Posted on 07/22/2005 7:14:17 AM PDT by Republican Red
PLAMEGATE UPDATE [John Podhoretz]
Okay, this is getting complicated in exactly the way that attempting to study a tempest in a teapot is complicated -- because it's so small. Scooter Libby says he learned of Valerie Plame's identity from Tim Russert. Evidently, Russert told the special prosecutor he did not reveal Valerie Plame's name to Scooter Libby
Is somebody lying? Maybe -- but on the other hand maybe there's a lot of weaseling going on here and some of it is Tim Russert's. Knowing as his lawyer must have that the criminally dangerous portion of the statute being invoked requires the actual use of Plame's name, maybe Russert told the special prosecutor he didn't use the NAME. "Joe Wilson's wife" is not Valerie Plame's name. In addition, if both men used the "to the best of my recollection" terminology when talking before the grand jury, then there will be no way to reconcile these details. You can't indict one person for perjury in a two-way conversation if their testimony conflicts -- I mean, I guess you could, but you could never make the case stick without independent confirmation.
Libby is a high-powered Washington lawyer of long-standing who has dealt with highly complicated negotiations with federal prosecutors. Forget questions of integrity, though I believe there's no reason to doubt his integrity. I just don't see how he would destroy his life and career by committing perjury so blatantly, which would not only expose him to jail but also to disbarment and an inability to support himself for the rest of his life.
Here's the thing: Government officials are panicked about getting caught out perjuring themselves because they get courses on it and know people who have been thrown into the hoosegow for it. Scooter Libby saw friends and colleagues sucked into special-prosecutor investigations throughout the 1980s, and knows what a living hell that could be.
Journalists, by contrast, are far less likely to imagine that they might find themselves cross-wise of a grand jury, and therefore far more likely to be innocently loose-lipped. I'm not saying Russert did anything wrong, because I still think there was no crime committed here. But the presumption that he would have spoken the absolute truth before a grand jury and Scooter Libby would have dissimulated doesn't necessarily jibe with the truth. Posted at 09:16 AM
My money is on the fact that Russert might have perjured himself
It's funny that the source trail seems to be:
??????? ------> Journalists -------> Rove & Libby -------> Journalists
"I can't remember" - Hillary Clinton before writing her autobiography.
There is a Bloomberg story today that fully addresses this topic (try google news), but Bloomberg can't be posted on FR.
Apparently, Libby's testimony contradicts Russert's, and Rove's testimony contradicts Novak's. So somebody isn't telling the truth, but we don't know who it is.
I have always believed that the plan was to assemble thousands of pages of testimony about a fairly meaningless "leak", and then look for discrepancies to file perjury/obstruction of justice charges.
And you just might be right. Russert was on Imus the other day and Imus said something like "Hey,weren't you called to testify in this thing?" Russert was sidestepping and evading so hard I am sure he hurt himself and I said to MYSELF Russert's worried about something here.
Look at this..
If there was perjury, I'd join that bet. Podhoretz makes a good point on Libby's experience and acumen in matters legal. Conversely, Russert (and the other presstitutes before the GJ) are used to being the interviewer and not the one being grilled. Combined with their elitist arrogance, I wouldn't be surprised if they figured coordinated finger pointing at the WH would do the job. Thus, methinks the inquiry has evolved where the focus is not totally on the WH. I'd ask Judith Miller but her visiting hours are booked solid for the next 3 weeks....
Might I humbly suggest that the Grand Jury post its notes here and let FR figure it out?
I'm not a lawyer and could use some clarification. If I say "Bill Clinton's wife was seen at a nightclub making out with another woman" (when, in fact, she was really at home studying the pro-life aspects of partial-birth abortion), could I defend myself in a libel case by stating that I never mentioned Hillary by name? It seems to be a distinction without a difference, unless the identity of "Joe Wilson's wife" was a closely-guarded secret.
The Bloomberg article tries its best to imply that Rove and Libby are the liars.
Someone is going to the hoosegow and it's not going to Scooter or Karl.
Russert was verrrrry nervous while he was interviewing Cooper on Sunday. It was like Russert was thinking: I have to get this exactly right....say exactly what my attorney's have told me to say and ask. We know Russert is always scripted but this interview was like "two clever kids" who came up with a story for "What to tell Mom".
Bloomberg article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=an7SakVWGrTQ&refer=us
Their premise is that Libby is lying. It never once states the case that their prcious Russert could have been in the wrong.
Okay, let my try to clarify.
You say "Bill Clinton's wife was seen at a nightclub making out with another woman". People know who you are referring to.
However, if she was also a secret agent for the last 30 years, and her real name was Hillary Plame, but you DID NOT know that, are you still guilty of outing her?
Well .. I do recall Wilson in his last 2 pressers harping about his wife's name is Valarie Wilson .. Mrs. Wilson and that is the name she goes by
With that said .. I'm not so sure Fitzpatrick is going after the name angle
Miller isn't sitting in jail because of a name mentioned ... but more like who's been feeding all these classified information stories to the press
first I've heard of Russert's involvement.
Well, now we know why Russert gave Wilson so much air time and so many softballs.
He's in on it.
Come to think of it, one morning this week I noticed how SWEATY and rumpled/stressed Russert looked on Today. He's no Mel Gibson, but normally he at least presentable.
so why reveal her name in the first place, no matter who did it?
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