good bye and then we will a have a real depression from which NO ONE will escape.
They will then be so happy that they will have brought on Armageton.
Well life has been interesting, but then everything has an end, even the human race.
Your post outlines exactly how I feel after reading this indictment. Rather than answering questions, it has just opened up a whole new set of questions.
Most importanly, is Libby stupid? If not, what is he hiding/protecting.
There is that THIRD option...that Libby, Cheney and friends have lost their minds. Don't laugh! Brent Scocroft said in his article in the New Yorker that he's been friends with Cheney for years and he doesn't even know who he IS anymore. Take a look at that PNAC document they all signed...a bunch of megalomaniacs if you ask me. Oh he's hiding something all right!
Obviously Scooter felt he had something MAJOR to keep hidden. No point in lying otherwise since its obvious to him that he won't get tried for leaking; to hard to prove the conditions required for prosecution. He is definately covering something up....but what?
Several differnt Neocon groups were actively "re-examining" intellegence and actaully going out and shopping their own sources as well. The fake Niger docs came out of the Italian government via that nation's intellegence service. Everyone pretty much assumes that the Neocons new the docs were fake, after all it was so easily proven once somebody bothered to ask.
Anybody ever ask why some some known forger was able to sell fake docs to the Italian Intellegence Service?
Now the hypothetical. Did one or more prominent Neocons use back channels to ask if the Italians couldn't come up with some nice documents linking Saddam to goldcake purchaes?
Being dumb enough not to recognize obvious forgeries is not a crime. Comissioning the creation of those documents and then having them inserted into the American Intel community is certainly a crime and quite possibly an act of Treason. Is covering up that action worth a 30 year stretch? Perhaps we will soon find out.
A previous poster said it: what credibility? Did you see Michael Ledeen's "analysis" at NRO on Friday?
First, Libby is taking the fall to protect Cheney. It's obvious, they're friends.
Concerning Julie Zuber's comment above: Cheney has definitely changed over the years. He was very different in the first Bush administration. Maybe he got so scared on 9/11 that he hasn't been himself ever since? Wasn't one of the priorities after that event the construction of a huge underground bunker for the Vice President? I know, I know, that is to continue government in case of a catastrophy...
277, we're all whores for the very point you mentioned earlier. Collectively, we Americans are whoring for Israel. Taking it up every orifice...
I have to agree, this administration really has no credibility as far as I am concerned.
The true believers still think bushie sits on the right hand of God, Jesus naturally sits by his feet, even if they would catch him shaking hands with the devil after receiving a bag of money.
Sadly that reminds me of Germany in the 40's, when everyone saw that they were losing the war and defeat was starring them in the face there were still people around its leader worshiping the ground he walked on.
SO WHAT IS DIFFERENT TODAY?
If anyone really thinks that we can win that war in Iraq, I believe there is a bridge to buy in Brookline. Oh, we can go on slaughtering the Iraqis until the cows come home, but that will not win us the war.
THAT IS LOST NO MATTER HOW MUCH TRIPE AND PROPAGANDA BUSH THROWS AT US.
The only question really remains are we getting out of the Middle East - Iraq, before or after our Army disintigrates.
Bush really does NOT give a damn, one way or another.
By reading this page you might have more clues concerning the case (oil, Saudi ARAMCO, CIA):
COUP D'ETAT: The Real Reason Tenet and Pavitt Resigned from the CIA on June 3rd and 4th. Bush, Cheney Indictments in Plame Case Looming
It's a bit cospiracy-minded but has some interesting facts, and it's written in 2004.
A shorter story here:
Must-Read Update! Plame Leak Exposed Brewster Jennings Asset on Oil, WMD
Both are quite interesting and probably have something to them.
WTF???
Could you please expand on that man?
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