Not much new here:
The federal prosecutor in the CIA leak case has still made no decision on charges in the 22-month-old probe, prompting lawyers familiar with the case to speculate that he is shifting his focus toward perjury or obstruction of justice charges.
A grand jury was impaneled in December 2003 to investigate whether President Bush’s senior adviser Karl Rove illegally divulged the name of a CIA employee to discredit her husband after he publicly questioned the administration’s justification for the war in Iraq.
But lawyers familiar with the probe say special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald appears to be changing the grand jury’s initial focus in part because the law protecting covert CIA operatives appears not to apply to Valerie Plame, whose name first surfaced in a July 2003 column by conservative Robert Novak.
“There is not one fact that I have seen that there could be a violation of the agent identity act,” said Victoria Toensing, a lawyer who helped draft the 1982 act.
I hadn’t seen this before, though:
Mr. Rove’s attorney, Robert Luskin, told reporters that Mr. Fitzgerald has assured him that no decisions have been made on charges and that his client has not received a so-called target letter, usually the last step before a grand jury indictment. But the prosecutor warned that he cannot guarantee that Mr. Rove will not be indicted.
Or had I? I knew he had not received a letter and that had been publicized, but I don’t rememberthe ‘guarantee’ part.
Anderson
Remember, as always, that Toensing is not just an informed commentator, but a veteran Republican soldier. Not that the newspapers would tell you this.
Zach
Yeah when Rove went back to the grand jury Fitzergerald gave him some sort of standard letter alerting him that it would not preclude him from being indicted.
ppGaz
Wow, a cite to the WTimes, Reverend Moon’s house organ, and a dismissive quote from wingnut whore paid talking head, Victoria Toensing.
It’s fall, time to get the crockpot out of mothballs, and suck up to the Republican blog base.
–//
If you imagine that an agent may be in a life-threatening status and covert so as to protect him, having that protection simply expire after some time limit would be both nonsensical and dangerous to say the least. Otherwise you have to deal with this scene:
Steve
This sounds like a tactic straight from the Tom DeLay defense team: if the law that was first considered turns out not to apply for some technical reason, that means no law was broken at all!
John Cole
PPGAZ- You would almost be tolerable if your wild accusations were even close to the truth.
In short, I was interested in any Plame updates, typed Plame in google news, and this is what showed up.
And what ‘Republican Blog Base’ do you speak of?
DougJ
I almost read that article before I saw it was in the Moonie Times. Is there a *good* Republican-leaning source for this story? I’d like to read one, but I’m not interested in the moonie perspective. Is Tom Maguire Republican-leaning? I can’t tell from his blog, which is quite good.
srv
If Karl and/or Scooter aren’t really in any trouble, why all the Avian Flu and AQ alerts?
Maybe they’re just making sure the system is well-oiled.
DougJ
I agree, John. First, the Republican representation in the blogosphere is pretty poor in terms of traffic. Second, at least half of the popular Republican blogs are moderate/libertarian and quite fair (like this one). I know that Fox News and the Moonie Times are disgraces, but that’s no reason to bash Republican blogs.
ppGaz
Think of it as a salami.
ppGaz
Bwaaahahahaha! I guess I’m slipping!
ppGaz
This is compiled from the non-existant GOP blahsphere, and will save the Darrell-Stormies a lot of time in finding and clipping their material as the story progresses. Courtesy of DKos:
Slide
Not new but forgotten from a Sept 28, 2003 Washington Post article:
So someone in the White House was not on board with the smearing of Wilson and was talking to the media about it. I assume this “official” might have a lot more “inside” information about the plot the discredit Wilson. I think we can also assume this source has testified at the Grand Jury.
Also remember that the appeals court that ruled on the Judy/Cooper issue used the phrase “the plot against Wilson”. Plot. Lovely word isn’t it? Very conspiratorial word. Now, also remember that Plame’s identity was classified information. Forget about whether she was covert or not as defined by statute, it was still classified. Any PLOT to discredit Wilson by revealing classified information (which is a crime) is a classic example of a conspiracy.
I just love intrigue don’t you?
