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Libby is Playing Fall Man for Cheney
Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Sunday, Nov 13, 05, 7:02AM
TWN has previously argued that Libby has probably been covering up Cheney's role in outing Valerie Plame Wilson.
Carol Leonnig and Jim VandeHei have a good piece on this in the Post this morning:
Libby, according to Fitzgerald's indictment, gave a false story to agents and, later, to a grand jury, even though he knew investigators had his notes, and presumably knew that several of his White House colleagues had already provided testimony and documentary evidence that would undercut his own story.And his interviews with the FBI in October and two appearances before the grand jury in March 2004 came at a time when there were increasingly clear signs that some of the reporters with whom Libby discussed Plame could soon be freed to testify -- and provide starkly different and damning accounts to the prosecutor.
To critics, the timing suggests an attempt to obscure Cheney's role, and possibly his legal culpability. The vice president is shown by the indictment to be aware of and interested in Plame and her CIA status long before her cover was blown.
Even some White House aides privately wonder whether Libby was seeking to protect Cheney from political embarrassment. One of them noted with resignation, "Obviously, the indictment speaks for itself."
In addition, Cheney also advised Libby on a media strategy to counter Plame's husband, former ambassador Wilson, according to a person familiar with the case.
"This story doesn't end with Scooter Libby's indictment," said Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), giving voice to widespread Democratic hopes about the outcome of Fitzgerald's case. "A lot more questions need to be answered by the White House about the actions of [Cheney] and his staff."
Heading back to D.C. today from Prague.
More later.
-- Steve Clemons
Who owns the dramatic rights to this affair? It is starting to play out like a cinema serial.
When the investigation was announced, Libby (one of the smartest lawyers in Washington) carefully considered all the statutes that might apply to this crime. He decided to take his chances with perjury.
He'll drag the case out as long as possible and ultimately cop a plea. Then all he has to do is sit tight until Christmas 2008.
Who owns the dramatic rights to this affair?
Well, it sure aint Bob Woodward. Which may explain his recent comments re: Plame's outing and damages therefrom.
And as for Scooter protecting Big Time, why risk Federal prison for someone else? Unless you're sure you won't go, no matter what. Yes, I'm one of the "Bush is just gonna pardon everybody" crowd, and this does nothing to change my mind. I see Bush as just that kind of guy. Pardons across the board would be just the sort of "Nyah nyah, so there!" I'd expect of him. This President is in deep denial about any wrongdoing in his abministration, which of course, ultimately reflects upon hin, and I fully expect him to take the Dictator's way out, and make it all go away with a wave of his hand.
It's good to be King...
Anyone wonder why Libby went down so easily? Have you ever watched a wildlife documentary on PBS or the like? You know when you watch the pride of lions stalking the herd of wilder beast and when one is singled out they pounce. Thing is the wilder beast never struggles, it just lays there to be eaten. People who know alot more than me on this matter say that when it is caught the wilder beast will just go into shock, not struggle, and die. It does this to protect the rest of the herd. The lions will be busy with this animal and temporarily forget about the others. I now believe that this is exactly what happened with I. Lewis Libby. Libby was a trap, a honeypot, a lay. Fitzgerald was set up and we were suckers.
P.S. First time here...great site
g
"This President is in deep denial about any wrongdoing in his abministration,......."
With such a comment,you attribute far more integrity to the man than he deserves. Make no mistake, Bush could care less if there is wrongdoing in his administration. He isn't in denial, he just doesn't give a shit. In his mind, being President means that he can be above the law, without the unpleasantry of being held accountable. It is the way he has lived hie entire live. Daddy and mommy have bailed the pathetic monkey out of every jam and failure he has ever experienced, so he is lacking the problem solving skills most of us tearn by the time we are twenty, and he has never learned the basic lessons of being responsible for the results of your actions. In denial??? No way. The lying bastard believes that ANY means justifies the ends, as long as you don't get caiught, and someone ELSE pays the price for your actions.
When I hear people argue that no intelligence analyst was pressured to change his work, I just don't understand. In the Bolton hearings there was evidence of one analyst after another who was harrassed, transferred, or fired. One Brit and one American mysteriously and suddenly "committed suicide" possibly with a little help. No pressure?? We need a list of individual analysts and how they were pressured.
egregrious (at 11:50)
You've made an excellent point. I would love to read in newsprint an article that really tests the oft-repeated talking point that no pressure was exerted.
Seems to me a CIA analyst--a woman--was saying this early on. I can only imagine the campaign to discredit those who spoke out then, given the Valerie Plame affair.
Can we have Libby declared an "enemy combatant"?
We may be able to get more information out of him yet.
Please forgive me for the threadjack, but...Hilzoy on Obsidian Wings has a series of eight posts detailing the misinformation in Sen. Graham's speach and thoroughly deunking him---worth reading. Also she has links so you call call your Senators. Please get out and support Sen. Bingaman's amendment. Now back to the regular programming.
Steve,
Re the alleged Iranian computer showing development of nuclear weapons:
(1) To be clear logically, just because
they lied about Iraq, doesn't mean they
are wrong about Iran. Iran might ACTUALLY
have nuclear weapons soon.
(2) But....the idea that this computer with
long and complicated equations PROVES the
development of a nuclear weapons program...
it could easily be a translation from a
Russian nuclear expert, plenty of them looking
for jobs these days. That the computer shows
complicated and detailed nuclear experiments
is not PROOF of Iranian intentions. It might be
a total fabrication.
(3) The US is willing on occasion to create
or allow a total fabrication of intelligence.
There might be occasions where this does in
fact serve our national interest.
(4) BUT Iran might *actually * have a nuclear
weapons program.
