Defense attorneys for Libby led by Theodore Wells rested their case on Wednesday, February 14 arguing that Libby was "too preoccupied with national security interests" to remember conversations regarding Valerie Plame. And yet today, March 6, 2007, the jury has found Libby guilty on four of five counts of lying, perjury and obstruction of justice. The aforementioned "preoccupation" apparently comes with the job.
While some argue that the Libby trial offered nothing but mild entertainment to anyone too bored with the lives of Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith to be interested, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi disagrees:
"Today's guilty verdicts are not solely about the acts of one individual.
This trial provided a troubling picture of the inner workings of the Bush Administration. The testimony unmistakably revealed – at the highest levels of the Bush Administration – a callous disregard in handling sensitive national security information and a disposition to smear critics of the war in Iraq."
The picture should be troubling to all of us. What began as 16 words in President George W. Bush's State of the Union address in 2003 ("The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa") has now come full circle to reveal what Speaker Pelosi refers to as the inner workings of the Bush Administration - and it's not good. Those 16 words were simply untrue. When Ambassador Wilson went out on a limb and called the Bush administration on their "error", the fallout began. Through a series of phone calls, secret messages, winks and nods, Ambassador Wilson's wife lost her career (to say the least).
The message: If the Bush administration says the sky is red, then the sky is red and anyone with evidence to the contrary had better keep quiet. The danger: These people have our lives - and the lives of our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, etc., who went to Iraq and either haven't come back or came back forever changed - in their hands. The warning is: We can't let them do it again.
See Related Articles:
LA Reid: Scooter Libby: The Verdict is in!
Shava Nerad: Wilson/Plame Redux
Diana Raabe: Hubris, Armitage and the Plame Leak and Ari Fleischer Speaks
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Comments: 67
Let the unraveling continue.
Any government that would base their going to war and the strategy to fight that war on the misinformation that they created will lose such a war. No matter what the lies are the truth will come back to haunt you every time.
It's not over.
We will never agree on this, I can see from what is being posted.
Isn't that sort of a double standard? And people wonder why the term "climate of corruption" has taken on such legs.
He didn't lie under oath because he didn't out anybody. Plame was more outted by Joe Wilson than anybody else. They were featured in Vanity Fair as husband and wife (with photo). This whole trial was a witchhunt.
You summed the case up quite nice and succinctly.
Kudos to Patrick Fitzgerald who was under the gun of the Republican slime machine for refusing to let national leaders lie with impunity.
Andrew L.'s attempted whitewash of this scandal is disingenuous.
Several crimes were committed, perjury being the most common one.
The impact of this event is huge, has not yet begun to penetrate the body politic.
It shows once again that the Bush administration is far more concerned with 'punishing" its' enemies than in protecting national security.
Now the nation, which overwhelmingly believes Bush to be "dishonest", is waiting to see whether Bush will keep his promise about punishing all who were guilty in the Palme leak and about "scrubbing clean" the White House.
With Pete Dominici about to go under the microscope for his interference with the federal judiciary, citizens might begin to see the true mendacity and pettiness of this fraudulent regime.
Well, in any case, this verdict just may have legs, and I for one hope it does. Call me a Bush hater if you can't think if anything else but this administration has to be called to count for its imperial pretentions, and constitutional crimes. Impeach? Oh yes, at the very least, and especially if the trail leads back to Bush, though I'd be happy seeing Cheney do a perp walk, (blood clot or not.) There's a man with absolutely no conscience or moral sense.
Here's the jury's suspicions:
"Collins, a former Washington Post reporter, said jurors wanted to hear from others involved in the case, including Bush political adviser Karl Rove, who was one of two sources for the original leak. Defense attorneys originally said both Libby and Cheney would be witnesses and Rove was on the potential witness list.
"I will say there was a tremendous amount of sympathy for Mr. Libby on the jury. It was said a number of times, 'What are we doing with this guy here? Where's Rove? Where are these other guys?'" Collins said. "I'm not saying we didn't think Mr. Libby was guilty of the things we found him guilty of. It seemed like he was, as Mr. Wells put it, he was the fall guy."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070306/cia-leak-trial
What they are crying are crocodile tears and they must be breathing a collective sign of relief that they escaped (again) the consequences of their evil and misdeeds.
Next scandal: the firing of the U.S. attorneys. Especially the firing of the woman who took down Duke Cunningham for corruption! Dumping her was totally partisan- she should have received a medal! It is obvious that George has been asking Rove to reach back into the bag of tricks. When your approval rating is 33%, there are only two workable plans. One, change course and work to meet the needs of moderate americans. Two, hold onto your base with a death grip by throwing them red meat.
