The Wilson Gambit Part II

Early in the Fitzgerald case I wrote the Wilson Gambit in which I said," The Wilson Gambit was a stealth operation undertaken outside normal procedures and supervision, used as a political weapon, complete with lies spread by a cooperative media establishment interested in bringing down a leader and his policies which they detest" . http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/the_wilson_gambit.html :

Azaghal, a former law enforcement officer and regular Just One Minute poster has taken a close look at what we learned as the Libby trial proceeded and concludes  in an email to me that my view has been born out:

"

I've been puzzling over the circumstances surrounding the referral letter that CIA sent to DoJ in what is commonly referred to as the Plame case. My puzzlement arises particularly in light of what Victoria Toensing wrote in the Washington Post on 02/18/2007. First, here are four statements relating to the referral:

Toensing in WaPo

THIS GRAND JURY CHARGES THE CIA for making a boilerplate criminal referral to cover its derrierre.

The CIA is well aware of the requirements of the law protecting the identity of covert officers and agents. I know, because in 1982, as chief counsel to the Senate intelligence committee, I negotiated the terms of that legislation between the media and the intelligence community. Even if Plame's status were "classified"--Fitzgerald never introduced one piece of evidence to support such status -- no law would be violated.

There is no better evidence that the CIA was only covering its rear by requesting a Justice Department criminal investigation than the fact that it sent a boiler-plate referral regarding a classified leak and not one addressing the elements of a covert officer's disclosure.

Judge Reggie Walton to the trial jury:

Walton announced that not only did the jurors not know Mrs. Wilson's status but that he didn't know it, either. "I don't know, based on what has been presented to me in this case, what her status was," Walton said. "It's totally irrelevant to this case." Just so there was no mistake, on January 31 Walton said it again: "I to this day don't know what her actual status was." (From an article by Byron York, NR, 02/05/2007)

Team Fitzgerald to Team Libby:

But in a letter to the Libby team last Tuesday, Fitzgerald's deputy, Kathleen Kedian, said the special prosecutor will not give up the referral — and that Libby simply did not need to know what was in it. "After consultation with the CIA, we advise that we view any such documents in our possession as not discoverable," Kedian wrote. "The documents remain classified and contain information compiled for law enforcement purposes that is neither material to the preparation of the defense, nor exculpatory as to Mr. Libby." (From an article by Byron York, NR, 02/27/2007)

Deputy AG Comey to Special Counsel Fitzgerald, 12/20/2003:

I hereby delegate to you all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department's investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity ...

What can we draw from these four statements?

1. I assume that Toensing doesn't just mouth off without knowing basic facts. She asserts as a fact that the referral was for "a boiler-plate referral regarding a classified leak and not one addressing the elements of a covert officer's disclosure." I have to believe she has good information for that assertion, namely that the referral was general in nature and specifically did not address the elements of Plame's status that would allow a reader of the referral to come to preliminary opinion as to whether Plame was "covert" for purposes of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA).

2. Judge Walton's statement to the jury would appear to confirm Toensing's assertion, because if the referral had addressed the question of Plame's covert status he would be unlikely to make such a statement to the jury, nor tell Libby's attorneys that there was no relevant information in the referral that would be of any use to them. It seems unlikely that the CIA could have sent a referral regarding the disclosure of a covert officer's indentity without presenting prima facie evidence that that officer did in fact qualify as "covert" under the IIPA--the CIA could hardly have said, hey, we don't know whether our own employee was covert but we want DoJ and the FBI to investigate it. Therefore, again, the referral would seem not to have been based on the IIPA.

3. But, running counter to these indicators is Comey's delegation of "authority" (not of "function" as the statute reads) to Fitzgerald, which specifically states that it relates to "the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity..." What strikes me about this delegation is that it makes no reference to specific criminal statutes that may have been violated. It essentially states: here is a factual situation, investigate it. Now, there was in fact a very public allegation that a specific statute had been violated: the IIPA. Anyone who had followed the whole Plame kerfuffle in the newspapers and on the internet would have expected that the IIPA, which was referenced almost immediately after Robert Novak's article which referenced Plame appeared. Moreover, as Toensing knows better than anyone, that statute was written as a direct response to--as a solution to--the problem of unauthorized disclosures of covert officers' identity. What's going on here?

