Libby's Motive - Maybe Patrick Fitzgerald Can Help Matt Yglesias

Matt Yglesias and Brendan Nyhan are having an interesting back and forth as to why Libby lied and what it means for his commutation.  Let me volunteer Special Counsel Fitzgerald's help on this plaintive plea from Matt Yglesias:

Bottom-line, I think it's rock solid that Bush abused his power, and until someone can offer a plausible account of what kind of non-criminal conduct Libby is helping to cover-up, I'm not going to be too upset if people assume that what's being covered-up was, in fact, a crime.

Here is Special Counsel Fitzgerald from a 2006 filing (p. 26) in which he tackled the question of motive (but do keep in mind - jurors like motive as part of the narrative but it is not a legal requirement for conviction in a perjury/obstruction trial):

Defendant’s request for discovery to show an absence of motive to lie or conceal his conduct overlooks the fact that even the materials defendant appended to his motion show that in early October 2003 (when defendant first gave his story) there would be great embarrassment to the administration if it became publicly known that defendant had participated in disseminating information about Ms. Wilson’s CIA employment, and defendant would have had every reason to assume he would be fired if his true actions became known.

But if June 2006 seems too long ago, here is Jeralyn Merritt's summary of the prosecution close from the Libby trial (the speaker was Peter Zeidenberg):

Mr. Libby and motive to lie.  He agrees with Wells that people have to have a motive to lie.

Libby knew there was a criminal investigation. He knew the FBI wanted to talk to him about it. Zeidenberg tells them to look at Libby's non-disclosure agreements. He knows that he can't even be negligent about classified information. Zeidenberg plays the video of Scott McClellan.

There's no question Libby has reason to think that at a minimum, he's going to be fired. He went to the VP and said he wanted to be cleared like Karl Rove had been cleared.

He cooked up the story about reporters being the source of his knowledge so that it would make his conduct appear innocuous.

This is a case about lying, not conspiracy or scapegoats. There's no White House or NBC conspiracy. He's here because of his own choices and decisions. He decided to lie to the FB and grand jury.

And here we go from Fitzgerald's "cloud over what the Vice President did" close:

But the thing about it is, when you look back at something that happened, history always looks inevitable. At the time he [Libby] was sitting there with a motive to lie. He had a problem. There was an investigation, got security clearances, going to lose his job, they’re talking about firing people and he planted his feet and told the Vice President, I did not leak to Novak.  I did not leak classified information.

I don't know if that helps, but it looks like the official government speculation.

The gist is that Libby feared loss of security clearances, firing, and embarrassment to the Administration.  As a bonus, let me speculate that Libby was specifically worried that Dick Coronary might be dumped from the 2004 ticket if his role in the Plame debacle was sufficiently awkward.

And do keep in mind - the specific points on which Libby were convicted were pretty tangential to whether he discussed Ms. Plame with Cheney and whether he or Cheney were aware of her classified status.  Consequently there are plenty of modified Libby stories that would clear the points on which he was convicted yet still minimize Cheney's role, if he is ever asked to re-tell his tale. 

Frankly, I await the day when Congress or the courts prepare an impeachment/indictment of Cheney on the word of a convicted perjurer who testified to memory problems (although the commutation serves to increase his possible credibility - would he even get a hearing if his testimony would lead to a reduced sentence?).  But until that day comes, I have Comedy Central.

Comments

[BumperStickerist]

Everybody (on the Left) seems to have forgotten that about the Presidential election going on.

Simply putting Libby on a Committee to Reelect the President mark II solves Young Master Yglesias's issues regarding Libby's possible non-criminal conduct. That would require Matt to recognize that breaking into DNC headquarters is not the same thing as talking to a reporter about a hit piece published in the NYT by a partisan hack.

Three words, Matt:

Modified Limited Hangout. -

-

[MayBee]

I never read Matt Yglesias, but I've liked him ever since I saw him on blogging heads saying Joe Wilson is weird.

[Other Tom]

That's a very worthwhile refresher on the prosecutor's speculation. Not even Fitz bought into any notion of a conspiracy (which many had long since deduced from the fact that no conspiracy was alleged in the indictment).

The Left is doomed to wrestle in vain with this thing in perpetuity, and that's all to the good. The fact that Fitzmas has come and gone without a single frog-march is an exquisitely painful reality for them.

[PeterUK]

This pre-supposes two things,one Plame had any importance and two,Mr Libby needed the job.It is obvious from the amount invested in legal proceedings that Mr Libby did not need the job for the money.

[PeterUK]

This pre-supposes two things,one Plame had any importance and two,Mr Libby needed the job.It is obvious from the amount invested in legal proceedings that Mr Libby did not need the job for the money.

