Friday, October 28, 2005
Scooter Libby Indicted: Facing Up to 30 Years in Prison and a $1.25 million fine. Who's Next?
I just finished reading the indictment of Scooter Libby. I'm sure the Right Wing Talking Heads will be out trying to spin this as a "nothing" story or a minor issue. I want to make sure everybody understands it in very basic language.
Patrick Fitzgerald was authorized to investigate who leaked the name of a covert CIA agent. There is no doubt about her covert status. She was a covert agent. There would be no reason to investigate the leak of someone's name who was not a covert agent. It's amazing the right has been able to make this argument with a straight face over and over for the last two years, but I digress...
During the course of the investigation Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Scooter Libby tried to hinder an investigation, lied to the FBI, lied to the Special Prosecutor and then lied to the Grand Jury, twice. He tried to hinder the investigation. He was protecting someone, either himself as the original leaker, which would be Treason, or someone else who ordered him to try to discredit Joe Wilson by leaking his wife's name to the press, which would still be Treason.
Either way this is not a minor issue. Remember that Bill Clinton was impeached for committing perjury and the Republicans thought this was a big issue. The ironic thing is that Clinton lied about something that had nothing to do with the original investigation, did he have sex with Monica, which had nothing to do with a failed land deal in Arkansas, Whitewater. Scooter Libby has lied about who committed Treason, and lied about the subject of the investigation.
The Right Wing Talking Heads will try to spin these as equivalent, and if Patrick Fitzgerald had found nothing about Valerie Plame but discovered Scooter Libby lied to the Grand Jury about whether he liked a finger up his ass during sex, I might agree, but that is not the case. Scooter Libby hindered an investigation into who committed Treason, while Bill Clinton hindered an investigation into his sex life. They aren't even close to equivalent.
The interesting point now is to try and find out who Scooter was protecting and why. My money is on Vice President Dick Cheney. And Karl Rove is not out of the woods. The indictment indicates that Scooter was working with an as yet un-named "Official A." I'll be $37.50 that this is Karl "Pig-Vomit" Rove.
Patrick Fitzgerald was authorized to investigate who leaked the name of a covert CIA agent. There is no doubt about her covert status. She was a covert agent. There would be no reason to investigate the leak of someone's name who was not a covert agent. It's amazing the right has been able to make this argument with a straight face over and over for the last two years, but I digress...
During the course of the investigation Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Scooter Libby tried to hinder an investigation, lied to the FBI, lied to the Special Prosecutor and then lied to the Grand Jury, twice. He tried to hinder the investigation. He was protecting someone, either himself as the original leaker, which would be Treason, or someone else who ordered him to try to discredit Joe Wilson by leaking his wife's name to the press, which would still be Treason.
Either way this is not a minor issue. Remember that Bill Clinton was impeached for committing perjury and the Republicans thought this was a big issue. The ironic thing is that Clinton lied about something that had nothing to do with the original investigation, did he have sex with Monica, which had nothing to do with a failed land deal in Arkansas, Whitewater. Scooter Libby has lied about who committed Treason, and lied about the subject of the investigation.
The Right Wing Talking Heads will try to spin these as equivalent, and if Patrick Fitzgerald had found nothing about Valerie Plame but discovered Scooter Libby lied to the Grand Jury about whether he liked a finger up his ass during sex, I might agree, but that is not the case. Scooter Libby hindered an investigation into who committed Treason, while Bill Clinton hindered an investigation into his sex life. They aren't even close to equivalent.
The interesting point now is to try and find out who Scooter was protecting and why. My money is on Vice President Dick Cheney. And Karl Rove is not out of the woods. The indictment indicates that Scooter was working with an as yet un-named "Official A." I'll be $37.50 that this is Karl "Pig-Vomit" Rove.
# posted by The Punisher @ Friday, October 28, 2005 