Nikki
Seems kinda strange to me that the author would claim that the law covering CIA ops appears not to apply to Plame, then quote someone who is not part of Fitzgerald’s investigative team to prove his/her point. How does the author know Fitzgerald isn’t still gonna apply that law when the indictments come down?
DougJ
Nikki, Toensing is a mouth piece for the Bush administration and this is the Moonie Times. There’s really no point in reading any of it.
Nikki
And besides all that, aren’t you a bit behind the times? I mean, Judy did just hand over her notes from a Libby conversation in June 2003. Didn’t you know?
DougJ
BTW, John knows the Moonie Times is crap. This is a Plame and therefore a flame thread.
So ppgaz, what do you think happens when Rove, Libby, or Hadley gets indicted? I’m not ready to get with the O’Donnell theory that all three get it. But I’ve got to think one of them will.
I think the Bush surrogates on Fox and elsewhere smear Fitzgerald, Wilson, and Plame (the Fox News/Limbaugh crowd), attack the statute (that’s where the highbrown element, Kristol and Brooks, comes in), and then start in on how Clinton did much worse (the Coulter crowd). I don’t think it will hurt Bush as much as people think.
goonie bird
In america your inocent until proven guilty but when it comes to the liberals especialy the left-wing news media you guilty until proven guilty and this just gose for conservatives
ppGaz
I have no idea. Obviously the White House is ready and waiting with its strategy, and we can guess that it will be entirely self-serving and self-justifying.
Stormy will get drunk and insist that something better is on tv. Darrell will … be Darrell. (p)Rick will be cordial. I will be intolerable, and you will be somebody else.
ppGaz
Doug, cop to it, yo. The Bird Is The Word.
Are you the bird?
DougJ
I’ve got to get something decent ready for this one. There’s so many obvious stupid talking points, about how the statute is flawed, how it is all Wilson’s fault somehow, how Clinton did worse, but there’s got to be something really, truly assinine out there to go with. Something that blends a complete misunderstanding of our legal system with a blind loyalty to all things Bush.
DougJ
Of course I am not the bird! Jesus, give me some credit. I can’t stand goonie bird. He’s got no style.
ppGaz
Ha! Made you call me Jesus!
Alright, alright, you are not the bird.
ppGaz
This is where the leadership of Tom Delay is going to be sorely missed.
DougJ
I may just hang around Free Republic and David Rossie’s blog and see what turns up there. I’m sure those geniuses will be coming up with idiocy that will blow all of our minds.
p.lukasiak
I think the Bush surrogates on Fox and elsewhere smear Fitzgerald, Wilson, and Plame (the Fox News/Limbaugh crowd), attack the statute (that’s where the highbrown element, Kristol and Brooks, comes in), and then start in on how Clinton did much worse (the Coulter crowd). I don’t think it will hurt Bush as much as people think.
I have to disagree. If indictments are handed down, one can be reasonably certain that the evidence will be presented in the most damning way possible — and we will be treated to a narrative about a White House that completely disregards national security in its effort to discredit one of its critics.
An awful lot has happened since this story first broke — America has become disenchanted with our little Iraq adventure, and America has learned that there were no WMDs (at the time Wilson’s piece was published, although it had become obvious that the WMD threat had been grossly exaggerated, Bushco was still clinging to, and pushing, the story that David Kay would be finding stuff to justify all the lies that had been told.)
Bushco can’t go on the counter attack on this one….its not going to wash. The only thing that will prevent Bush’s poll numbers from sinking even lower is that if he clean house entirely when the Fitzgerald report is released. That means Rove, Libby, Hadley, and heaven knows who else….
Slide
If Fitz is going after conspiracy charges, as the current conventional wisdom has it, its hard to have a conspiracy of one.
kchiker
How much would it actually have to “hurt” Bush…for it to be devastating? Even if it just cemented the opinion of those 63% who do not currrently approve of the administration….
DougJ
I hope you’re right P. Lukasiac. I think this has the potential to be a watershed moment in American political history. Whether for good for bad, I can’t say.