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[PeterUK]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

[Rick Ballard]

Does anyone know the actual percentage of people expressing confidence in the current Congress? Polling data would suffice.

[mefolkes]

PeterUK, a lot of what you post is so good that it bears repeating, but seven times back to back?

[Garth]

Frankly, I await the day when Congress or the courts prepare an impeachment/indictment of Cheney on the word of a convicted perjurer who testified to memory problems (although the commutation serves to increase his possible credibility - would he even get a hearing if his testimony would lead to a reduced sentence?). - Tom Maguire

Bring'em on - George Bush

According to current public mood, they wouldn't mind seeing Dickkk impeached on any number of grounds.

[Sara]

RE: MSNBC, from the last thread. The drift to the left began with Dan Abrams when he still had his show. When he was moved upstairs to management, the move to the left became a move to the far far far left.

[BobS]

Awwwww, Tom.

Why did you say Dick "Coronary"?

I happen to love the guy as I've not seen anyone spark that kind of lefty hatred since Gingrich. And I love him, too, although I think his mouth ofetn operates independentky of his brain.

[PeterUK]

PeterUK, a lot of what you post is so good that it bears repeating, but seven times back to back?

Typepad is obviously a Republican.The approval rate will have gone down since the first post though.

[kaz]

Off on a complete tangent; do people retain whatever accent they have if they stutter? And would a southerner stutter slower than a Yankee from Maine?

As I admitted, completely off topic, but PUK's problems with Typepad brought the question to mind.

[inmypajamas]

Also OT but can I just say on behalf of all the non-lawyerly lurkers out there who come to this site to drink from the ever-flowing fountain of knowledge -

THANK YOU for making chch16 go away!

[MikeS]

The motives offered by the prosecutor are embarrassment and fear of being fired. Either of those two motives would not only satisfy Matt Yglesias “plaintive plea”, but they would also mean that if Scooter obstructed justice, he did it accidentally while trying to avoid the wrath of his bosses.

[Garth]

what if the motive was to conceal a deliberate decision by Cheney to declassify Plame's status and ordered scooter to leak it?

what if that was his motive.

George I - pardoned Caspar Weinberger
George II - pardoned scooter libby

motive: CYA

[Sara]

what if the motive was to conceal a deliberate decision by Cheney to declassify Plame's status and ordered scooter to leak it?

And what if it was (and I don't think it was), but what if it was? Is it inconceivable that there are/were far more serious issues at stake and that maybe nipping the cabal at CIA in the bud was far more important to our national security than the rantings and ravings of a Kerry campaign operative trying to position himself for a plumb job after the election?

[SteveMG]

if Scooter obstructed justice, he did it accidentally while trying to avoid the wrath of his bosses.

Yes, but we have the problem of Libby admitting to the FBI and Grand Jury that he leaked/told/mentioned (choose your term) Plame's name to Judy Miller. At least twice.

Now, he also testified that he wasn't aware that Plame's status/name was classified when discussing it with JM. And Fitzgerald admitted that he had no evidence that Libby knew that her name was classified (if it was).

However, if his memory loss (re Russert/Cooper) were attempts to protect himself from the "Wrath of Big Time"©, he failed to use that technique when testifying about his conversations with Judy Miller.

I'm still stumped.

[Poppy(Patton)]

The question is not whether Liby had a motive to lie, the real question is whatever Libby motive to lie, why would he make up such a stupid, easily discoverable lie.

Why wouldn't he pick a journalist he had a
confidentiality agreement with, why in the world pick Russert?

And why in the world pick a date so late in time.

In addition, THIS ENTIRE CONCOCTION BY FITZ is BASED on the idea that Libby had told journalists about Plame prior to the Novak
information. WHEN WAS THAT EVER PROVEN??

Fitz never proved Libby told Miller.
Fitz never proved Libby told Cooper (IN fact it was the other way around)
Fitz never proved Libby told any journalist, so why concoct a lie about Russert?

[MikeS]

Better yet what if Libby actually knew that Bush ordered terrorist to crash into the WTC ...AND that Cheney is really just a code name for the infamous Abu Ayuub al-Texi.
So Libby covered that up by claiming to be 'surprised'.

[Poppy(Patton)]

I still like this description:

Fitz claimed Libby obstructed the investigation by throwing sand in the unpire's face. But if Libby did throw any sand at the Ump (Fitz); it was because Fitz followed Libby out to the parking lot after the game was over, with a baseball bat menacingly in his hand.

[Sara]

Fitzgerald fought tooth and nail to keep out Libby's schedule and workload on highly classified matters. He wanted to keep it in the realm of junior high school talk as if Libby had nothing more important to think or talk about than the blond bombshell. A very juvenile attitude that was designed to play to the left's juvenile view of the world.

