The Deep Breath Before The Icy Plunge

Let's do it.

MORE:  Drudge says "Libby guilty", but of what?

MSNBC: Libby guilty on four of five counts.

The firedog site has crashed, which can't be a surprise.

AND AT NBC: I assume David Shuster, Chris Matthews, and Keith Olbermann are incoherent with glee (the "incoherent" is a safe bet in most scenarios).  However, we eagerly await word from David Gregory as to whether Ari Fleischer was credible when he claimed he leaked to Messrs. Gregory and Dickerson.

And we wonder whether Ms. Mitchell and Mr. Russert will enjoy their continued role in the spotlight as they become a focal point of the appeals.

GRR:  My three of five prediction fell short.  And Raw Story readers may find me to be not-so-eerily prescient:

But Maguire doesn't predict complete vindication for Cheney's former aide, Libby.

"As to Libby's broad story of 'I forgot, and was surprised when I learned it from Russert,' my hunch is that the jurors won't buy it, but that may be my natural pessimism," Maguire said, adding that "I don't think any serious observer believes he [Fitzgerald] will get convictions on all five counts."

Maguire doesn't completely buy Libby's "I forgot" story, and believes that it's possible that the former vice president aide was just trying to keep his boss's involvement hidden.

"Personally, I think the single most probable scenario is that Libby uhh, shaded his testimony to keep Cheney out of the story," Maguire says.

Let's be clear - when the Yankees lose, I am both disappointed and surprised; today I am disappointed.

TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENT:  Media Matters pre-rebuts some right wing "falsehoods".  When time permits, we will come back to this, but feel free to fire away in the comments.

Comments

[Sue]

I'm with you...

[Sue]

Okay. It is 12:00 noon. Anything going on?

[hit and run]

::siiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhhhh::

[sylvia]

Ahhh. THERE you are.

[ordi]

Drum Roll Please

[sylvia]

I didn't even get to have my question answered from yesterday about the impact of other side, "state of mind" background statements to the central charge. Now I'm flying blind...

[Avon]

I predict the jury will fill out the verdict form wrong and accidentally convict themselves

[sylvia]

I'm nervous. Almost as nervous as the OJ verdict.

[Joe]

I wish the family of Mr. Libby well tonight. I fear they have a long journey.

[M. Simon]

Guilty.

I thought you'd already have the details and a full round up.

What a disappointment.

LOL

[Patton]

NOT NOT GUILTY!

[sunny]

tick, tick...is anything ever on time

[bio mom]

I think we all know what is going to happen. Sadly.

[SunnyDay]

I predict the jury will fill out the verdict form wrong and accidentally convict themselves

**************************8

Too likely to be funny!!

[Sue]

Drudge is reporting guilty.

[ordi]

Guilty on all five counts

AGH

[rk]

CNN says guilty on count 1.

[sunny]

all five counts guilty

[mcg]

1: Guilty
2: Guilty
3: Not Guilty
4: Guilty
5: Guilty

[sylvia]

Guilty on all 4 of 5. Not on 3.

[arcanorum]

drudge headline, five guilties...

[SunnyDay]

FNC 4 of 5

[SlimGuy]

Fox says guilty on all but count 3

[ordi]

FNC now says Not Guilty on count 3

[Joe Gloor]

Madness!

[Gabriel]

Whatever the outcome, both sides have grounds for appeal via the dismissed juror.

They'll need a Judge to grant that appeal, but there's always the "Marc Rich Defense" angle.

[arcanorum]

those sonsabitches

[Joe]

Do they have an appeal fund?

[secarr]

Well, Walton get scrutinized now.

[clarice]

Madness, Indeed.

[roonent]

Easily overturned on appeal. May it ruin Fitzgerald's and Walton's careers. I hope they get the chance to feel just how Liby feels now.

[sylvia]

Harsh.

[danking70]

wow

[Joe]

FDL is dead, I repeat FDL is dead.

[Carol Herman]

FROM CAROL HERMAN

GUILTY OF EVERRYTHING, EXCEPT COUNT #3.

And, Toobin, on CNN, is opining that this makes it "difficult to overturn this verdict" on appeal.

We shall see. Dreyfus also was guilty. And, it stained the french.

Up ahead? Waltoon had the lynching rope.

And, there's nothing new about that one, either. It's been well used by blacks, before.

While most Americans aren't gonna be swayed this jury knew its ass from its elbow.