The blogs will play a very important role in all of this. You probably think I’m ridiculously pro-blog, but I think that they will play a very important role in (1) preparing people for the indictments (they’v already done this) and (2) creating at least *some* dialog between left and right on this.
Hearing that principled Republicans like John Cole, and hopefully even Defense Guy and Tall Dave are horrified by what has happened, will I think help assuage the rage of the anti-Bush people like me.
Think about it, without blogs, the only Republicans we would see on t.v. after the indictments come down would be shameless shills for the White House. I think that even George Will, whom I generally respect greatly, is getting ready to whore himself out on this one. (He’s bashed enough on the Miers nomination and I’m sure he has to pick his spots to keep the Heritage Foundation speech money rolling in). So this is going to be a very important moment for the moderate/libertarian Republican wing of the blogosphere. Let’s hope they’re up to it.
searp
If some senior WH people are indicted, it will hurt Bush a lot.
–Weakness is already there, bad polls. The 06 elections are coming up. Those running for re-election will decide how much they can distance themselves, and in some districts that will mean a lot.
–Bush will possibly lose Karl Rove, who has the best political ear at the WH. Bush unleashed is bound to make more political faux pas than Bush with Rove whispering in his ear.
–The Dems will be yelling about corruption (abramoff) and treachery (whoever is indicted). The image of the security president will take another beating.
–The standard method of discipline – revenge – will have to be applied with a much lighter hand
— Abramoff is at the center of a payola scandal that involves the entire party.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer set of people, in my opinion. Once the Republican party realizes that it is counterproductive to model their organization on the Mafia, the country will be much better off.
DougJ
It could be Scooter and a bunch of people we’ve never heard of, though.
I really hope the queen of Iraq herself, Judy Miller, is indicted.
Oh,Boy.Stupidity!
Gee, I guess I was way off base when I suggested that Plame wasn’t really a double super secret agent, but merely a desk jockey.
DougJ
Oh,Boy, didn’t you used to have a website? I thought your name was in blue before. What happened?
Steve S
Worst case for Bush is if the ghost of Barry Goldwater tells him “Enough is enough” and suggests he resign.
It’s starting to look like a very real possibility. Goldwater has been reportedly rolling in his grave.
Halffasthero
You say that as if it were a bad thing – or inaccurate…
And yes, Rick is normally very cordial. Darrell – need more be said?
Pb
Oh,Boy.Stupidity!:
I know, it’s hard to discern the truth sometimes. Who are we to believe–Bob Novak and The Washington Times, or the CIA and the Liberal Media? Oh, the humanity!
Slide
Well, I for one am glad we restored honor and integrity to the White House.
jg
Is that as far into the subject as your brain can understand? Any chance of ramifications beyond exposing just the one agant?
ppGaz
Nope, I just said it. You read it as if it were a bad thing, or inaccurate.
Halffasthero
Touche’
ppGaz
I’m sworn to give Stormy the month off for any serious criticism. I did this in a moment of unexplainable softness. I don’t know what came over me. I saw a salami at the end of a tunnel ….
DougJ
I have a new theory — they’re throwing Cheney and Libby under the bus. Maybe that’s not fair to Bush and Rove — it’s entirely possible that it was Cheney and Libby who really masterminded the whole thing.
stickler
Well,
I must object.
Judith Miller is the “Queen of all Iraq.” Please update your snarkometers.
scs
If the Bush team were smart, they just would have come out with the (almost) truth early on in a press conference. They should have pled ignorance and apologized. Hey, that’s what I always do when I’m in trouble and it seems to work okay. Making others drag it out of them was a bad idea. They should have said in public “I didn’t know she was covert or classified”, “I was just trying to give some background on the Niger story” etc. (If that was in any way true of course.) If it was, the scandal would never have been what it was. If not, it was a stupid idea to begin with and they should have known better.
Rome Again
Otherwise known as “IOKIYAR” (It’s Okay if you’re a Republican).
But, but… the Republicans in the Bush Administration are PERFECT and have never, ever made any mistakes.
Come on scs, isn’t this what you were convinced of when you (a self-professed Democrat) voted for them?