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July 09, 2006

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patch

My theory is that the way Judith Miller learned of Valerie Plame/Wilson is that she was asked to do some background checking on a story Nick Kristoff was working on about the Joe "Ambassador" Wilson's trip to Niger.

Using her many resources (Dick Armitage, Marc Grossman), she discovered that Valerie was over at the nationally know group of Clowns, Incompetents, and A_ _ H_ _ _s.

Well, I'm off to Intrade to sell some more contracts on the Libby case to moronic liberals.

Carol Herman

Shame on Reggie Walton for not pulling the plug on this disgrace, otherwise known as a soap opera from the Clowns, Incompetents, and Ash-hats Agency. Perhaps the judge has confused 'da law with Oprah? There really is no excuse; considering that Libby was forced to resign from his job. Instead of being allowed to continue his work. (And, ya know what? He won't even be able to ask for back pay.)

Why is it, IF judges aren't advocates (for lawyers earning money on their warped speed clock), that the plug wasn't pulled long ago?

Until our "justice system" finds a way of fixing this outrage; plus it then fixes the outrage of less-than-grand-juries functioning without the Constitutional guarantees that prosecutors can put you in Star Chambers; and PERsecute ... I don't know how else the law will ever regain any momentum towards decency.

In other words, it's a whore house, now. "Love" went out the window, baby, bathwater, and all.

And, if you want to say "well, judges couldn't explain WHY something is so unfair that they'd be able to justify the loss of a soap opera with the mob. Or worse, with congress critters ... then why bother to study for the law?

Set up a computer, where you push buttons. Train the folks who use the computers to use algorythms. Because that's the keys you use to direct search engines. You coulde even build in a bullshit meter; and stuff would get tossed right out on their face.

When did the court house become such a joke?

When did men lose their nerve to sit, like Oliver Wendell Holmes did, as opininated as all get-out?

Why would anyone train to have Socratic debating skills, without ALSO knowing time would not go awasting. And, listening to good debates would be exciting?

Oh, well. At least this piece of transcript hearings IS REALLY EASY TO FOLLOW! Yes, exciting. But not for Fitzgerald. Who looks like a man in any fair universe who would lose his case. Lose the argument. And, would have been sent packing long ago.

Carol Herman

If there is a "Presser" that is going to live on in infamy, it's Fitzgerald's coming forward, in the press, and smearing Libby, without one iota of evidence to back him up.

And, oh, boy. Idiots serve on grand juries. There's no other explanation for putting people on juries who are dumber than ham sandwiches.

clarice

It's a tru;y gorgeous day here, and Tom picks it to post 2 important stories in a row. *thwack,thwack*

Jeff

No, Dickerson did know, from Cooper.

clarice

Do you think it curious that so far two of the co-authors of the Time Plame piece are no longer with the mag? Or is that the usual reward for creative newswriting--a kick out the door before the shyte hits the fan in court?

vnjagvet

I haven't read the transcript, but from Tom's excerpts, it sounds to me like TIME's attorney was doing a passable imitation of a prosecutor in this case, and not merely an advocate for a "neutral", "objective" newsmagazine with no stake in the outcome of the prosecution.

clarice

Well, he lost. The judge asked to see the docs exparte, resolved that no matter how Matt testified the Time docs would impeach him, and , therefore, ruled Libby could get those docs before Matt takes the stand.

vnjagvet

Perhaps the nuance I mentioned was not lost on the good Judge.

clarice

Heh..perhaps not..He seems to have a shyte from shinola detector that is working.

Kate

Both are off Time? I had heard Cooper was fired from Time, don't know if that's true. He apparently is with a new magazine here in DC.

Didn't know about the other guy, though.

I had heard that Calipressi (Sp?) had called Wilson and was always curious about it. It wasn't undisclosed as Leopold said, but not fully disclosed. Sounds again like a coordinated effort by Wilson and the media - a hit on the White House.

clarice

I'm not sure Dickerson ws bounced, but he was quickly off the Time payrlll and on Slate's and I think Time pays more. Cooper was quickly pulled off the WH beat and given the online version. Then it was announced he was leaving to become editor of Conde Nast's Portfolio, a business publication not due to have its first issue out until April of 2007. I'm just reading tea leaves, I suppose, but I don't think so.