[Topsecretk9]

I said this over a Patterico, but one thing that boils my blood is the key details forgotten about Armitage that St. Fitzgerlad had no problem with...

Armitage did 2 highly questionable things that Fitzgerald had no problem with

A- Armitage had a 3rd party call Robert Novak as soon as the Fitzgerald appointment was ANNOUNCED to TELL Novak his leak to him was inadvertent

and

B- Armitage WITHHELD the information from Fitzgerald he had talked to Bob Woodward - Woodward said he had prodded Armitage to let Woodward write about it for at least a year before the Libby indictment and Armitage refused

Fitzgerald said in his press conference that Libby was the 1st known government official to tell a reporter about Plame

And yet it was not only Armitage who leaked to the reporter who published it, it was Armitage who was the first known official to tell a reporter about Plame, a reporter who did not write about it - ahem like Judy Miller-- and all the while the same govt official WITHHELD this from the Prosecutor

Of course, Fitzgerlad never bother to look at Armitage’s calendar, but come on!

And, of course the Russert situation. Fitzgerlad stood before the microphones and said Libby was the first known official and he wasn't and then Fitzgerlad fights to suppress the issue of her covertness as irrelevant and then unethically pulls that back in 2ce after the fact ---if this is important to his case then the first known government official to tell a reporter- Armitage - who then also blabbed to the publishing reporter should have been indicted too

and since he wasn't it illustrates what a political sham this was

[PeterUK]

"If Scooter obstructed justice, he did it accidentally while trying to avoid the wrath of his bosses."

This presumes Mr Libby was a standard peon rather than a very wealthy a successful lawyer.

[Poppy(Patton)]

I don't eve think any liberal or Fitz is conviced that Libby, a know lawyer, who had literally months and his own lawyer to think asbout his testimony, could have possibly came up with the ridiculous story intentionally. It doesn't pass ANY smell test. It would have been much simplier if Libby simple said Judy Miller told him back in June..she must have heard about it inside the NYT where Wilson was blabbing all over the place.

Miller was a ditz from day one and he had to know she would have been a terrible memory witness and it would have made sense in the timeline. Saying you heard it from Russert at the very end of the timeline and then forgot you knew it MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO COMMON, OR EVEN CLOSE TO COMMON SENSE.

ITS LIKE THE POLICE COMING TO YOUR HOUSE AND ASKING YOU;
Q: What time did you leave work.
A: Well before the buglary.
Q: What burglary, how'd you know their was a burglary?
A: Ahhh, a news guy just called me and a told me.
Q: Really, well what's his name, Russert? We'll check your story with him.

Its just too dumb to be believed.

[Carol Herman]

The only thing "covert" was the money drawer. Not a new trick for the CIA, either. SInce it even funded the opening and closing umbrella, up a the Grassy Knoll.

I think if Fitz had gone to uncover this stuff, the CIA would'a killed him.

But as far as competency goes? The CIA will have none of that stuff!

And, the whole charade was designed to make Dubya's life miserable. He was supposed to get so upset, he wouldn't run in 2004. Ran anyway. And, won it, too. No questions asked. But to hear John [halp is on the way] Kerry explains it; if only the Bonkeys could'a stuff about 200,000 more ballots into Ohio. The outcome would have been different.

While we're now heading for 2008 in this atmosphere of animosity. As if you're supposed to give up, because people hate you. Well, is it working any better for the Saud's?

Given that the old media can't seem to follow news stories; it's no wonder they aren't attracting business.

Not so, the Internet. Which works the news cycles by exposing all the frauds.

Oh, the Left won't stop screaming. But if you've followed the ditch lady, Cindy Sheehan; you'd notice that sometimes the media coverage doesn't bring the dead back to life.

You'd think there would be a pattern to this stuff, people would recognize by now.

[Sara]

A recommended read by The Belmont Club:

The Zawahiri Tape

[Poppy(Patton)]

Armitage also had discussions with others who testified within the State Dept and agreed to keep his role secret, including from the office of the President.

[boris]

Cooper's notes establish that Libby said something like "heard that too, don't know if it's even true". So if forgetting his own note about hearing from Cheney in June was a lie, he was already telling that "lie" to Cooper the 2nd week in July.

Three months later talking to the feds it really could be the "lie" that Libby remembers so his "motive" to do so may have nothing to do with the investigation AT ALL. (If it even was a "lie".)

[PeterUK]

"what if the motive was to conceal a deliberate decision by Cheney to declassify Plame's status and ordered scooter to leak it?"

As opposed to an accidental decision to declassify Plame's status.Would seem pointless to deliberately declassify something then keep it secret,don't you think?