4. The answer may lie in the wording of Comey's delegation. Rather than referencing "the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a [covert] CIA [officer's] identity..." the delegation only makes a vague reference to an "alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity..." Viewed through this prism, Comey's phrasing may constitute confirmation of Toensing's assertion: the referral makes no reference to covert status but only vaguely suggests that the disclosure of Plame's employment somehow violated a statute prohibiting unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

5. In the event, the investigation disclosed no violations of law whatsoever. Nevertheless, in his closing statement Fitzgerald made repeated references to the possibility that a covert officer's identity had been disclosed maliciously and that people might die as a result--in spite of the fact that the referral letter apparently never referenced covert status as an issue.

6. Beyond pointing up the essentially unethical nature of the Libby prosecution--long obvious--these factors suggest to me that there may have been a type of bait and switch at the heart of the entire investigation. The operation of this bait and switch relied on the public outcry in the MSM about the disclosure of a covert officer's identitity. The reality, if the above analysis is correct, is that the referral letter did not reference such a possibility because it was known that Plame was not "covert" for purposes of the IIPA. The relevant officials at CIA and DoJ knew that this public scenario, replete with images of Administration officials frog marching out of the White house, bore no relation to the reality of the situation--especially in light of what those officals had learned from Richard Armitage. So, the investigation was an open ended warrant to find a violation of any statute or, failing that, to induce a process violation in the course of the investigation. The bait and switch relied on the public hue and cry to provide cover for turning the White House inside out in search of a crime--any crime.

7. The real targets of the investigation (Cheney, Rove, Libby) would be told that they were not targets as such but merely witnesses. They would be required by the president to appear over and over before the Grand Jury, ostensibly to give evidence to assist the investigation of what publicly appeared to be the disclosure of a "covert" officer's identity. These targets would rely on the Special Counsel's representations because they had not committed the acts that appeared from public statement's--including Comey's letter--to be the focus of the investigation. The Special Counsel had deniability in the form of Comey's letter, although all Fitzgerald's actions reveal all too clearly that they were in fact targets and not merely witnesses. No doubt the Special Counsel hoped that the targets' sense of their own innocence of what was publicly alleged would lead them to reveal something factual situation that could be construed as a criminal violation--or, failing that, become involved in a process violation. Had the investigation in fact concerned the disclosure of a covert officer's identity, the true target would of course have been Armitage. The lack of prosecutorial interest in Armitage gives the game away.

8. Finally, the release of all 8 hours of Libby's testimony before the Grand Jury disclose the inordinate amount of time Fitzgerald spent grilling Libby about the declassification of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) and when Libby talked to reporters about that. This is a clear indication that Fitzgerlad was fully aware that there was no hope for a violation of the IIPA, despite the outrageous statements he made to the trial jury. It is further apparent from the record that the CIA did not want the declassification of the NIE to take place quickly even though that left the Administration hanging out on a cliff, unable to respond to Wilson's charges. Moreover, when DCI Tenet made his July 11 mea culpa he refused to do what the Administration wanted him to do--state publicly that the CIA, not the Office of the Vice President (OVP) had sent Wilson to Niger.

From all the above, it is clear beyond dispute that this entire disgraceful episode was manufactured deceitfully as part of a campaign to undermine and even bring down the Bush Administration."

Clarice Feldman

On edit:American Thinker has retitled and edited this to put in urls for the cited material. You can find thea article at http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/02/bait_and_switch_and_trap_the_r.html

Comments

[Jane]

My theory is that until they reach their 40's every professional spends their time wondering what it is they don't know.

At some point year later, they realize they knew as much as anyone knows, but that time has past.

[JM Hanes]

Joseph:

I wouldn't say Tenet pressed the referral purely for revenge any more than I would accept the idea that the White House outed Plame for revenge, even if they had, in fact, outed her. The pot of gold at the end of the DC rainbow -- both bureacratic & political -- is power. The game is getting it, keeping it, or accessing it. At the same time, I wouldn't overestimate the sophistication of the players either.

[Sara (SquigglerByron]

Maryrose, unfortunately, we seem to be trying hard with political correctness to codify and make illegal, the use of emotional intelligence. There are so many subjects these days that we cannot talk about openly without choosing every word carefully so as not to sound racist, sexist, anti-semitic, or anti-Muslim, or, or, or, or...

Sometimes I think there are only three subjects we can still speak frankly about. Anything anti-Christian is apparently okay, calling our military losers and uneducated hicks is okay, and any joke about fat people is still considered kosher.

[Sara (SquigglerByron]

The pot of gold at the end of the DC rainbow -- both bureacratic & political -- is power. The game is getting it, keeping it, or accessing it.