Any guess which of these two plans George has selected, with expert advice from his buddy Rove?
Very informative and comprehensive.
Andrew, I can't agree with you that outing Plame was not an act of treason, whether "legally" or not isn't clear. I also am not sure if you are right that she was no longer a covern agent. The effect of outing her,in any case, endangered the lives of many people she worked with abroad (some likely people who didn't know of her work for the CIA, but were in sensitive positions). She directed a special group of 25 in the CIA headquarters here on WMD who gathered info from sources in Iran and elsewhere. Outing her not only ruined her career, but also affected many others and the operation.
The thing that frosts me is that the same White House that tacitly encouraged Fitzgerald and his escapades did not pursue prosecution of Sandy Burger (stealing and destroying highly classified documents) or Rep Jefferson ($90,000 bribe in his freezer). Both of these were far, far more serious than what Libby was convicted of. This "new tone" stuff needs to cease.
As others have stated, I think this is a more visible indication of the environment fostered by this administration. Government scientists being pressured to alter their findings and/or having their work censored by administration appointees, prosecutors with "good reviews" being fired, lack of high level accountability for the Abu Ghraib scandal, . . . the list of examples goes on, but most of the citizenry quickly forgets.
The bigger picture here is that there are huge profits in America being the policeman (bully) of the world. Behind this shield, corporate America also conveniently helps itself to whatever natural resources it wants from whoever it wants. The picture is not a pretty one, but since the majority of Americans only care about themselves, it seems possible we are doomed to becoming a second rate country.
WHAT ABOUT HEALTH CARE?
The Bush Administration's plan falls far short of adequately covering low-income people who can't afford health insurance.
Hey, how about what's been happening in Walter Reed and other Veteran's Hospitals around the country?
Clearly, Bush was asleep at the switch on this one.
WHAT ABOUT THE WAR IN IRAQ?
A dismal failure for the Bush Administration. You can't take a sow's ear and make a silk purse out of it, no matter what you do.
Let's see: Abu Ghraib, lack of body armor for our troops, no exit strategy, the list goes on and on.
WHAT ABOUT ABOUT THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR?
Well, one's thing for sure, Bush hasn't done much about it.
WHAT ABOUT THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY?
Well, better late than never. At least now it's being talked about. For most of his administration, global warming was constantly debunked by conservatives as 'junk science'. Anyone talking about the Kyoto accord?
WHAT ABOUT THE SAD STATE OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM?
This goes back to simple economics: The rich get richer, the middle class gets squeezed or goes bankrupt, the poor get poorer. The creates latchkey kids, single mothers and fathers who don't stick around to read to their kids. Therefore, the
kids are less intelligent or don't want to learn because they are angry and skip school.
WHAT ABOUT THE STOCK MARKET SLUMP AND CHINA? Ok, I just threw that one in just for laughs.
So, what does all this have to do with Scooter Libby? Just this: People in the Bush Administration broke the law, have not been fully held accountable for their actions, and they should be.
You be the judge of whether or not Scooter Libby broke the law. In my opinion, whether he broke the law or not, he became the sacrificial lamb to protect those at the top. And that's what we should be thinking about because their decisions affect health care, the War in Iraq, Darfur, alternative energy, education and many other things. And if they can't be trusted in the Plamegate scandal, they can't be trusted, period!!!!
"Clark[e], I guess it depends on who you believe whether or not Plame was a covert agent. The neocons say she was not. The CIA says she was. Who to believe"
>>>>
I think you misunderstand my point. The effect of "outing" Plame was damaging to the CIA in many mays - just read what many CIA former members, including very senior ones, have to say since (and before) since the verdict about this. This investigation never would have been created had both the State Department and CIA not stood up to the White House pressure to cover up.
Fitzgerald made a political deal by going after just Libby. He had pressure from all sides. Lest we forget, he covered up in the investigation of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Towers because had he allowed the inclusion of important evidence it would have exposed participation of the FBI and probaly other government agencies.
It is also that much more damning because of the fact the CIA stuck by its guns in this matter. As far as I am concerned, the CIA knows more about which of its agents are covert and how much damage was done by the Plame outing than does Rush Limbaugh.
I beleive that people have to gather the facts about what the Bush Administration is really doing to this country.