[boris]

Cue Replay: So what was the truth that Libby should have told that would not have "obstructed" the investigation or resulted in conviction? Based on evidence presented at trial it would be something like this ...

Libby: "I first learned about Wilson's wife in June when CIA’s Harlow told Cathie Martin who told Vice President Cheney and me. It sounded like CIA was using her as a lame excuse for sending that blundering assclown Joe to Niger. There was no mention that the lame excuse might be classified.

Anyway I don't recall discussing it with anyone else until some reporter brought it up in July. Might have been Russert, or maybe Novak. Anyway I mentioned it to Miller and Cooper. I remember telling Cooper that I wasn't even sure if it was true."

Anyway, if that's the truth Libby had to cover up ... Why? Nothing there particularly embarrassing or risk for legal jeopardy.

[Ranger]

Topsecretk9,

You forgot about Armitage dropping by Grossman's house the night before Grossman's first FBI interview just to let Marc know that he had already confessed to leaking to Novak (but also possibly to tell him that he hadn't confessed to leaking to Woodward). Add that and you have three hightly questionable things.

But, as Fitz said when he was trying to keep Armitage's identity secret, he 'did nothing wrong.'

[Topsecretk9]

Poppy, that's right.

Look the whole thing is so stupid and lefties can continue to propagandize that Libby had motive and mislead investigators but given that Armitage was the first govt. official to tell "A" reporter about Plame and tell "THE" reporter who published and started this - withholding and misleading investigators - because St. Fitzgerald would never have accused Libby of being the first, right? - and then for Fitz to suppress her status as irrelevant but then to assert it after the fact - and Armitage is out la de dah.

This was nothing but a sham.

[boris]

TSK9 and Ranger just obliterated the McCarthy claim that Fitz was a stand up guy just doing his job.

[Topsecretk9]

Ranger

THANKS - that's right.

Apparently Fitzgerlad is all in favor of witness tampering. Why should we- the President take him as a serious prosecutor?

He should have been fired a long time ago.

[Foo Bar]

Well done, TM. Yglesias is clearly clueless on this point if he can't think of a perjury motive without an underlying crime. The prosecution excerpts you cite are a good summary of what I think Libby's motives were (I would put special emphasis on avoiding embarrassment for the administration).

So perhaps there was no underlying crime and perhaps the investigation should have been ended without any indictments. Well, I happen to have a time machine handy, and I wonder if others here would agree that we put it to use under the following terms. Here's the trade I propose. We turn back the clock to some time after October '03 (at which point McClellan had already said that Libby and Rove had assured him they were not involved in the leaking of classified information and had said that the suggestion that Rove was involved was ridiculous) but before the '04 election. At that point (i.e., before the election), the following occurs:

• The investigation is shut down, sparing poor, poor Scooter Libby all the stress and expense of a trial


• It becomes public knowledge that Novak got the main leak from Armitage but also that he took from Rove confirmation of the Plame story


• It becomes public knowledge that Judy Miller claims Libby told her about Plame in June '03


• The key points of Ari Fleischer's testimony become public knowledge (e.g. Libby telling him about Plame July 7 and that the info was "hush-hush", and Fleischer's admissions of his own leaks, contradicted though they were by Dickerson, etc.).

Then we could all have had a fun debate on the cable news shows leading up to the election about whether McClellan's statements were forthcoming and whether Libby, Rove, Fleischer, etc. could reasonably have been expected to check whether Plame's identity was classified. In this scenario, it's been concluded that no crime occurred, but we get to discuss whether or not these key administration officials mishandled classified info or whether it was just all the CIA's fault. Ooh, that would have been good times. And sure, you folks also get to include as public knowledge whatever tidbits you feel mitigate bullets 2 through 4.

Who wants to trade?

[Poppy(Patton)]

Notice the Democrats are comparing the Libby commutation to hwat happened in other cases, but they don't compare the Fitz PROSECUTION to other cases.

They think Bush shouldn't give the defendent special treatment, BUTT, they sure liked the prosecutor getting special treatment:

- The prosecutor got all the powers of the AG and more.
- The prosecutor got an unlimited budget that only he controlled.
- The prosecutor got to sign off on declassifying National Security information with the stroke of his pen.
- The prosecutor got to waive all guidelines regarding a normal prosecutors conduct including deciding to jail reporters, have press conferences and lie about defendants with impunity.

No other defendant had the deck so clearly stacked against him.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

'then the first known government official to tell a reporter- Armitage - who then also blabbed to the publishing reporter should have been indicted too

'and since he wasn't it illustrates what a political sham this was'

And the reason he wasn't, was that Armitage couldn't give up Cheney or Bush. Only Libby and Rove could do that. Which is why Fitz went after them and nobody else.