Yes, yes, yes. And yet another reason Powell was out of his element. In the military, at least up to the General level, is based on merit and performance and not on power struggles.

[pldew]

Sara (Squiggler-Byron)

Did you just get married or something?

Are congratulations in order;) ?

[maryrose]

JMHANES:
You've hit the nail on the head.

[Sara (Squiggler)]

I have no idea how that Byron got there. Yikes!

[Jane]

Hey Sara,

What's with the Byron? It's an addition, no?

[Jane]

Hey Sara,

What's with the Byron? It's an addition, no?

[JM Hanes]

Sara:

"Nor do I think a man such as Powell understood the petty factions that were formed and disbanded constantly, especially when it involved other departments."

While I agree that there was no particular reason to think he'd be an adept on the diplomatic stage, I have the impression that Powell understood the infighting all too well. That's part of why he proved so loathe to leave Washington and hit the road. One of the earliest profiles I read about him included remarks from sources who claimed he moved to the top largely by knowing whose ass to kiss and when. I remember wondering about that -- and discounting it as sour grapes -- at the time.

[JM Hanes]

Or to put it another way. First, call the Woodward/Armitage tape to mind. Then picture Armitage & Powell shooting the breeze in Powell's office at State.

[Joseph Somsel]

Sara,

Don't forget a subcategory - the Amish are highly regarded as joke-butts.

To all - yep, they put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you or I. They are our intellectual peers or better.

That said, I'd apply Occam's Razor and think that people generally follow their professional reasoning and stategizing rather than stupid emotions. I'd still look at the actions of this class of people as driven by reasoned intent in their drive for power.

They ain't trailer trash or Anna Nicole Smith. (Of course, she died much richer than I'll ever be but then I wouldn't sleep with a 90 y/o.) If they were so emotional, they would have fallen off the rungs of power long before.

Yet, like Neitzche said, "Human, all too human."

[Syl]

Joseph

I'm a bit disappointed with the ease at which we assign childish motives to the actions of very sophisticated power players (like simple vengence or embarassment.)

You have a point, but you go too far in the opposite direction.

It's not that we're saying someone plots how to take revenge, it's that the smart and experienced ones recognize a good opportunity to do so when it falls in their lap.

And in D.C. opportunities fall like rain.

[roanoke]

Let's say this about Powell.

If he did anything "joint" the answer being yes than he was not naive to competing politics.

Politics is getting others to bend to your will-there is plenty of that to go around between the forces.

The crux of the problem with Powell?

He prioritized the wrong lesson learned from Vietnam-he learned the "quagmire" part-has that down pat to where he lost credibility shreiking that during the Kosovo bombings.

But- here is where history repeats itself the real larger lesson of Vietnam was the role of the press. They began to feel their oats and the synergistic effect that technology would have on their power at the advent of The Information Age-and in large part thanks to that Vietnam was the war that was "lost at home."

Powell? He knew this yet he participated fully in the undermining of a wartime President because his vanity was challenged-he was made to look bad at the UN.

Nevermind that it might have been the freelancing Wilson's and rogue elements of the CIA no his pride was wounded and the Administration had to pay.

The soldiers-be damned.

[narciso]

Agee was no innocent, he was turned by Simonov, at some point, possibly Mexico
City; the Mitrokhin files bear witness
to this. Now was a knowing KGB frontman
is unclear; but he was at the very least
a 'useful idiot'. one can distinguish him
from Marchetti, Snepp, Stockwell, McGee,
et al; in that they come to their deluded
conviction honestly. Agee's outing of Welch,
one of the CIA's leading Greek area experts,
(like Porter Goss, a classics major) served
the purposes of the DGI; in routing a major
counter insurgency expert in Latin America,
where he had spent the bulk of the time of
the 'colonels regime. Giotopolous, the Parisian born Greek Trotskiite emulated
the Tupac Amaru guerillas, that had arisen
in the latter days of Agee's posting in
Montevideo, from Raul Sendic's splinter
labor faction. Ironically, TA's following
all the Marighela rules, led to Bordaberry
lauching an auto-coup, much like Fujimori
did two decades later. Kingston station chief Robert Kinsman, was also attacked after his name was revealed by Agee's counterspy. Clair George,(then Beirut station chief) George Cave (Iranian
specialist, later involved in Iran contra)
Cannistraro,(which I've mentioned at length)
Gust Avrokotos all had their covers blown at that time; this is the background to the
IOIA

[Alcibiades]

I think there is plenty of bureaucratic infighting in the army as well.

