Posted on 04/03/2007 9:36:19 PM PDT by smoothsailing
Fitzgerald's Cover-Up
It's time to hold the special prosecutor accountable.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
For a prosecutor who claims to be a truth-seeker, Patrick Fitzgerald sure can be secretive. Even now that the Scooter Libby trial is over and his "leak" investigation is all but closed, the unaccountable special counsel wants to keep his arguments for creating a Constitutional showdown over reporters and their sources under lock and key.
Mr. Fitzgerald is fighting release of the affidavits he filed with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to justify compelling two reporters to testify about their conversations with Mr. Libby, and to throw one of them in jail for 85 days until she did so. Also under court seal are eight pages of a redacted 2005 D.C. Circuit opinion by Judge David Tatel that explained the court's decision to support Mr. Fitzgerald's pursuit of the reporters.
In January, Dow Jones--which publishes this newspaper--and the Associated Press requested that the D.C. Circuit release this material now that the case is wrapped up. By demanding that the reporters betray their sources, Mr. Fitzgerald caused a legal collision that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The public, the press and other prosecutors all have what the Dow Jones-AP motion calls "an undeniable and overwhelming public interest" in knowing the arguments and information that Mr. Fitzgerald made to the court.
His demand and the D.C. Circuit ruling set a precedent that may well encourage other prosecutors to force journalists to betray their sources too. His effort also appeared, at least to us, to violate long-standing Justice Department guidelines concerning such pursuit of journalists. His pursuit is all the more puzzling in retrospect because we now know that Mr. Fitzgerald already knew--
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
ping
Congress should not pass such a law. The media already has way too much power and way too little accountability.
Is Fitzgerald throwing sand in our eyes?
Since Fitzgerald knew the answer to the question he was supposed to investigate on the first day of his investigation, you have to wonder what he was doing at public expense for 3 years.
What was he investigating?
I think he should be held accountable.
Since I’m confident that Fitzy will be running as a (D) for some high elective office in the near future (largely based on his “courageous” prosecution of Libby), this is probably as good a time as any to expose his “prosecutorial philosophy” in the Libby case.
Fitzgerald should be disbarred for NOT calling a mistrial for no crime was committed and he knew it.. from the beginning..
Bump for later...
Fitgerald is not a Republican and President Bush did not “pick him”. He was “picked” and given extension of “broad discretion” of power by his pal James Comey (D) who after only 3 weeks as Deputy AG asked John Ashcroft to recuse himself from Plamegate. Fitzgerald is a godfather to Comey’s son. Comey also refused to certify key parts of NSA’s anti-terrorism “phone-listening” program, and was a possible “leaker” of the program - he resigned from DoJ shortly after the election of 2004 to become Lockheed-Martin General Counsel.
Starr was grilled incessantly on the Hill to account for the time he spent during all Clintons’ crimes he was investigating. No such oversight from then-GOP Congress was done about Fitzgerald entrapment expedition.
I do believe that Fitz is trying to keep these documents secret because he lied to the courts about the reasons for necessity of their testimonies, and misinforming and misleading the court about the "classification" of one Valerie Plame, sine qua non of his "investigation".
Patrick Fitzgerald will go into the history books as a symptom of what is wrong with American government during this era; the ability to print money to cover real debt, mingled with the ability to convince ourselves that more government is good, regardless of the cost; the kids can pay off the debt.
Agreed.
I did not know about the personal relationship of the Fitzgerald-Comey connection. Thanks!
But then he had the unfortunate luck of having Mr and Mrs Clintons abused women drop Rape and Sexual harassment charges, and witness tampering in his lap.
Team Clinton made sure it wasnt just the Blue dress that got smeared.
I have no proablem with reporters having to testify. But I find it interesting that Congress wants to protect reporters while not giving the President the same protection. They want everyone he talks to be under oath.
FREE SCOOTER Ping
“Goldbricking” while laughing all the way to the bank!
And if anyone expects a ‘Rat controlled Congress to make Fitzgerald accountable; I have some beachfront property in AZ for sale.
Agree. Fitzgerald is Mike Nifong in a different suit.
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