Geez, Did Anybody See That Coming?

Wilson/Plame civil suit dismissed. [Opinion]

Let me stagger down memory lane and revisit my coverage of this; maybe there will be some mortifying links to folks predicting great things from this suit, or astute commenters  ridiculing it. 

Here we go - unaware of a statute of limitations for their alleged causes of action, I predicted in June 2006 that we would not see a suit at all (OK, that didn't work out), mainly because of the many problems including the reason the judge dismissed this:

(2)  Rove apparently won't be charged with a crime for leaking about Ms. Plame.  Doesn't that suggest his first defense against any civil action will be to assert that he is a public official engaged in the performance of his duties?  Since Libby was charged with perjury and obstruction rather than criminal leaking, doesn't he have the same defense?

In July 2006 the suit was announced, and I still pooh-poohed it, although I predicted that Dems had more upside than Reps if the thing ever took off:

For the Democrats, this civil suit represents an opportunity to depose Bush Administration officials and maybe strike gold with some embarrassing or even illegal tidbit (think Paula Jones).  On the Republican side, there is a sense that Joe Wilson may be humiliated in discovery, along with the media and the anti-Administration CIA cabal alluded to recently by Rep. Peter Hoekstra.

Advantage - Democrats!  Neither Joe Wilson, Tim Russert, nor George Tenet are candidates for anything; Bush won't be either, but he is the leader of his party, notionally at least.  The Dems have a puncher's chance of scoring a big win; the Reps are more likely to "win" this suit, but what is victory - humiliating Joe Wilson?  Been there, done that, and John Kerry cut him loose to ice the cake. 

Within the confines of his base on the far left, Joe Wilson is a teflon legend and no discovery can shame him.

In September 2006 we had a link to the amended complaint.

And in May 2007 we had a post on the civil suit hearing, which prominently featured the immunity argument.

I certainly hope the timing of this dismissal doesn't hurt any of the Wilson's book and media deals.

Comments

[Uncle Pinky]

To quote Peter Falk in The Princess Bride:

"Yes, yes, you're very smart. Shut up."

Seriously, though, discovery would have been kind of fun.

[hit and run]

My 2nd biggest regret in this turn of events...

Other Tom is in Italy and is not sharing in this moment...

(first biggest regret is no deposition of Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Plame, of course.)

[verner]

So now, what happens to all the money they collected on the net? Weren't their lawyers pro bono?

[Sara]

Verner!!!!!! Hi!!!!!

[vnjagvet]

Other Tom should have a Compari on us.

Or something a little more substantial if his heart desires.

FDL must be awash in anger today.

[windansea]

I certainly hope the timing of this dismissal doesn't hurt any of the Wilson's book and media deals.

or the Hillary endorsement

[Sara]

The Haditha case if falling apart, Sutton (the prosecutor) looked the vindictive fool at the Border Patrol hearing the other day, Reid and Co. looked like fools at their Snooze Party, and now this.

[windansea]

the official lefty response?

Joe Wilson for Senate!

[hit and run]

Sara:
Verner!!!!!! Hi!!!!!

Me!!! Too!!!!

Hi!!! Verner!!!!

[jmoss]

Key finding by the Judge was that it's NOT a crime for the Government to protect itself against lies.

here

[clarice]

VERNER!

Well, Chemerinsky can now ungird his loins at last..the battle is over and the dynamic duo was vanquished.

[Elliott]

Hello, Verner.

I agree, Hit and Run. It is too bad Other Tom isn't around right now.

[Sara]

I'm sorry this is OT, but too good to pass up here.

Kerry lied, people died Breitbart TV has video of Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts telling a whopper on C-Span.

Sen. John Kerry said during a C-Span appearance that fears of a bloodbath after the US withdrawal from Vietnam never materialized. He says he’s met survivors of the “reeducation camps” who are thriving in modern Vietnam. An award-winning investigation by the Orange County Register concludes that at least 165,000 people perished in the camps.

And 2 million in Cambodia.

You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in the Senate.

[verner]

The last paragraph from the AP piece:

The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson's comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory, " Bates wrote. "But there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush administration's handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials."

In other words, act unsavory, expect unsavory back...especially when your wife sent you.

[verner]

Oh, and HI everybody!!!

I've missed you, but have been busy with "stuff" lately...

[Gmax]

He did not say it "was" unsavory. It is a motion to dismiss pretrial. He must assume what the plaintiff has alleged is true in all respects, but his point is even if it is true ( not stating a fact but merely conceding the allegation ) the law grants immunity to public officials acting within their public duties.