And I don't think that Powell particularly exhibited loyalty while he served Bush. How is it that everyone knows how unhappy he was playing "loyal follower."

[Sara (Squiggler)]

One of the earliest profiles I read about him included remarks from sources who claimed he moved to the top largely by knowing whose ass to kiss and when. I remember wondering about that -- and discounting it as sour grapes -- at the time.

I wouldn't discount the story if we are talking about after he reached General level command and landed at the Pentagon. But, it isn't that easy to count on butt kissing as you rise through the ranks. Alittle butt kissing of one commander responsible for your fitness report might happen but then either you or they get transferred out and there is no guarantee the next guy is going to appreciate a butt kisser over a can do guy.

[Syl]

Jane

My theory is that until they reach their 40's every professional spends their time wondering what it is they don't know.

::insight flash::

I was exactly 40 years old when my (older) boss told me "I'm sending you off to Revlon to do blah blah and get that look off your face because every consultant I know is afraid he doesn't know enough."

180 degree shift in outlook for me.

[Jane]

The 40's were wonderful. And I figured that stuff out early enough to capitalize on it. I hope everyone does.

[JM Hanes]

Sara:

They weren't talking about his time in the field, they were talking about rising through the ranks at the Pentagon. He may be a perfectly good soldier, I'm just saying he's got infighting skills too.

[SunnyDay]

re motives - why did Deep Throat talk to Woodward? ;)

[clarice]

Woodward was given the okay to get background talks w/ all the key players to write his book on the decision to go to war. He asked Armitage and Armitage told him. But he never wrote it, so Armitage thru Duberstein offered an interview to Novak (w/ whom he's never before agreed to an interview) specifically to tell him about Plame and suggest it would be a good idea for a column.

[SunnyDay]

I meant the real Deep Throat - Watergate. His reason for telling Woodward was a very simple emotion.

[Syl]

I'm laughing and joking about stuff, but I'm seriously bummed that Libby could actually go to jail because of Wilson/Plame ego, politics and bureaucratic infighting not to mention BDS.

There is something seriously wrong here. Seriously wrong.

[lurker]

Syl, I hated when reading the following over at Riehl's World, especially if it is true:

Lieberman Would Support Republican For Prez

"If Lieberman were to caucus with the Republicans, they would still not take full control of the Senate, despite Vice President Dick Cheney's ability to break 50-50 ties. This is because of a little-known Senate organizing resolution, passed in January, which gives Democrats control of the Senate and committee chairmanships until the beginning of the 111th Congress."

If true, the Senate Democrats would not give up majority.

Would this anger more Americans when they find out that this is true.

Also, the Senate democrats are putting together a more than non-binding resolution:

There They Go, Again

While these officials said the precise wording of the measure remains unsettled, one draft would restrict American troops in Iraq to combating al-Qaida, training Iraqi army and police forces, maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity and otherwise proceeding with the withdrawal of combat forces.

[Alcibiades]

Yeah, I saw that, lurker, but I wonder how it works. Can't the constitutionality of that be challeneged. If they don't have the majority, they don't have it. How can the Senate Democrats change the law that way?

Also, what's up with Tim Johnson? Anyone know? I see he has been moved, but I wonder if there is a real chance he can return to the Senate and be functional.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253141,00.html

[lurker]

Report countering the inpsector general's criticizm of Feith's office. Pretty well rips it to shreds. Really embarrasses the IG.

[Syl]

Lurker

one draft would restrict American troops in Iraq to combating al-Qaida, training Iraqi army and police forces, maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity and otherwise proceeding with the withdrawal of combat forces.

First, I don't think it's constitutional to micromanage a war. Bush could simply ignore it.

Second, how the hell are our troops supposed to know who is al qaeda and who is just a sympathetic insurgent? Sheeesh 'don't you dare shoot shia!'

But, Iran is also helping al qaeda. Go figure. (we can figure out why, Nancy won't be able to.)

[Alcibiades]

Second, how the hell are our troops supposed to know who is al qaeda and who is just a sympathetic insurgent? Sheeesh 'don't you dare shoot shia!'

Speaking of narrowing the Rules of Engagement to what would essentially make the war impossible to fight, when the troops all think the RoE are too narrow already.

The more they push for this stuff, the worse it is for them.

You notice no one is talking nightly about Iraq at the moment - that's because the improving news is not news to the media - it doesn't help their narrative of doom.