It is time for every voter to do their homework for Presidential Election instead of just flowing the media hypes created by the politicians for polictical purpose.
For example, the Hypes about who can be tough on Terrorism, Soccer Mons' Vote, and the truth is the Homeland Security's Work Satisfaction Report is saying otherwise.
This country is so deep in debt becasue of what the cuurent administration has done. As a leader of a coutnry, no matter waht decision should be made; it should be made by looking into how that decision would influence every aspect of the nation as whole.
For example, does Bush is smart enough to know that whenever he send our young men and women out to fight, there would be someone injured from the war and needed a well-planed health care system for them to come home to?
I bet he did, he just even smart and sneaky enough to ignore and neglect it and hope it would go away sliently, if he really care about those soldiers who fight for our country, he should be pro-active to make sure it has been well taken care of before any issure should come out at first place
But he is not smart enough to know that people is not as domb as he thought they will be.
Libby's event is only the tip of the ice burg.
People should be smart enough to know that Republican only is using people who has faith in thier religen to vote for the party, has this party done anything to better this conutry？Instead, we saw a mass after another, in reality is that this party is as dishonest as it can be.
Who is looking out for you? When "we" as people don't do our homeworks, believe me, we cannot count on anyone to look out for us.
To all, beware the lies from the rightwing on this issue. They will spin and twist, and outright lie in order to diffuse this criminal scandal, in a desperate effort to defend the indefensible.
They will try to tell you that no crime was committed. To this, respond "Why did Libby and the rest of the white house cabal lie and obstruct justice then, and specifically, why would Libby put his neck on the line to face 30 years in a federal prison, if no crime was committed prior to his lies? It simply defies logic and reason (which, of course, is why the delusional, incoherently babbling wingnuts are stuck on it, I'm sure).
They will try to tell you that Valerie Plame was not a covert agent. Another bald-faced lie. The CIA was so mortified that she had been outed that they are the ones who requested a DOJ investigation. Had she not been a covert op, they'd have had no such concern over her name being outed. Again, the rightwing "logic" fails.
They will try to say that it wasn't Libby who first uttered the information to reporters. This may actually be true, but it makes the story even WORSE if it is, because it means that somebody ELSE in the white house is responsible for the treason (rove), who has gotten off scot free. Let the wacky wingnuts have this one, if they want.
They will try to say that Plame sent Wilson to Niger. While his name was recommended for the journey, since he had former ties there, it was Cheney who sent him, as this trial proved. Don't let them get away with this lie.
They will try to say that this is only about Libby's lies and obstruction of justice. This one is a grand whopper of monumental proportions. Libby and the rest of the criminal white house lied and obstructed justice in order to cover up for the act of treason in outing a covert CIA operative, and none other than one who specialized in WMD, and specifically, in tracking and monitoring Iran's nuclear capabilities (no biggie, right wingnuts?).
According to the prosecutor, his indictment of Libby for lying and obstructing justice was in no way an indication that "no crime was committed," but rather proof that the white house lied and obstructed justice SO MUCH, that he could not even conduct his work, to determine whether or not a crime had been committed. Some proud legacy for the wacky wingnuts to hang their hats on, eh?
They will try to say that Saddam DID try to acquire yellowcake uranium. This is another outright lie, which has been thoroughly disproven by multiple sources.
They will try to say that Joe Wilson lied. No, he did no such thing, and once again, this trial has proven that definitively.
They will try to deflect attention, by dredging up allegations against democrats, as if this erases the act of treason and subsequent rampant lying and obstruction of justice carried out by their precious white house. Ignore them, and focus on the criminal behavior that this Libby conviction represents.
They will try to tell you that this is nothing more than political "gotcha," again in a desperate attempt to divert attention from the real crimes that took place, and the reason why they were committed in the first place. Obviously, since Mr. Libby is currently facing 30 years in prison for the CRIMES that he HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF, their claim that this is "nothing but politics," is pure, unadultered, typical rightwing bullshit. Brush it aside. Stay focused.
They will try to tell you that Armitage is the leaker, presumably meaning, I suppose, that Libby should not be sent to prison for the crimes that he committed. This is yet another ridiculous attempt at diversion that will fail. It appears that there were several leakers, and this begs the question "why aren't these people heading to prison as well?" Especially Rove, since we know that he, too, lied to the grand jury and obstructed justice. What and who was paid off and/or threatened in order to keep Rove in the white house, when he committed the same crimes that Libby is being sent to prison for, and may well have been guilty of treason as well?