I know that a lot of lefties are digging hard and holding on too tight, cause otherwise it means that their 20 indictments fantasy is over. And I am here to deliver the news, it is definitely over now.

[Gmax]

He did not say it "was" unsavory. It is a motion to dismiss pretrial. He must assume what the plaintiff has alleged is true in all respects, but his point is even if it is true ( not stating a fact but merely conceding the allegation ) the law grants immunity to public officials acting within their public duties.

I know that a lot of lefties are digging hard and holding on too tight, cause otherwise it means that their 20 indictments fantasy is over. And I am here to deliver the news, it is definitely over now.

[Gmax]

Didn't the good professor Chemerinsky publicly consult on the filing of this suit? What a putz. How much do you have to pay to have him teach you the law?

[Gmax]

Didn't the good professor Chemerinsky publicly consult on the filing of this suit? What a putz. How much do you have to pay to have him teach you the law?

[Gmax]

Didn't the good professor Chemerinsky publicly consult on the filing of this suit? What a putz. How much do you have to pay to have him teach you the law?

[Gmax]

Didn't the good professor Chemerinsky publicly consult on the filing of this suit? What a putz. How much do you have to pay to have him teach you the law?

[bio mom]

Unfortunately Chris Matthews is not hosting Hardball tonight. We will miss his likely "subdued" reaction.

[Sara]

Via Protein Wisdom:

Now, the crowning irony. Joe Wilson responds:

“This case is not just about what top government officials did to Valerie and me […] We brought this suit because we strongly believe that politicizing intelligence ultimately serves only to undermine the security of our nation. Today’s decision is just the first step in what we have always known would be a long legal battle and we are committed to seeing this case through.”

[Sara]

Sorry I screwed the link.

Should be:

Protein Wisdom

[Enlightened]

Dammit. I was Plam-ay Jonesing pretty hard. Now this. That little beeyotch and her mental midget mouthpiece got away with it. Blechh.

[Karl]

Given that the AP's Matt Appuzzo usually had solid coverage of the Libby trial, it's worth noting that his report that the case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds is mostly wrong, and that the WaPo and Gmax above have it right.

[indeciderer]

Since this blog's denizen's have descended on Marcy's blog to relieve themselves, I would like to return the favor and defile these green, green pastures....

There was no underlying crime! The leaker was Armitage! Fitz and Reggie are out-of-control Liberals run amok! Moonbat! Moonbat! The Constitution is toilet paper! Clinton did it! Save me from the brown people! Mission Accomplished! Bring 'em on! I don't think about bin Laden! Put food on my family! Up or down vote! Fool me once....Take my habeus corpus, please! Try the egg salad, and tip your waiter -- I'll be here all week!

[PeterUK]

I only wish semanticleo,sferris,pete and all our other dear moonbats could be here to share this moment with us.Hark,what is that plopping sound,could it be tiny heads exploding in the Fever Swamp?

[indeciderer]

No exploding heads, PeterUK: The ruling is an implicit call to Waxman to haul Fitz before HOC and get down to business. After all, Congress is the proper venue for dealing with treason in the executive branch...

Won't that be fun?

[PeterUK]

"There was no underlying crime! The leaker was Armitage! Fitz and Reggie are out-of-control Liberals run amok! "

How true,so splendid when one from the sinister side has an epiphany.You weren't journeying to Damascus by any chance?

[Barney Frank]

--We brought this suit because we strongly believe that politicizing intelligence ultimately serves only to undermine the security of our nation.--

If I read this correctly Joe is saying he's sorely disappointed that he and Val's politicizing of intelligence "only" undermined the security of our nation and did not lead to a direct cash windfall from a DC jury. Stiff upper lip Joe, one out of two ain't bad.

[Topsecretk9]

sour grapes indecide.

[Gmax]

Putting your hopes in dimbulb Henry Waxman is a lot like thinking Raw Story is dedicated to factually reporting. Your are destined to be severely disappointed. The prozac may help though.

[Gmax]

Putting your hopes in dimbulb Henry Waxman is a lot like thinking Raw Story is dedicated to factually reporting. Your are destined to be severely disappointed. The prozac may help though.

[hit and run]

Today’s decision is just the first step in what we have always known would be a long legal battle and we are committed to seeing this case through

Book!

And

Movie!!!!!

We will not rest, we will not slumber, we will not sleep until the advances are in our accounts!!!!!!!

Onward!!! To Battle!!!!

Yeeeeaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!

[indeciderer]

bio mom: Tweety won't be available for Softballs tonight because the doctors are still trying to extricate him from Judy's business after he stuck his head waaaay up there last night (she's a hero, dontcha know!).

