Posted on 10/28/2005 1:05:49 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
This is a very curious press conference just conducted by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. With his machine-gun delivery. He repeatedly flopped back and forth between saying that the “outing” of Valerie Plame, wife of discredited Ambassador Joe Wilson was a “serious matter,” and saying that he “reached no conclusion” whether she had been outed, and if so, when and by whom.
The mood in the room among the reporters changed appreciably as the conference went on. Initially, the press was very interested in the charges made and reasons for them, and in the charges not made against other people, and the reasons why not. But by the end of the conference, the reporters were clearly puzzled by the wandering speech of Fitzgerald and his lame analogies about a baseball pitcher throwing at a batter’s head, and a bank robber with his fingerprint on the holdup note and a signed confession.
Again and again, Mr. Fitzgerald said that it was “vital” that he and his Grand Jury should get to the end of the process with a “clear understanding of all of the facts.” Yet, again and again, he replied to reporters’ questions by saying that he “had not reached a conclusion” about central facts of the matter concerning either Valerie Plame or Joe Wilson.
Source: this is written as the press conference is under way. The transcript will surely be posted on the Internet within minutes.
Toward the end of the conference, I realized what I was watching. Fitzgerald was offering the press and the nation a version of Humphrey Bogart’s star turn in his last film as Phillip Francis Queeg, the Captain of the USS Caine in The Caine Mutiny (1954). The turning point in that film came when the obsessive Captain comes apart on the stand while being cross-examined by the lawyer for the mutineers in their trial.
Beginning with the exposure of Captain Queeg as obsessive in the story about the missing strawberries from the mess hall, the Captain visibly unravels. As he does so, he takes two ball bearings from his pocket and begins to play with them in his hand.
Fitzgerald seems to be a similar person. He is wound far too tight. He is obsessing about a few conversations with reporters (where it might be the reporters, not Scooter Libby, who are either lying or maybe just poorly remembering what happened years ago). At the same time, Fitzgerald is deliberately ignoring the larger fact that a war is going on, and must be won. It was just like Captain Queeg.
Fitzgerald had everything except the strawberries, and the ball bearings. By the end, I think many of the reporters had reached the same conclusion.
John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
I believe that this goes much deeper than Libby, and will in fact expose the CIA to scrutiny unlike they have ever being exposed to. this whole episode reminds me of the movie where the military is trying to take over the U.S.A. policy and sideline the President. Seven Days in May was the movie, and the plot this time revolves around the CIA.
yes; he answered that witnesses can give a press conference on the front steps of the courthouse if they want to; rules apply to prosecutor, staff and GJers.
Hitlary has his file -- this guy is afraid big time.
yeah, he swallowed pretty hard before he got started.
I took my maiden cruise of Democratic Underground, and one of the demo-groundlings was commenting on this thread.
Something like this: "How can they complain about Joe Wilson when they sent him there (presumably, Niger)?"
Are they really that uninformed, that they don't know his wife Val bought his ticket?
(And I feel so . . . dirty. Hug me, slug me, drug me===de-louse me)
Where do i send dollars for the "Scooter Defense Fund?" This could be fun!
I don't think the wishful-thinking media heard what Fitzgerald said. He clearly stated that "the bulk" of the investigation is over. The grand jury has expired. Unless there is some new big development, this thing will be over shortly (Fitzgerald said weeks).
I hate to disagree with you, because I respect your opinions so highly, but Bogie made "The Barefoot Contessa", "Desperate Hours" and "The Harder They Fall" - all major movies - after "Caine Mutiny". Google needs to get a clue!
If there was inconsistency in Libby's testimony, what harm was done? How COULD it hurt Plame, or more broadly, the national security? If Wilson's had wished to protect his wife's cover, he should not have taken part in a political campaign. Given that so many people know what she did, for him so openly to raise the subject was bound to involve his wife.
During the press conference, Fitz answered that questoin at least three different times. He said that he could not determine whether a violation of that statute occured because he needed to know what Libby knew and what his intent was. Libby's lying over about when he knew and what he knew made it impossible for him to answer the central question.
“Have a little charity man/women.....perhaps he's a lawyer first and not an actor.......I got the impression that he DID NOT want to be in front of 10,000 cameras.”
No, I am being perfectly honest. Since I wasn’t looking at him on TV, I had nothing to distract me. I was listening strictly to his voice. He was slurring his words. He sounded drunk.
true, but she would have associates who had nothing to do with her poor taste in husbands, and the dots could be connected to stuff she was invoved in.
I bet Russert, Miller and Cooper are all praying that the indictments get dismissed before they get put on the stand and get subject to cross-examination in a criminal case. Fervently praying.
He has already determined that Libby outted her to two reporters prior to Novak's article. Plame was outted as soon as the info was given to Miller. It didnt have to be published.
Everyone's being too hard on the guy. What's he going to do, call a press conference and tell everyone, "I have good news! Despite the best efforts of myself and my staff, many months of intense, high-level and high-profile investigation has revealed no crime has been committed. Thank you all very much for coming." ;-)
Perjury prosecutions. Never saw one in my entire career. Not to say they don't happen, like getting struck by lightning happens. But most prosecutors realize shading the truth comes with the territory. There is plenty of other work to do. That's what cross-examination is for. Besides, once you go down that perjury road, what are you going to do next time the state's witness is caught in a fib, hmmmm?
I heard the tremble of a true believer in his voice when he was talking about not letting people deliberately get in the way of the fact finding by lying. Yeah, maybe. If Libby flat out got caught in a lie under oath, then I guess he gets what's coming to him. On the other hand, perjury only becomes a crime when the prosecutor is offended. That's not my kind of law.
You sound as if you were in the GJ room? If you were not, then you're making stuff up as you are going along about Libby's testimony. How do you know he didn't fess right up, first time he was asked?
hopefully, they do better than that, and expose the anti-Bush CIA'ers.
Absolutely, he couldn't charge him with a crime of substance so he just continuously implied Libby committed a crime. He definitely has delusions of Grandjur(y)
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