(5) The issue might be protecting Israel
from nuclear attack by Iran. They are our
ally. We have decided to protect them.
However we need to debate how many
American lives we are willing to lose
in this effort.
So it's complicated. Need to think about all the implications. My main point is to rebuff the coming right wing argument, that because they have this Iranian computer with complicated nuclear stuff on it, that is proof of intent to build nuclear weapons. I say it is proof that we have good Russian-Farsi translators.
If Libby is playing the fall guy, I’ll be a bit surprised if he can eventually save Cheney from “falling”, too. We already have a lot of circumstantial evidence pointing to Cheney’s involvement in the leak. Once he’s on the witness stand, he may get into a deeper hole. But let’s not forget that these guys, especially the neocons, were planning the “regime change” in Iraq since 1992 (when they sold Cheney on their project). They tried to get Clinton into it but failed. And once president-elect W put Cheney in charge of setting up his first administration, Cheney got all his co-conspirators into the administration. With or without the intelligence manipulation, they would have got us into the Iraq war. I only hope that the CIA leak story, interesting as it is, doesn’t become a smokescreen for the real masterminds of the war to hide behind.
Mustafa
This President is in deep denial about any wrongdoing in his administration.
Libby, broke a bone because he knew he was cooked
I would go further that Bush and Cheney and CO start the all thing and they knew it would happen. They are both vindictive and oil people, Saudis were the only one to leave this country after 9/11, oil is the only thing that was on their mind. Bush sitting in that class room was not the men in charge, (that trip was kind of quick) while Cheney had discrepancy in his action at the time! The man who is an idiot and well known all over the world cannot speak in public, the Supreme Court decision while it was well known that Sandra O’Connor lament that poor Bush had loss of the first result in Florida, then the Supreme Court decide that Bush Won????????
OK, what are you all saying????????
Here we are another election! We have been bombarded! With Orange alert! How many gave we had got since his re-election? ZERO?
Think about the case of one man. O’Neal who started his new job on the Twin Tower security service who was run by a Bush brother, died on his first day at work on 9/11. He had warned about Al Quaida all along, but this administration removed him because he was a man that knew too much and put him in a desk job, removing him from what he knew.
The all administration, and not the poor soul that fight this war, are guilty of murder, tortures, should be impeach, tried in an international court, and be denied the medical and pension that they do not deserve as they do not need us to take us the poor to care about millionaires, are they not rich enough! I also want the people to reject all those Neocons senators who have make a joke of the working force, Explain that bush 41 get paid from us for trip and all the French benefits?
Our government should be change because we don’t need anymore archaic laws. All should be subject to time limit. I saw the Oil co on C-span and was appalled by the old Senator unable to read but was re-elected!
We have a lot of problems when only millionaires are able to run. If we cannot stop this Trent we are back in the 1800 where we are all slave and the corporation controlling everything.
Let’s all knowing, what we are doing in Iraq!
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m10211&l=i&size=1&hd=0
Gotta use "fall guy," insteada "fall Man. "Fall guy" is conspiracy mobsteresque gangland style. Gotta use "fall guy," bub.
Much Ado About Nadagate Dept.: You suckers. Two years of investigation and what do you get? Your Fitzmas became coal in the stockings. No indictments of any crime, just a misunderestimation by the Scoot man. There still ain't no crime and there ain't gonna be. Cuz Plame weren't covert and it's time for Fitz to head for Chitown and admit it was a waste of time. It was all arranged to sell Wilson the IV's book to suckers like you.
I disagree with the "a smart guy acting stupid means he is taking a bullet" theory, because he didn't do anything stupid. The reason why Libby lied to prosecutors is because he assumed that the reporters would never in a million years roll over and disclose the content of "off the record" conversations of a senior WH staffer. This was actually a pretty smart strategy-- and would have worked if any other investigator other that Fitz had been assigned to the case.
Google "Marvin Bush + 9/11" to see how disgusting this group is..as if things weren't bad enough
The past week has seen another shake-up in the Top 10 GOP Sound Bites.
After the President's shameless Veterans Day speech, the smash hit "Rewriting History", performed by George Bush, RNC chairman Ken Mehlman and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, jumped to the top of the charts. Kay Bailey Hutchison's ode to Scooter Libby, "No Underlying Crime," dropped two places to #3, while Scott McClellan's ballad "Ongoing Investigation" held firm at #2. For the first time since January 2002, George Bush's hard-rocking "Axis of Evil" fell off the charts altogether.
Here is the latest list of the Top 10 GOP Sound Bites...
Jiggy,
Maybe you’re right. Libby could as well have thought that Tim Russert and other reporters would protect him by invoking the First Amendment. You remind me of Tommy Franks’ description of Doug Feith (another neocon): “the f---ing stupidest guy on the face of the earth.” Ask Gen. Franks to consider Libby for the “second f---ing stupidest guy ….” medal.
Mustafa
Libby probably meant to lie and specifically lied that he got the information from reporters knowing full well that the prosecutor would then have to subpeona the reporters and that the reporters would refuse to testify thereby stalling the investigation. I'm sure Libby discussed this with Judy Miller. If you remember Fitzgerald's press conference, he says if the reporters would have come clean to begin with, the investigation would have been over by October 2004. Not great timing for the re-election of Bush. Libby lied so that Bush would get re-elected.
finest, it's good to see something resembling intelligence emerge from your brain. Let's try and clean your mess up, shall we?
Coal? Indicting Libby was rather sweet I thought. Is Rove next? Your assumption that it all ends with one indictment is clearly premature, driven more by the desire to spin than the desire for truth. But you've made it plain the truth isn't what you're looking for.
No worries, plenty of us are. We'll keep looking. By all means, keep whistling though.
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