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
John / Billybob
Fitzgerald showed one thing he is a primadonna. Waiting after two years to the last day to issue a weak indictment, knowing the press was all over it. Libby last testified I think over a month ago, he could have indicted him on perjury then. He strung this out and now wants to continue the investigation. I think Fitzs likes the spotlight
After all the puff pieces no Fitzgerald over the past few weeks I expected much more than was delievered during the press conference today.
This guy sounded like a moron.
If the quality of Fitzgerald's investigative skills is as poor as his ability to articulate his rationale for issuing this indictment, Scooter and his counsel should have little difficulty putting forth a successful defense.
No marbles, either, he seems to have lost his as well.
I think there is some Captain Ahab in this story as well - Fitz has fixated on minutiae about what Libby said about what Libby had said in the past, while downplaying what this story was all about in the first place. I sure hope no judge will give him another grand jury. Any guesses on that, from what you have seen so far with the indictment and Fitz's ramblings?
The prosecution's talking points are that the obstruction was so serious, and the lies so pervasive, that he spent 2 years just trying to establish where the lies were coming from.
Anyway, expect those arguments, or some such, to be reported through the blogosphere.
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.
Captain Queeg is an apt analogy.
I liked the part when Fitzgerald said that Libby was trying to poison his precious bodily fluids...
Fitz claims early on that it wasn't common knowledge outside the intel community that Plame was CIA.
If this goes to trial (and I doubt it will), Fitz's lawyers will have a field day putting people on the stand who can say otherwise.
And, in the process, could well take questioning where Fitz was unwilling to take it. Imagine a laywer putting Miller or Cooper or Russert on the stand, asking whether they knew about Plame's CIA status beforehand, and then asking them how they knew.
Goldmine. Fitz really screwed up putting that in the indictment - but if he hadn't, his false statement and perjury charges would have unravelled.
Did anyone ask him who first leaked to Novak?
How much taxpayer money is this Fitzgerald guy willing to
waste on this bul$$$it??
My reaction is that I wish Fitzgerald would do the same rectal exam on everyone in Washington.
Then I think we might get the smaller govt. we need as 80% of people there would have to resign their jobs.
I want Fitz to keep on going except that the targets should be drawn out of a hat instead of targeting the Bush admin.
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