Do not let the liars and obstructors of justice on the "right" distract from what is really at the heart of this terrible trial. The crux of the biscuit is that this white house had expended a great deal of effort to build a phony case for war against Iraq, a war that they had decided to embark upon LONG before 9/11.
In 2001, an odd break-in and theft occured in Niger. The mysterious thief only took official government stationary and an official government stamp. Then, in Feb. of 2002, Italian intelligence produced a document for the BA, saying that Iraq had tried to acquire yellowcake uranium from Niger. The information was presented on official Nigerian stationary, and stamped with the official Nigerian government stamp.
Almost immediately after this information was presented to the CIA, however, it was brushed aside as a cheap forgery.
Later, this same information is handed off to British intelligence. Mind you, the CIA has already fully discounted it as a bad forgery.
The CIA confronted the white house, to inform them not to use the infamous "16 words" in the SOTU speech, because the document was a forgery. They redacted the sentence from the speech. Magically, it re-appeared, apparently without anyone's knowledge, and was uttered as fact by President Pinnochio, as he made his public call for war.
Wilson was sent to Niger to verify whether or not there was any validity to the claim. He returned to report that there was absolutely no evidence to support the claim whatsoever.
All would've been fine at this point, except that the POTU simply could not resist uttering those infamous, highly dishonest 16 words, which were SO critical in misleading this nation to an unnecessary, illegal war.
As soon as Joe Wilson heard the speech, he was floored. He couldn't believe that the president had made such an absurdly false claim, when he had personally verified that it was not true, and he had relayed his information exactly as he'd been instructed to do.
On July 6, 2003, Wilson wrote and had published an article entitled "What I didn't find in Africa," which appeared in the NYT. On July 14, Robert Novak published the name of Wilson's wife, and outed her as a CIA operative.
The outing was a clear case of a vindictive smear and desperate attempt by the white house to discredit Wilson, who had just had the audacity to completely undermine the administration's key rationale for the illegal war. The intent by the white house was very clear: Destroy Wilson's credibility, and show anyone else out there who's thinking about speaking the truth that retribution will be swift and harsh.
In the midst of this scenario, bear in mind that, part of the efforts by the white house to build their case for war involved lying publicly about allowing UN inspectors to finish their work, lying about Iraq's WMD capabilities, lying about Iraq's threat capabilities, and feverishly trying to provoke attacks on US planes. One of the proposals by the white house was to actually paint a U2 spy plane to look like a UN plane, and try to provoke an attack.
It was during this period, prior to the illegal war, that the now famous Downing St. memos were written, in which British officials stated that the BA had made their decision to go to war, and were trying to manipulate and fit the intelligence around that agenda.
THIS is what this story is all about. It is NOT just about a very high ranking white house official lying and obstructing justice. It is about the entire white house lying in order to mislead the nation into an unnecessary, illegal war of choice. Never, ever forget that. When you see the "right" twist, spin, lie, and divert over this topic, remember what this is REALLY about.
Because, these people who refuse to accept reality are shameless, blind ideologues, who care nothing about this country or the rule of law. Their only allegiance to their ideology, and they will forever condemn anyone who presents harsh, ugly facts about it that they simply have no capacity to tolerate and accept. To them, politics is a religion, and their political party is their denomination. Anything that comes forth that is negative about their religion is instantly rejected without examination, because to examine it and find it to be truthful would cast a deadly mortal blow to their shaky, fragile religious faith.
I do believe there's probably a psychological term for it, to be honest. It's got to be some sort of "syndrome," because it seems so pervasive amongst the Bush worshippers.
Regardless, I'm just damned thankful that I don't have it.
The Irving Lewis Libby trial had nothing at all to do with whether Mr. Libby "outted" Ms. Plame. Never did. In fact, had any of you ever bothered to actually follow the trial, you would have noted that Mr. Fitzgerald made a POINT of never calling Ms. Plame "Covert". Her status was "classified" and that was the only thing he ever mentioned.
But even had that never been said - the trial wasn't about whether "Scooter" was the leak. It was all about the fact that "Scooter" lied to the FBI, lied to the Grand Jury, and obstructed justice through those lies.
Lying to a Grand Jury is a big big no-no, Kiddies. You've so ELOQUENTLY pointed that out on numerous occasions with regard to a marital indiscretion by a former head of state - now the shoe is on another foot. It isn't a crime in DC to get a blowjob from someone who isn't your wife, to my knowledge. The "crime" for which MR. CLINTON WAS NEVER CONVICTED (Unlike the Scoots who WAS convicted), was "perjury" - lying to the Grand Jury.