[Sara]

Sheesh! First I screw the link, then the quote, then I post the correction on the wrong thread, so let's try it one more time.

Okay, I blame it on too much pool water in my eyes. Here is the Protein Wisdom quote I was trying to post:

And you gotta love Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom:

Now, the crowning irony. Joe Wilson responds:

“This case is not just about what top government officials did to Valerie and me […] We brought this suit because we strongly believe that politicizing intelligence ultimately serves only to undermine the security of our nation. Today’s decision is just the first step in what we have always known would be a long legal battle and we are committed to seeing this case through.”

Joe Wilson lied about the significance, scope, and impetus of his own fact-finding mission for the express purpose of undermining the President (and, it is fair to speculate, with hopes of securing a prominent position in a Kerry administration).

His wife, a CIA agent, recommended him for the job — the conclusions from which he published in an op-ed. Wilson claimed he was sent by the VP’s office — another lie — and when members of the Bush administration supplied the context for all these machinations and motivations on background, Joe Wilson, caught in the tangle of his own lies, half-truths, and shoddy fact-finding work, knew exactly what to do: claim victim status and run screaming into the arms of the anti-Bush crowd, many of whom are so filled with a desire to see the administration brought to its knees that they will embrace any charlatan who comes along, provided s/he is saying the right things, and can present a problem for the President.

It has always troubled me that those who embraced Wilson and Plame — even if they actually believed there was wrongdoing on the part of the administration (and I’m convinced many of them don’t believe it for a second, but rather find the shadow they’ve contrived to throw over the administration as a result of Wilson’s allegations useful) — never bothered to distance themselves from what follow-up investigations kept proving was Wilson’s cynical, deceitful, and self-serving behavior.

Instead, they embraced him as a hero — a kind of whistleblower — and he, in turn, has moved comfortably into the part of aggrieved patriot.

To hear him chirp about how bothered he is by the politicization of intelligence is so rich in irony that, were irony a donut, the center could not possibly hold, and we’d soon be left staring at a breakfast table suddenly become home to a donut-sized black hole.

[Barney Frank]

The ruling is an implicit call to Waxman to haul Fitz before HOC and get down to business.

Don't you mean HUAC?

[PeterUK]

"The ruling is an implicit call to Waxman to haul Fitz before HOC and get down to business. After all, Congress is the proper venue for dealing with treason in the executive branch..."

So you think Fitz was treasonous? A trifle harsh,more over ambitious to my mind.

[Sue]

LOL. Everything is funny to me this afternoon.

[hit and run]

Sue:
LOL. Everything is funny to me this afternoon.

Oh, you really should try reading it on 750ml of Cabernet Sauvignon.

(750ml just ain't what it use to be)

[Sara]

Me too Sue. I just listened to John Gibson's My Word about Joe's "huffing and puffing" and I'm still laughing.

[lurker]

Good to see Verner back! Wish Larwyn would stop by here every now and then.

Glad to see that this case is dismissed. Also glad to see that Bates took note that Joe Wilson LIED and that WH had every right to protect themselves against lies.

Too bad Joe Wilson does not see that. But surely, the American public will see through Joe Wilson.

If only Libby would appeal his convictions....

[indeciderer]

What is it about subpoenas that scares neo-cons so much? Fitz - a REAL conservative -
respects the law, and so will obey the subpoena when issued. Will you all watch when , under questioning, he reveals the GJ testimony that Bush and Cheney declassified a spy's identity for revenge? After all, Libby's OWN LAWYER basically said as much on the first day of the trial....

[clarice]

lurker, per the Libby Defense Fund, Libby is appealing his conviction.

[windansea]

Val recommended Joe and Joe did not sign a non disclosure

Joe told some lies and got rebutted

Val outed herself

Liberals died

The End

[clarice]

Dear indecider..You are too stupid to vote let alone post here if you think Cheney declassified Plame's identity . For if he did that would have been a perfect defense.

As for the subpoenas they are ridiculous, outside the legislative branch's jurisdiction and the refusal to respond to them will be unheld by the courts.

[Gmax]

clarice

You could have stopped at " you are too stupid to post here". He wont read and comprehend anything you say. Give the fellow traveler accurate direction to the Hamster Wheel and he can commiserate on how close they came to bringing down the evil Bushitler.

[hit and run]

Fitz under oath?

I shudder at the thought.

And please, no please, do NOT recall Valerie to testify.

Do NOT throw me into that briar patch.

[Gmax]

clarice

You could have stopped at " you are too stupid to post here". He wont read and comprehend anything you say. Give the fellow traveler accurate direction to the Hamster Wheel and he can commiserate on how close they came to bringing down the evil Bushitler.