[Rick Ballard]

FooBar,

Al long as the clueless dork in the magic hat remains the Dem candidate, I'd trade in a heartbeat.

Kinda like next year if it gets down to Hussein or the Beast of Chautauqua. "Still breathing" will be the primary requisite for the Rep winner.

[boris]

FooBar's FUBAR bullets

• It becomes public knowledge that Novak got the main leak from Armitage but also that he took from Rove confirmation of the Plame story;

• It becomes public knowledge that Judy Miller claims Libby told her about Plame in June '03.

For the 1st one, "heard that too" is not confirmation of anything, which is exactly what Rove claims. Claiming otherwise is just "hearing what you want to hear".

For the 2nd, Miller did not even remember that meeting until searching old notes under her desk as a RESULT of Fitz letting her out of jail. Perhaps she was under some duress to interpret her notes about "wife works at bureau" as some sort of reference to the CIA.

Those bullets are weak and lame.

Come up with some bullets for Libby to make up the same story and tell Cooper "don't know if it's even true" that same week in July.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

'...whether Libby, Rove, Fleischer, etc. could reasonably have been expected to check whether Plame's identity was classified.'

Richard Armitage has already answered this. He couldn't believe a covert agent's identity would be in a memo. And, he's right, it wasn't.

And, I'm sure that 'Libby, Rove, Fleischer, etc' wouldn't have imagined that a covert agent's husband would do something so stupid as go on Meet the Press to talk about her work, either.

[Carol Herman]

Not to forget, wasn't Woodward's taping of Armitage; in his fowl-mouthed tirade, played for the jurors?

Seems the REAL MOTIVE goes to FITZ. To convict. His life probably depended on it; or future employment from pals like Chuckie Schumer.

Why is everyone so focussed on the White House players, here? Those congress-critters, currently polling around 14%, were directing all of this stuff.

Not just through the CIA. But using their old media pals to "do it."

Worked once: On Nixon. Didn't play all that well this time, around.

[Rick Ballard]

Flip the question - would Bartlett have sent McClellan to the microphone to say something like that if there was even a hint that Rove had something to hide? I'll grant that Bartlett stumbled from time to time to time but I find it difficult to believe this was a stumble.

[Topsecretk9]

The key points of Ari Fleischer's testimony become public knowledge (e.g. Libby telling him about Plame July 7 and that the info was "hush-hush", and Fleischer's admissions of his own leaks, contradicted though they were by Dickerson, etc.).

Key points that he didn't tell Pincus - even though Pincus said he did- but he did to David Gregory? (Incidentally a loudmouth proxy on everything BUT this) Well, that would seem to uphold Libby's having heard from Russert so I'm not sure I see the point?

Incidentally, if your read Pincus's NPR interview the substance of Fitzgerald's Pincus deposition appears to only to establish Pincus's full birth name for the record and not much else- it's that dumb.

[Cecil Turner]

...whether Libby, Rove, Fleischer, etc. could reasonably have been expected to check whether Plame's identity was classified.

Fleischer's was by far the worst, offering up information to reporters after exposure to the INR memo. "I heard that too" isn't going to fly as a political "outing." And all would pale before Armitage's leaks--which were both earlier and more extensive . . . and the actual source for the actual outing. And regardless of party, he was a well-known anti-war type and not on the Administration's side in this particular fracas.

Besides, none of this makes any sense as a motive for Libby. He doesn't know about Fleischer and Armitage, nor does he know anything about the leak to Novak. If you're going to come up with a theory to explain his non-alibi for a non-crime, I think you need to base it on information he could reasonably be expected to have. And the bottom line is that there isn't a sensible one.

[RalphL]

Bush said he would fire anyone who broke the law, not necessarily anyone who leaked.

Why did it take til October to interview Libby? The regular police wouldn't be that slow (I hope). Libby should have gone to his lawyer in July and been debriefed and prepped. He knew he was in Injun Country.

Why bring Russert into it at all, if he had heard it legitimately earlier, and did not know it was classified?

[Other Tom]

"what if the motive was to conceal a deliberate decision by Cheney to declassify Plame's status and ordered scooter to leak it?"

What if my grandmother had balls? What if a stick left overnight in a jar of vinegar turns into a snake? What if men have more teeth than women? What if John Dillinger's dick is on display in the Smithsonian? What if an aspirin dropped in a Coca-Cola turns it into Spanish fly?

[windansea]

A CAR bomb plot suspect allegedly asked his family to pray for him just hours before crashing a burning Jeep into the front of Glasgow airport.