And speaking of media anti-war narrative; here's one take down of the BBC by a former insider.

[Joseph Somsel]

How is Libby paying for his defense? It must cost s fortune!

Does he have a defense fund? Are some rich guys chipping in? Is he independently wealthy on his own?

[clarice]

His defense reportedly is costing million of dollars. There is a defense fund.

[clarice]

***millionS***

[arcanorum]

"How is Libby paying for his defense? It must cost s fortune!

Does he have a defense fund? Are some rich guys chipping in? Is he independently wealthy on his own?"

Well I do believe he likely made a pile negotiating the Marc Rich pardon...

But yes, there is a Libby defense fund, and there are plenty of heavyweights that have donated.
http://www.scooterlibby.com/

[clarice]

He did NOT negotiate the Rich pardon. A Dem operative did. He had represented Rich years before and beat the govt counsels (Comey and Fitz) in that case.

[clarice]

Jack Quinn represented Mark Rich re his pardon.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0102/08/se.06.html

[arcanorum]

"He did NOT negotiate the Rich pardon. "

Yes, my mistake, Libby's work formed the foundation for the pardon application, but predated the pardon application by several years, which was itself conducted by atty Jack Quinn.

"It was all of their work. It was their legal analysis and their tax analysis that formed the foundation of the pardon. So ... it is incorrect to say that they were part of the pardon application. That was something that [Rich attorney] Jack Quinn did. But it was all of their work that persuaded the president that he ought to grant the pardon."
-Joe Lockhart
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/02/18/clinton.fact.check/index.html

[arcanorum]

"He did NOT negotiate the Rich pardon. "

Yes, my mistake, Libby's work formed the foundation for the pardon application, but predated the pardon application by several years, which was itself conducted by atty Jack Quinn.

"It was all of their work. It was their legal analysis and their tax analysis that formed the foundation of the pardon. So ... it is incorrect to say that they were part of the pardon application. That was something that [Rich attorney] Jack Quinn did. But it was all of their work that persuaded the president that he ought to grant the pardon."
-Joe Lockhart
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/02/18/clinton.fact.check/index.html

[clarice]

What persuaded Clinton to pardon Rich over all the objections of the DoJ and using an end run around the normal process was $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[arcanorum]

are you sure it wasnt the personal appeal by rich's ex- denise rich
(.)(.)

[clarice]

Well, that, too
Jack Quinn was Vice President Gore's Chief of Staff and later Counsel to President Clinton.

[topsecretk9]

and Denise.

[ed]

Hmmm.

The moral of this story in one sentence:

If you're a newly elected Republican President then for God's sake fire every damn Democrat you can before the bastards stick a shiv in your kidneys!

[YFS]

--I'm a bit disappointed with the ease at which we assign childish motives to the actions of very sophisticated power players (like simple vengence or embarassment.)--

Don't give these dopes too much credit.They put their trousers, or if it was a particularly rough night, other's trousers, on one leg at a time just like the rest of us. Some are smart, some are morons, some are sophisticated some are as infantile as Baby Huey.

Hmm... Larry "Baby Huey" Johnson... I like it!

[Cecil Turner]

Report countering the inpsector general's criticizm of Feith's office. Pretty well rips it to shreds. Really embarrasses the IG.

No kidding, this thing is hilarious. Starts out:

I. SUMMARY OF KEY ERRORS IN THE DRAFT REPORT (U)
• (U) The title of the Draft Report is inaccurate. . . .

It goes downhill from there. Why is it I'm not expecting this report to make headlines at the WaPo?

[Cecil Turner]

And this is even funnier:

This poses a frightful dilemma for Dem Cong strategists. How to surrender without giving up? How to compel defeat without being seen to cause us to lose?

Little more than a month into what was supposed to be a swift campaign to sure victory, the Democratic Congress is bogged down.

[JM Hanes]

LOL! Thanks, Cecil, I (seriously) needed that! Lately this whole sorry Libby saga has just left me feeling immensely sad. I've only recently begun really noticing Jules Crittendon, although the name has been a familiar one. He's quite brilliant, isn't he?

[ErnestAbe]

If Toensing said it, then it must be true.

Therein you have evidence of a core problem with the American conservative movement. We have become too authoritarian, with a herd mentality. The Left has all the wrong values, but the do have a culture of questioning authority. I guess that's why they are always split in a million directions.

[kate]

The media won the election for the incompetent Dems. Notice how the media keeps pushing the Dems on Iraq. My sense is that the media, a bunch of aloof elitists, misread the election results and are leading the Democrats off the cliff.