Patrick R. Sullivan

Walton really opened himself to having any conviction overturned with that crack about trying O.J. in three weeks.

Especially since it was in denying Libby the opportunity of presenting evidence that Wilson lied to Kristoff. If this isn't a case about who is telling the truth and who isn't, why is Libby charged with perjury?

vnjagvet

Bingo, Patrick.

Patton

Any chance they are referring to something written by Vivica Novak??

Patton

Isn't she also gone from Time.....

clarice

Vivica is also gone from Time.She didn't coauthor the story which, as you will recall, was substantially different than Cooper's contemporaneous notes. As I recall the reports were that she gave Luskin info about office scuttlebutt.
Why is Massimo still there? He was on the phone to Wilson before and after the Cooper call to Libby?

lurker

Guess this doesn't bode well for anyone writing stories about Plame / Wilson - once written, they're on their way out of a prestigious job.

Kate

I bet the Libby defense team is looking forward to getting the Time team on the stand.

Prediction: watch for more and more media types to predict a Bush pardon for Libby before the trial. They will say that the trial will be so embarrassing for Cheney. But it will really be embarrassing for the media.

Patton

It is starting to appear that everyone who
was aware Wilsons wife was CIA had talked to JOE WILSON or talked to someone who had talked to Wilson.

It was David Corn that first brought up the idea that Novak had 'outed' Plame and that was based on discussions with JOE WILSON.

clarice

Isn;t that curious, Patton. (HEH)

vnjagvet

The "outed" meme has taken a big hit.

Only the die hards are now still in a spouting mood. The bell curve prevents a complete erasure of the meme.

lurker

So instead of 60 - 40% of the population where 60% believed in Libby's innocence and 40% believed in Libby and Rove's guilt, we are now seeing something 80% believing that Libby's innocent versus 20% Libby's guilt?

brenda taylor

YES PUZZELING DAVID CORN JUST KEEPS POPPING UP EVERYWHERE.WITH ALL HIS SECRET SOURCES.

vnjagvet

Lurk:

As you know being a regular here, Libby is not even accused of outing Plame. Still the "Plame was outed [by the administration]" meme survives. Libby's guilt has nothing to do with it.

But now even that is just hanging on. Regrettably, the diehard group is probably at least twenty percent of the population, as implied by the bell curve.

I believe, as a rule of thumb, in any political matter, the left in this country can always count on at least roughly twenty percent of the population for any proposition, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. The "true believers".

Likewise for the right. It is the sixty percent in the middle where the battle is fought.

JM Hanes

vnjagvet

I'd put the left & right percentages a little higher. Outside of a brief spasm of approval post 9/11, you can count on a solid 29% to oppose Bush's very existence in virtually every poll. My own rule of thumb is that the "middle" is more like 40%, of which only 20%, if that, is realistically up for grabs. The fundamental problem for both parties is that in order to win you've got to get your base to the polls AND you've got to persuade the most confirmed of centrists to join them.

vnjagvet

JMH:

I do not disagree with your analysis so far as elections are concerned.

My comments were directed towards such specific issues as the Plame matter which, I suspect, have smaller interested groups than elections.

My impression is that the "true believers" on particular issues or particular news events (regardless of objective facts) are not as large a percentage
as the group that adheres to a political party in an election.

I may be wrong about this. It is based purely on my observation and intuition.

What do you think?

maryrose

JMHanes:
you are absolutely correct in your poll numbers. 29% is dems vehemently against Bush so I automatically discount that group. They show up in every poll.
Clarice:
How are Kim and Larwyn doing?
I hope both are well;please send them my best-I miss them.
This whole Libby case has been exposed and the turning point was Rove not being indicted. We can thank Leopold for forcing Fitz's hand by publishing his lies and then clamming up about his sources. Also remember Miller is out of a job too. Looks like this Libby case is the kiss of death for reporters. We have had a beautiful weather week here in Ohio and I love being outside and enjoying the sunshine. Vacationed at a resort place on Lake Erie last week with some high school and college friends-absolutely delightful! Of course we totally disagree about politics-hence it is not discussed.

maryrose

Pardon for Libby from Bush comes after 2006 elections.

nidkerk

Dickerson, Cooper, Novak all out. Duffy who wrote some of the stories is no longer bureau chief. Um, there's not a pattern of Time firing or harming these people?

clarice

maryrose, I heard from Larwyn the other day. She's better but her computer isn't and she hopes to be back posting soon. I miss her, too.