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Shoe's on the other foot. Pinch much?
Joan: I have to agree with you. Especially I agree with you pointing out that Mr. Clinton was exonerated of the charges against him, which is something the neocons conveniently forget to add when they start pointing fingers and wringing hands about the blowjob.
I personally wish they'd angst out a tenth as much over the thousands of lives Mr. Bush's lies have thus far cost us with no end in sight. The biggest damage with Mr. Clinton's offense was the need to have a dress cleaned. Mr. Bush's damage is measured in flag draped coffins and streets littered with tortured and murdered bodies. Why is it I somehow cannot see how the two can be equal in anyone's eyes?
Excellent article which cuts to the chase about the lesson in all this! Thanks for writing it.
As you've pointed out, this is not the end. David Gergen and others have noted that the real story here is what Cheney and Libby are hiding. Scooter Libby is not a scapegoat and not a fall guy. He colluded with many others on matters amounting to treason. Its a not so minor a miracle that Fitzgerald persevered.
Impeachment? The state of Vermont is ready to go. Pelosi says it is still off the table. I say treason, and indict them for war crimes in an international court.
The next round, if Congress isn't itself entirely complicit and has the guts [I'm not holding my breath], will be to expose the corruption in the Justice Dept itself.
Appreciate your excellent comments! Don't hold your breath, there will be no impeachment, nor will there be an indictment. And I tend to think that Libby is taking the fall so others won't. If he's not out before he will probably get a presidential pardon before W leaves office.
What Cheney and Libby are hiding is another one of those mysteries that will not be revealed until perhaps sometime after it is too late for any action to result. This administration's penchant for secrecy makes Nixon look loose lipped!
//. . .Karl is going down to the Clinton Presidential Library next weekend? For what? Oh, I get it. The Democrats have more power now, so the GOP is trying to make nice and appear less partisan. But the whole deal about the mass firings of U.S. District Attorneys is pause for fear, but not wonder.//
The dedication of the Clinton Library with the dynasty figures from both sides lined up gave me the willies -- and a sense of the little people getting to come to the royal ball [thank goodness it was raining]. The thought of Bush 41 and Old Bill out doing their thing together for charity also gives one pause for thought.
The Scooter Libby trial was unavoidable and orchestrated appeasement, so "we the stupid people" don't get irrevocably ticked off. We've had a bone to pick with this administration for some time on quite a lot of issues -- so we got a bone.
Diana,
An interesting tidbit. At a press conference with L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa on dealing with gangs, who was standing next to him but Alberto Gonzales. "Law and Order" is making another comeback -- how's that for irony.
up next, appeal then pardon if needed.
Real Americans who care about democracy and rule of law do. Somehow, I'm not the least bit surprised to see where you stand.
"up next, appeal then pardon if needed."
Because he committed no offense, or because he's a republican?
Missy - I'd watch for Gonzales to reveal some greater personal political ambitions in the future.
Clark - you're right in that this trial exhibits a "symptom" of what is actually a much larger problem than what lies on the surface.
Andrew - good comments but, depending on whom you ask the jury is still out on whether Plame was "covert", as for the millions of tax dollars they still don't compare to what Ken Starr spent and the millions spent actually had a larger goal than finding out who the "leaker" was (keep watching the story), and proof of the larger story is your third point: Fitzgerald knew about Armitage but further investigation was required - and to what end, I'd guess we have yet to find out.
Don: it's not that there "was no crime" regarding the outing of Valerie Plame; there have yet to be charges filed - and there may never be.
You hit the nail on the head! "We" are the boss. But we have been very weak kneed and non demanding as bosses go. We can "fire" them and have that opportunity every two years. But we keep saying, in effect, "you've done a very poor job of your assigned tasks this past term, and you've blocked, circumvented and ignored my orders but I know how much you love your paycheck so we'll just let it pass this time!"
When election comes we look back over the last 60 days and if we can't remember anything in that time period that was clearly the employee thumbing his nose at the boss, we don't worry about what happened 6 months ago!
Bottom line is we, as the electorate, do have the power, the right and the obligation to call our employees to task and that we can expect no group of employees to perform beyond what is expected. And, unfortunately, we require very little in performance. It's as though the political professionals were the super cute secretary that couldn't type, couldn't take dictation, couldn't run a copy machine and you wonder what she is really being paid for.