Engineer Kafeel Ahmed, 28, told relatives he was working on a top-secret project in the UK “linked to global warming” and would complete his mission.

In a last phone call he said, “An earlier presentation had failed” – an apparent reference to the two failed car bombs in London’s West End. Ahmed, who is suspected of making all three car bombs, had said weeks earlier that he would soon be “inaccessible” for up to a week.

Yesterday, Ahmed, who suffered 90 per cent burns in the incident, was transferred from the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, to the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.

proof that global warming exists

[section9]

BTW, not that I've checked, but has Andrew Sullivan calmed down yet?

[anduril]

ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: "According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

It's a quagmire. They should pull out of Washington and redeploy to Okinawa.
posted at 09:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds Permalink

Posted by: PeterUK | July 07, 2007 at 12:12 PM

PeterUK, a lot of what you post is so good that it bears repeating, but seven times back to back?

Posted by: mefolkes | July 07, 2007 at 12:45 PM

Maybe it's just me, but I laughed out loud each of the seven times I read it.

[Topsecretk9]

Well, I can't find the link now, but I left here recently -- Time's Norman Pearlstein subtly blasting Cooper - Rove told him he talked to Cooper on deep background and never sought confidentiality and it would have been better for everyone if Cooper would have just testified instead of pretending he didn't have permission even though he had a signed waiver.

Looking back, it seems apparent that Copper is at minimum a shoddy reporter and more complicit in making a story crisis than anything. He's way overblown his pretend personal "dilemma" - much like Russert's false affidavit squelching free speech after his FBI chat yada, yada

[Sara]

On this day in history in 1987, I became interested in politics as I watched a boyish looking Marine Lt. Colonel sworn in in front of a Joint Committee of Congress. This Lt. Colonel had been trashed repeatedly in the press in the weeks preceding and had been branded with every kind of label including traitor. As he took his seat and the first questions came from a bunch of pompous committee members, it was a magnificent sight to behold Ollie North emasculate and publicly humiliate them making them look the fools they were.

If Libby has to testify to Congress, they should have Ollie do the prep.

[anduril]

May I say how totally impressed I am after reviewing this thread? The command of facts and logic is truly impressive. I'd totally forgotten about Armitage's witness tampering. It seems to me too that there's a big disconnect in Fitz's logic: if Libby's motive was to avoid firing, it sure sounds like there was no conspiracy of the sort he hinted at in his closing rebuttal.

The other great thing about JOM is the neat things you learn here:

A stick left overnight in a jar of vinegar turns into a snake. Men have more teeth than women. John Dillinger's dick is on display in the Smithsonian. An aspirin dropped in a Coca-Cola turns it into Spanish fly.

I'm gonna try these out on all my friends--I'll bet a lot of them didn't know about this stuff either!

[Poppy(Patton)]

Here's an interesting test for you liberal firnds who rail against treating terrorists any worse then anyone else (GITMO, habeaus, torture, etc.)

You, the liberal, are an ambulance emergency tech. You were just called to the Glasgow airport and find a guy burnt over 90% of his body, and two girls, 9 and 12). The police tell you the guy rammed the building, he is a confirmed terrorist who in the last two days attempted to kill hundreds with propane bombvs filled with nails.

The two girls are innocent bystanders. Your triage shows that under normal circumstances, the man is the worst case and will most likely die if not transported first to the hospital. The girls injuries are less life threatening and they will only lose an arm and an eye, and the other one will lose her legs if you wait totransport them and take the terrorist first.

WHAT'S YOUR DECISION? The terrorist first and the girls lie and suffer and lose their limbs, or the girls first and the terorist dies a painful death he wised upon hundreds of others?

Any conservative would pretty qwuickly answer you take the girls while the guy is interogated with a bic lighter. But a liberal will hem and haw and claim its just no fair to make them choose and I am mean for bringing it up in the first place, etc.

Then they say something like, civilization requires that we treat all people with the same respect and by the same rules, etc. etc. blah blah.

[Sara]

From Jeralyn at Talk Left:

Via Marcy Wheeler at Next Hurrah, Scooter Libby has added another lawyer to his defense team, Greg Poe of Robbins, Russell. Laurence Robbins joined earlier to assist with sentencing and appeal issues.

Marcy thinks Poe has been added to try and get Libby out of serving his two year supervised release term. I suspect she's right, although I would expect him to stay on for the duration of Libby's appeal.

I'm going to switch hats again here, and go from bashing Libby's commutation (for which I blame Bush not Libby) to praising defense lawyers such as Libby's latest addition who in the ordinary course of their practice challenge mandatory minimums and the unfairness of the Sentencing Guidelines.

[RalphL]

Poppy, they should obviously keep the terrorist alive for a long, slow torture to find any co-conspirators.