Sue

Kim is around. Causing grief for our friend Scary. I would say she is fine and in fine form. ::grin::

Javani

I, for one, am impressed with Mr. Leopold's journalistic integrity exampled by his maintaining interest in covering this story.

All the other reporters and bloggers "in the know" and of the left-wing tendencies have dropped interest once their grand bete-noire, Rove, was taken off the chopping block.

Further close interest in this story might compel the public to ask about UGO. The revealing of UGO will be a disaster to the Bush/liar-Wilson/Truthteller narrative carefully crafted by opinion makers and conspiring media.

JM Hanes

vnjagvet

I'm not working from any specific data either, mostly observating the ebb and flow of polls. I do think that the activist base may be closer to 20% or even less. Interestingly, however, I think that until recently, the base on the left was far less likely to threaten to withhold their votes/support as a political tactic within their own party than those on the right.

vnjagvet

JMH:

I agree.

topsecretk9

He was on the phone to Wilson before and after the Cooper call to Libby?

Also, remember that Judy had Wilson's contact info written in her notebook...obviously don't know for sure, but I would bet money Fitz and his team breezed right by a written phone number and never even thought to check it

topsecretk9

this is on page 10 of the transcript:

THAT THE REDACTED MATERIAL THAT APPEARS ON THE SAME PAGE AS
2 THESE REFERENCES TO JOE WILSON WITH HIS TELEPHONE NUMBER AND
3 HIS EXTENSION -- THE REFERENCES TO V. F., TO VALERIE FLAME,
4 TO WHERE SHE IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WINPAC STANDS
5 FOR -- ALL OF THESE ARE REDACTED ENTRIES THAT ARE IN THE
6 MATERIAL THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO THE DEFENSE.

verner

By the way, has Valerie gotten a new million dollar book deal?

No, didn't think so.

That Nation cruise should be real interesting.

jonah

Leopolds a Good man. Good for him for taking a beating and sticking with the story. That shows courage and dedication. Not a real trait others on the left have. And this is a long transcript so it must have been expensive. We should at least thank him for sharing it. What do you hits make of all the references to state? And the fact that fitz won't reveal woodwards source? Copper is not going to make a good witness. What could the other draft of his article say that would make him less credible?

Carol Herman

It's good to remember that we are a REPUBLIC, not a direct democracy, because there's real evil in "majorities." And, considering all the problems out there in leading countries anywhere, it's something of a miracle that our system works better than parliamentary ones, for instance.

And, the other thing to notice is that we have immigration from all over the globe; and we're entering the world, only now, where English has been set aside. BIG MISTAKE THAT ONE!

However, life's full of mistakes. And, when your system is in working order it SELF-CORRECTS. Or it helps with a population that gets together and works at getting people elected who do their jobs well. (This President is something of a miracle in that we got a boost from our Supreme Court to get him into office. And, then we had 2004 which confirmed tha we weren't tied at 50/50. There seems to be a growing movement towards conservatism. Just as there had been, throughout the 20th Century, not just a lurch left ... but one that had real sharks in the water. Waiting.) Unlike Europe; we're not in the mess that comes from going overboard on socialism.

And, I'm of the mind that throwing stalin "goodies" after WW2 has not all been the negative rating some give this. Because the europeans PICKED IT! And, the only ones that don't are the ones that EXPERIENCED the boot!

Today's biggest threat does come from terrorists. WHere we use a system of "kid gloves" ... rather than terrorism returned. Which would reduce their numbers. And, make them a lot more alert to their own propensities for violence.

But you can't have everything all at once. Here? Well, I see the left eating their own. I see that even in the case of Libby; where it's a shame he had to give up his job to fight these FAKE charges ... the left is consuming their own at top speed.