The Dems would have done better to stay to their original plan, which was to work domestic issues and let Iraq play out.

But they didn't. I passed a corner anti-war demonstration a week ago. There were no signs of support from passer-bys or onlookers. I think the distress over Iraq would quickly change with some success on the ground.

[JM Hanes]

"If Toensing said it, then it must be true."

Since no one here actually said that, EarnestAbe, you've actually got no evidence of anything. As it happens, there are any number of reasons for asssuming that Toensing got this one right -- not the least of which is the fact that Judge Walton, who ordered the prosecution to produce the referral for his examination, asserts that even he, himself, does not know Plame's status.

Do you consider yourself too authoritarian, with a herd mentality? If not, perhaps the editorial "we" is not entirely appropriate. The crowd here is not easily herded, as our self-appointed Thread Herder can attest!

[Syl]

I think the distress over Iraq would quickly change with some success on the ground.

Iraq,the Model is hopeful. He says people are starting to move back to their homes in even previously very dangerous neighborhoods like Haifa street. Moving vans unloading furniture and all.

It seems kind of early to me, but I find it interesting that they believe it's really going to work.

I went over to FDL and read something about Lieberman. These idiots are so busy being snooty activists they haven't a clue what's going on. It's the cause, stupid, nothing more. It's all about them and their delight at being noticed and listened to. Has absolutely nothing to do with the real Iraq.

[Syl]

JMH

They hate Toensing because she burst their covert bubble.

They have to change their accusation to:

The Bush Administration stuck their tongue out at a noble whistleblower. :)

[Cecil Turner]

Therein you have evidence of a core problem with the American conservative movement.

Oh, please. As if there is any doubt which is the better source for explaining legal niceties of the IIPA: an attorney who helped author of the statute vs. someone who spent a couple years behind a desk at CIA. Especially when a plain reading of the statute supports the actual expert. "Culture of questioning authority"? Gimme a break: scary Larry does nothing but argue from authority . . . which only works because he censors critical comments. And ISTM lefties only "speak truth to power" when there happens to be a conservative in office.

And I hope you'll excuse me for expressing doubt concerning the conservative bona fides of newly arrived pseudonymous commenters who just happen to echo dubious lefty memes.

He's quite brilliant, isn't he?

I've not read that much by him. He's had some good stuff on security (including an outstanding faux SOTU), and that piece was superb parody. "Dem Cong" pretty much says it all.

[boris]

Dem Cong Dem Cong Dem Boneless Cong

[Axey]

Brian Ross, ABC News, is setting the stage for Fitzgerald to go after Cheney, if the jury returns a guilty verdict. I have a theory about that. If Fitzgerald was really going after Cheney, after the Libby trial, why would he tip his hand during rebuttal, stepping right up to the edge of a mistrial and causing the judge to issue an admonishment to the jury? I think he wanted to kick a little sand in Cheney's eyes and chose the rebuttal to do it.

[clarice]

Maybe Brian read on a newly created website something about an email from Cheney to a page in Louisiana. Please..

[hit and run]

Sara:
Scooter and Judge Larry

Byron York on the ANS hearing with Judge Larry as it relates to Libby case. If you watched any of the last 3 days, this will make you laugh.

Boy did it!

I missed this yesterday. Hooo boy. I tell you - that's why he gets paid the big bucks and I sit here in the bowels of the comments section of someone else's blog. That's good stuff.

[SunnyDay]

Of course, an extended Cheney probe may not garner much. "I don't know how much more there would be for Fitzgerald to do," Weisenberg told ABC News. Libby and Cheney were the only parties to the conversation, he noted, so further cooperation from Libby would be the only way to discern its true meaning.

First, Fitzgerald would need to win a guilty verdict for Libby and push for the harshest sentence possible, said Washington, D.C. lawyer Stanley Brand, who has built a practice around defending public officials. Then, he could grant Libby immunity from further prosecution and offer leniency in an effort to coax Libby to say more about the vice president's role, if any, in obstructing his leak investigation.

OK, I think that would be when we all make our signs and go stand on the steps of the courthouse. I will hire someone to take care of Mom while I'm out demonstrating.

I'm ready for bumperstickers now.

[shaman ∞]

clarice:

With all due respect,your theory is full of sh!t.
Remember,when Bush grants [F]ibby his pardon-THAT'S AN ADMISSION OF GUILT.
You,and your kind,are DUPES.