[Poppy(Patton)]

I AM STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THE LEFT, THEY DON'T REALLY MIND THAT LIBBY'S SENTENCE WAS COMMUTED, BECAUSE THEY BASICALLY WANT EVERYONE'S SENTENCE COMMUTTED.

[PeterUK]

"Engineer Kafeel Ahmed, 28, told relatives he was working on a top-secret project in the UK “linked to global warming” and would complete his mission."

He was telling the truth,have you seen all the rubber and plastic in those things burn,enough carbon to cancel out three Live Earth concerts.

[windansea]

excellent post by Jm Hanes at Volokh responding to lefty whiners

"If President Bush thinks it's important for the executive branch to tailor punishments so that they fit the crime, why is he letting his Justice Department deny that same power to career prosecutors in the 99.99% of cases that President Bush never sees?"

The idea that this is a matter of Bush "letting" DoJ "deny" that power to prosecutors verges on the bizarre. Regardless of the President's putative enthusiam, or lack of it, his Attorney General's relevant memoranda require, via promulgation of policy, that prosecutors conform to the statutorial directives of Congress. Since the very existence of the pardon power itself represents a specific, constitutional, exemption from such conformity, there is simply no basis for your plaintive expectation of consistency here, quite the opposite.

Surely, you're not arguing that DoJ policy should reflect Presidential standards for clemancy; suggesting, in reverse, that the President ought to deny himself any power not accorded to federal prosecutors, is equally perverse. It seems that what you've really got a problem with is the pardon power itself. Aren't you essentially arguing that the President should not excercise his exclusive extra-legal, extra-judicial power to make exceptions to the rules in place?

Even the simpler imputation of hypocrisy similarly assumes that Ashcroft's Sept. '03 memorandum can be fairly described as a reflection of Presidential intentions. Yet both Ashcroft's September communiqué, and his earlier July 18, 2003 Memorandum (PDF here) were explicitly designed to bring DoJ policy into conformity with changes mandated by Congress, not the President, in the Feeney Amendment to the PROTECT Act of 2003.

In addition to reforms specified by the statute itself, Ashcroft's July Memo notes that it also "instructs the Sentencing Commission to abopt additional measures 'to ensure that the incidence of downward departures [is] substantially reduced.'" As a "party to every federal sentencing proceeding," DoJ clearly shared that legal burden, and the policies outlined by the A.G. could certainly, and perhaps more accurately, be described as responding to and implementing the will of Congress, not the Chief Executive.

[PeterUK]

"You, the liberal, are an ambulance emergency tech. You were just called to the Glasgow airport and find a guy burnt over 90% of his body,"
Do you tell him to hang in there since his nuts are pf no use to the 72 raisins?

[clarice]

PUK.........

I think the commutation has brought out all the fruits and nuts, hasn't it?

Imputing preposterous motives to Libby and the President.

[RalphL]

Was it ever determined where Matt Cooper found out about Plame? Was he claiming it was Libby? I forget.

[boris]

Rove

[kate]

Matt Cooper always seemed more interested in nailing Rove and seemed as baffled by his discussion with Libby as Libby.

I believe the commutation has done more than bring out fruits and nuts, it has brought about a collabortion between the media and Democrats to slam Bush over this and use it in its relentless attemtps to destroy him. When they bring out polls, which are really media performance metrics, we know its one of their pet issues. I doubt 95% of Americans know who Libby is but give the pollster the answer they know they want to get the nuisance off the phone.

However, I expect that crack White House communications team to get on this right away. In fact, I expect to hear Laura Bush's soft Texan accent complaining about the vast left wing conspiracy any sec now.

[PeterUK]

Clarice
"I think the commutation has brought out all the fruits and nuts, hasn't it?

Imputing preposterous motives to Libby and the President. "

Yes the Rovian plot seems to be working,

"According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

THE LOWEST APPROVAL RATING IN THIRTY FOUR YEARS.

Oversight seems to be dragging the Democrats into the event horizon,how long have they had control? Quick another Judiciary Committee flying round in ever decreasing circles.

[Rick Ballard]

"I think the commutation has brought out all the fruits and nuts, hasn't it?"

Clarice,

I find it rather comforting that the halfwits involved are so tightly focused on the past. The President is obviously going to be in huge trouble at the polls in '08 - I really doubt that he can overcome this one.

OTOH - while the the idiot non savants are spending time performing colonoscopies on each other, there has been a slight shift in the wind.

Rasmussen says it was immigration but I'm betting that more than a little bit is due to the horror engenderd by watching Hussein battle the Basilisk.