Top speed is good when there's no other ways available to discharge your enemies from their power bases.

pat

I find it disturbing that this judge couldn't grasp that the adminstration and Mr. Libby would have a different mindset when responding to FALSE allegations then TRUE allegations by Joe Wilson.

That's like saying that it didn't matter what the truth was between Lewinsky and Clinton, just that Clinton was responding to an allegation.

Carol Herman

Oh, just about everybody, left, right, and center, KNEW what Bubba was doing! Plus, why he was straight out lying. (And, Hillary's a "wife" in the loosest sense, since they haven't shared intimacy in years and years. Decades, perhaps. She might just as well be his beard.)

So he turned a fat girl, upside down. Examined her closely. Shoved in a cigar. And, said it wasn't sex at all. Perhaps, he was just playing gynecologist? What person caught with his pants down, like that, wouldn't lie? The law needs to make exceptions.

You'd be surprised how many people gave Clinton a pass on this one. Not because he lied. But because nobody wanted him saying in words, what he was doing in actions. It would have embarrassed the OFFICE of the Presidency.

The donks are more than welcome to Bubba's legacy. Fat girl, and all.

Jeff

Per Walton's opinion on this, the TIME document that mentions Wilson's wife is Calabresi's notes from his interview with Wilson, not surprisingly. Walton denied Libby's request for this document, by the way.

In connection with the idea floated that Libby might have confused Cooper with Russert, you can see part of why Libby's defense is so interested in knowing all they can about Rove, especially what he testified to with regard to his July 11 conversation with Libby where they supposedly exchanged information about what they'd been hearing about Plame from reporters, and where Rove told Libby that Novak was going to be publishing on Plame. If Rove was nice and vague about his recollection, that is helpful for Libby if he decides to argue it was Cooper he mistook for Russert. But if Rove was pretty clear that Libby was saying he'd been hearing from journalists on July 11, that's not so good for using Cooper as the stand-in for Russert. On the third hand, of course, if Rove testified that Libby told him that Russert had told him about Plame, that's good for Libby on other grounds.

Semanticleo

"nobody wanted him saying in words, what he was doing in actions. It would have embarrassed the OFFICE of the Presidency."

Occasionally, but not often, the prurient
and the sexophobic pop up like a weasel to
eschew the seven deadlies, the least offensive
being avarice, and the most being, dare I say it, Ess Eee Exx?

Like the inquisistors of old, they are both fascinated with, and repelled by the beast with two humps. Such examined medieval midwives with extreme care so as to reveal the witche's succubi. They fondle and diddle the labia with the care of a fine diamond cutter who's eye for a flaw is ably aided by the magnifing eyepiece. It is just too much for some to bear. There is just too much illicit fun available for good people to stand by and do nothing.

MJW

An interesting tidbit from the transcript that I haven't yet seen mentioned is Walton's comments on page 17 about the lack of admissabilty of Miller's notes. The Court: "YOU SAID YOU ASSUMED THAT MR. FITZGERALD WOULD BE SEEKING TO INTRODUCE THOSE NOTES. I DON'T KNOW UNDER WHAT RUBRIC HE WOULD SEEK TO TRY AND DO THAT. IT SEEMS TO ME THE NOTES THEMSELVES WOULD QUALIFY AS HEARSAY, UNLESS THEY FALL UNDER SOME EXCEPTION, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT EXCEPTION THAT WOULD BE."

My distinct impression from reading Miller's comments about her GJ testimony is that she claims almost no independent recollection of her conversations with Libby about Plame. As I understand it, witnesses can be shown their notes to refresh their memories, but unless the notes are admissable, the testimony they give must be based on what they recall, not what the notes say. So what exactly can Miller testify to?

motionview

Kabuki theater on Special Report w/Brit Hume

Is it possible that Brit and Mara and Mort and Fred don't know that the source that is "not a partisan gun-slinger" is Armitage? They just finished a segment on Novak and the Who's Who in the CIA investigation, yet I still can't quite figure out what was said as they bent over backward to avoid saying what they clearly already know.

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Wilson/Plame