[mcg]

Joe: http://www.scooterlibby.com

[arcanorum]

lesson learned.
never ever talk to the FBI, not even about the weather.

[sylvia]

Chaos in the streets!

[Barney Frank]

--Easily overturned on appeal.--

In my experience almost nothing is easily overturned on appeal.

[Jane]

The Judge should grant a JNOV on all charges

[M. Simon]

OK.

My buddy at Classical Values posted it.

http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/004742.html

Now the page is gone.

It was up for 7 minutes.

You have to be fast if you want to be fully misinformed.

[perc]

This is such a travesty. My heart goes out to Mr. Libby and his family.

[CAL]

How do you find Guilty on 5 but not on 3?

[roanoke]

Fitzgerald will be emboldened to go after Cheney now.

Walton can throw out some of the verdicts.

[Carol Herman]

FROM CAROL HERMAN

So? With this jury Russert won the day.

But what about reality?

Did you know Dan RaTHer's Mary Mapes, got hugged all around the night 60 minutes let loose with Dan's TANG report?

Give this time to be digested.

[harley]

Ahh. Fitzmas in March. Sweet.

[Pete]

Yahoo!

Fitz!

[TL]

Never fails. Juries acquit quickly and convict slowly.

Always the way to bet.

[boris]

This means war

[roanoke]

perc-

Have to pray for him.

[sylvia]

From Fox: Filing an appeal is a year from now. The judge can decide whether to put Libby in jnail in the meantime.

[arcanorum]

i smell swampgas.

[PMII]

Sad day for justice!

[Sue]

Seriously, Fitz found a liberal DC jury that would find a member of the Bush administration guilty? Fitz indeedy...

[arcanorum]

"The judge can decide whether to put Libby in jnail in the meantime."

no chance.

[shaman ∞]

Sorry about that,you Libby lovers.
Atleast you got 1 not guilty.

LOL losers.

[Martin]

Look at Drudge- right under Libby Guilty x 4 is the headline "Will a blood clot force Cheney to step down?"

Coinky-dink?

[Larry Johnson]

Booyah. Merry Fitzmas.

[Another Bob]

Need to start the campaign for pardon.

[kaz]

I guess it's time for the appeal.

If the verdict(s) is/are overturned, I suggest strongly that Libby's lawyers file for a change of venue. BDS seems endemic in DC.

[Semanticleo]

It isn't over yet.

[Publius]

Time 12:12 pm

Chris Matthews is already going after Cheany.

[ordi]

Will Joe Wilson be on Hardball tonight?

[owl]

I thought there was not a bigger idiot than Fitz but Walton changed my mind. This is sick and I damn sure hope the MSM is proud of themselves.

[Sue]

Booyah. Merry Fitzmas.

Hey Scary. Booyah, indeed.

[Semanticleo]

Now to the sentencing, at which point
their is either a pardon (most likely) or
a deal.

If he gives up Cheney, I recommend 6 months at Leavenworth.

There once was a lawyer named 'Scooter'.

Who spied a Spook's spouse as a looter.

He got caught in a trap.

Agreed he would yap

And fingered his boss as the Shooter.

[PMII]

Shaman,

Hopefully one day you can get the same justice.............

[Other Tom]

I believe the jury took their job very seriously and reached their verdicts as fairly as they could. I believe Libby did, indeed, lie as charged. I still don't know why he did, but it seems clear to me that he did.

And I continue to believe that the charges should never have been filed.

[Jane]

Well we have now succeeded in the criminialization of politcs, thanks in large part to assholes like Larry Johnson who has reared his ugly head.

Be careful what you wish for.

[sylvia]

Well Russert was even better than I thought on his fib.

[paladin2]

Sad day for justice indeed.

[Carol Herman]

FROM CAROL HERMAN

Well, we have the early crowers out. Doesn't mean the last laugh will go to them, either.

As to "this" verdict, it's about as on par with the one Martha Stewart got. And, you can't help it, if there's now a line in the sand, between the "nave-not's" at the bottom; and those they envy, on top.

While the "ladder of opportunity" that these folks enjoyed climbing up, will disappear up into the clouds.

Is this verdict an "impact zone?" Tell me, what did the OJ jurors do for justice? Or even for what once passed as ideal race relations?

THE FIX WAS IN. And, it's not hard to see how waltoon led the jurors to this pit.