[fired up dem]

you guys make me sick...you need to read Marcy Wheeler's Anatomy of Deceit.You will find out in a hurry about your lies and misconceptions.

[boris]

you guys make me sick...

Okay, the plan's working then

[Barry]

Why would we read the deceitful? Is she analyzing herself?

[PeterUK]

"you guys make me sick...you need to read Marcy Wheeler's Anatomy of Deceit".

Isn't this making you queasy also?

"According to Gallup, just 14% of people express confidence in the current Congress. That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

THE LOWEST APPROVAL RATING IN THIRTY FOUR YEARS.

[centralcal]

I think it is only a matter of time (a short amount of time, too) before the Congressional approval rating starts to register in negative numbers.

[Jane]

Okay, the plan's working then

Absolutely. This is the best thing that has happened in republican politics for a long time.

Gee, we haven't heard a word about the fired AG's lately have we?

The dems keep focusing on things they can do nothing about - despite the fact that they hold the House and the Senate. And it simply underscores the do-nothing Congress. It's quite fabulous all things considered.

[Other Tom]

Is Marcy the one who runs Fire Dog Lake? I used to go there often, but haven't done so in the year or so since I got banned for unpopular commentary. Not obscene. Not excessive. Simply a voice in disagreement. She can't tolerate that. She'll have to look elsewhere to find her readers; I'm not interested in what a one-way propagandist has to say.

[Other Tom]

"That's the lowest measure in the 34 years Gallup has been tracking government institutions."

Thirty-four years? That would be 1973, right? Milhous himself was president? Was the presidency included among the "govenment institutions?" Can we infer that Harry and Nancy have plummeted this congress below the antichrist Nixon? And in six short months...

[Jane]

OT - they (Harry and Nancy) are nothing if not overachievers.

[RalphL]

Jane and Neal on Fox News Watch gave the game away. Libby's conviction was about lying us into Iraq. I thought Pinkerton was going to call them on it, but he botched it.

[centralcal]

OT - it has only been six months! I tell ya, negative numbers cannot be far off.

RalphL - Fox News Watch is one of the worst shows Ailes has put on the air. They need to wipe the slate clean (from Erik to Neal) and overhaul the format. The malpractive of the news media deserves much better scrutiny and analysis than its getting from the current group on the show.

[centralcal]

oops .... malpractice

[Topsecretk9]

Dan Collins at Protein Wisdom is calling out Larry Johnson...Rick? Got that Cecil Turner link to report written about Wilson's trip to drop in the comments handy?

[kate]

Pinkerton and Cal always botch it on that topic. They let the 2 leftists run their mouths on this and it's so obvious that the 2 so called conservatives either don't care or are ignorant of the case.

Jane was saying that Libby caused 3,000 people to die. This is just outrageous but they get away with it.

[centralcal]

Kate - yup, Jane practically shouted it out two or three times when the subject of Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich was being brought up. That is the left's latest mantra about Libby - causing 3,000 people to die.

[Rick Ballard]

Tops,

Here is the link.

Ralph (from WY) - if you drop by and feel like it, translating that memo would be helpful.

I'll publish it in HTML for copying purposes. Not many people seem to wade all the way through it.

[PeterUK]

"Jane was saying that Libby caused 3,000 people to die."

Can he sue?

[RalphL]

It's a better entertainment show than it is a media criticism show.

[Other Tom]

There's not a single person on Fox News Watch whom I can stand to see, which is why I decline altogether to watch it. The pencil-neck geek Pinkerton tests my gag reflex, and the host is a dolt. I expect to be insulted by the stupidity of the two left-wing representatives, but why do we get Pinkerton, Cal Thomas and that unwatchable host?

[RalphL]

They work cheap?

[RalphL]

Tonight's final Jeopardy: 4th largest state, formed largely from the Louisiana purchase. Contestants came up with Nevada, Mississippi, and Florida. They're usually smarter than that.

[Other Tom]

That would be Montanny. Go up the Mississippi; turn left at the Missouri; keep going.

[Topsecretk9]

Just curious - but what do you guys think of Memorandum? Are the a google owned operation? They sure seem like it.

[glasater]

This is going to be a non secquiter at this point, but I don't remember reading this in any previous posts. And that is that Judith Miller had a type of security clearance because of her NYT "beat".
Did someone mention previously that Scooter Libby could have learned about Valerie from Miller?

[centralcal]

OT ...."and the host is a dolt." Amen to that!

[Other Tom]

Timesonline (UK) pretty much got the blahs at the Live Earth fandango in London. What crashing bores these people are.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2027517.ece

[Other Tom]

Speaking of crashing bores, do we suppose that the insufferable juvenile Major Chch is banging his head against the wall trying to figure a way in here?

[boris]

we do