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 knew it had to be one of the officers who had the key to the food locker. One of them ate the strawberries and I'm going to find out which one.
That is total BS. A phone call to the CIA would have sufficed to determine if Plame was covert. And a simple reading of the law in question would have determined if it was a crime.
Instead, Plame's employment is referred to as "classified" instead of covert, Fitz himself cut off any questioning of Miller that might have led back to the CIA, and Fitz pulled a fast one when he said Plame's employment at the CIA was not widespread knowledge. Nice weasel-words, widespread. Does that mean that a majority of people need to know Plame's status to reach that threshhold? Or just a couple hundred players?
I have to admit there is a tiny part of me that admires a guy who can do what he did with a straight face. I would have started laughing if I tried to indignantly claim that all Americans have been damaged by the revelation that Valerie Plame works at the CIA.
Her job status is "classified." One reporter asked if it was a crime to reveal classified information. Could anyone make sense of Fitzgerald's response? Wasn't it something along the lines of "it's considered a bad idea to use the law I might be able to apply to that" and some gibberish about a British law that we don't want to emulate.
I took his verbosity to mean "no."
The reason Libby lied to the Grand Jury was to cover his closeness to the press. As he prepared with the White House lawyers, who are all working together, he didn't want it revealed that he was leaking things to the press without authorization.
I think the reason Libby is being hung out to dry is that he lost his friends in the White House, and his reporter friends are too scared.
If you read the indictment, Libby was only charged with making false statements concerning his discussions with Cooper, Miller and Russert. So the prosecutor had to determine that it was either Libby lying or the reporters. Considering that it would be pretty difficult to get all three reporters to lie under oath, I would bet that Libby lied. The real question is, why would he lie under oath, if there was a pretty clear case that he hadn't committed a crime in revealing Plame's identity?
I once stood in front of a group of about 200 engineers and gave a technical argument, my voice shook like a little girls...that doesn't mean I didn't know what I was talking about.....
Considering that it would be pretty difficult to get all three reporters to lie under oath, I would bet that Libby lied. The real question is, why would he lie under oath, if there was a pretty clear case that he hadn't committed a crime in revealing Plame's identity?
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Good question. The most basis explanation: He lied because he did not want his employer to find out what he did. In other words, while leaking the identity of a confidential CIA agent might not be a crime, it is a no no according to the White House.
That explanation seems reasonable and would isolate Libby as the lone bad guy (within the White House, anyway).
earlier today...."Fitz confounds reporters- by turning a 2yr search for a missing strawberry - into a gilded raspberry recovery effort".... Good work, Congressman Billybob!
how would it get back to WH what he had said in GJ, so why bother to lie?
That defense wont be allowed. It is irrelevant to the charges. Fritz only has to prove that Libby lied when he said he was told about Wilson/Plame by Tim Russert and other reporters when in fact he had been told by four government officials including the VP. Only evidence relevant to the charges will be allowed in. Libby may have been justified in what he did countering Wilsons charges but he would not have any justificatoni for obstructing justice, making false statements, and committing perjury.
I see little steel balls in the mail.
If that was the case...he being nervous wouldn't one try to get out of dodge as soon as possible.....hell if he had stayed at the podium much longer he would have been into the prime time news hour on the east coast..
On what planet?
Agreed...he's seems to be trying to be a Guiliani(sp). He sounds to weak kneed to be that. I don't think he even BELIEVES he will get a conviction. Just to scared to take the heat if he didn't indict someone.
Pray for W and Our Troops
I am not disagreeing with you. I am only giving my impression.
Now, how to clear up your fear about speaking in front of a crowd…advice my father gave me early on: “Look out over the audience and picture them sitting on toilet seats.”
I never had a problem.
It was in response to a question about the length of the investigation. He was saying that he and his staff wanted it over and soon as they could because they already had full time jobs w/o this added work. This was not something fun for them and it wasnt make work.
Did he explain how 'witnesses' knew who was going to be charged, when, and how they leaked that to the press?
reminds me a lot of ken starr
Yes question came up about that and he said that if there had been any leaks from his staff or the grand jury itself there would be additional indictments made today. He pointed out that witnesses who appear before the grand jury are free to talk about what they said and what they were asked. Those on the prosecutors staff and the grand jury are forbidden to do so.
Don't forget Russert. I agree with your take on how a trial would take shape.
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