While what else have they got? Marion Barry as their beloved mayor? A police department that blames innocent men, while women get kidnapped and murdered in broad daylight? This, you call, advancement? On what track?

[sferris]

Let's hope Cheney resigns...

[bio mom]

The lefty posters here are seriously in need of psychotherapy.

The devil is afoot in the world today. The bad guys are winning. Not just in this case, but around the world. Pray. (I am serious).

[Cycloptichorn]

I guessed 4 out of 5 here more than once, and was called a fool for it.

Face reality; Libby is guilty. He did it. There's overwhelming evidence and a finding by a jury that he did it. Your personal feeligns are immaterial to the facts of this case.

Now, we start looking higher.

[shaman ∞]

Sad day for justice!
Posted by: PMII

Are you crazy-I'm estatic.
Pop the champagne.

[Sue]

I hope this jury raises bloody hell when they find out about Andrea Mitchell. And they will. I also hope they raise bloody hell when they find out Valerie Plame Wilson was not a covert operative.

[Tom Maguire]

Good call by syl or sylvia (or whomever, sorry), who predicted that the Cooper charge to the grand jury was stronger than the Cooper-FBI charge - I took for granted they would be settled the same way.

[Joe]

never ever talk to the press or the fbi without videotape.

[james]

"Now, we start looking higher."

For what?

[Spin Doctor]

Time for Dick to step down. The blood clot could not have come at a more convenient time. Meanwhile, it is time for Bush to break out the pardon pen.

[Other Tom]

I see the Spymaster is a bit behind the curve, as usual. "Fitzmas" was to be the twenty-two imminent indictments, one of which was of Karl Rove. Larry still believes Rove was indicted on May 13 last year, and the indictment is under seal.

[Jane]

So you think Libby lied to Tim Russert too Cyclops? I'm not surprised.

[Evelyn]

For the libs posting their glee, what goes around comes around. I have seen it happen before and it will again to your detriment. I wouldn't be too jubilant about this miscarriage of justice if I were you.

[clarice]

I am so sad today. This is utter madness.

[sferris]

Jeffrey Rosen said that if the verdict is upheld, Libby is “certain to go to prison,”
baring a presidential pardon.

[JT]

I am sure he already had a reservation, but Tim Russert just locked up his spot in hell.

This is an outrage.

[shaman ∞]

Now, we start looking higher.
cycloptichorn

YES!
Look to the blood clot guy.

[ROA]

"Now we start looking higher" Just what are "we" looking for? I thought Armitahe admitted that he revealed Plame's identity.

[sylvia]

Thanks Tom. But I was very wrong on Russert. His story of past media lying killed his credibility for me. I guess the jurors didn't feel the same way.

Sadly, most of your pessimistic predictions were right.

[ROA]

Armitage not Armitahe

[Geek, Esq.]

The only question is whether he can drag out the appeals process long enough to get a presidential pardon.

Cuff 'em, Danno!

[Semanticleo]

"Well we have now succeeded in the criminialization of politcs,"

That's what you get when you have criminals in politics.

Whatever happens, at least we got a trial, this time. BushDaddy screwed us on Iran/Contra, but the Idiot Bastard Son will not be so stupid as to NOT grant a pardon.

S'Ok. We now have it on record. May future
hooligans highly regard their fear of punishment.

[EH]

Can someone who is able to muster more than a 4 word sentence explain how the bad guys won today? Does justice only exist when I agree with the outcome?

[Jane]

Tim Russert is going down.

[Michael]

Heck. I thought my Libby addiction was just a harmless passtime. I had no idea someone would actually end up with a criminal record.

[indecided]

This is an OUTRAGE!

It's not like he lied about something SERIOUS, like a blow-job.

So what, he covered up for Cheney, and helped destroy a CIA operation. BIG DEAL!

CLINTON WAS WORSE!!

[pete]

Dig in scum bags. Who will you rally behind now?
Who is the next handmaiden of the Iraq genocide that this blog will come to defend?

A preemptive war that preempted nothing.

But hey, dig in. By all means, dig in. It will just make you easier to identify later as society works its myriad ways of eliminating and marginalizing destructive ideologies.

[shaman ∞]

I am so sad today. This is utter madness.
Posted by: clarice

All your blogging propaganda-all for naught.
I tried to tell you.

[sylvia]

Re: MSNBC Libby free on bail till appeal (appx one year fromk now)