Patrick Fitzgerald Does a Star Tour as Captain Queeg

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 28 October 2005 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[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

[andy58-in-nh]

I see little steel balls in the mail.

Or strawberries.

[staytrue]

I thought Fitz's press conference spelled things out fairly well.

Washington is a cesspole full of corruption. You are the oddball if you are not corrupt. Libby did a very minor crime in comparison and it does look like Fitz has him on something pretty minor. I want Fitz to go after all of them. Washington needs a complete scrubbing with about 70% of the bureaucrats resigned or in jail.

The bush administration has done well considering it is working in a den of thieves. We need to clean out the den. I want 1000 fitz's going after everyone in that town.

[Black Tooth]

That pretty much sums it up.

[ravingnutter]

My theory (#42)is that this was a collaborative effort by the French and CIA coordinated by Wilson and his second wife, the French "Diplomat". Wilson did not lie when he said he saw the documents.

Also, Rocco only "procured" the documents, he did not forge them. Fitzgerald went to Italy to investigate the Niger Embassy (in Rome) burglary...where the letterhead and seals for the forgeries were stolen. Ex-CIA agent (and coincidentally, an advisor to the Vatican in Rome),Vincent Cannistraro has stated that Alan Wolf and Duane Clarridge were the actual forgers, but his account is the only one available that I can find on the subject. He has also pointed the finger at Michael Ledeen, but Ledeen has publicly made a statement that he had nothing to do with it and demanded an apology from Cannistraro.

In addition, despite what the MSM is reporting, the Italians released a press report yesterday saying they had nothing to do with the forgeries:

Italy denies role in fake documents on Iraq

This was also backed up by Rocco here

Cannistraro's "theory" falls apart when you consider that he:

1) blamed SISME (the Italians), which has proven to be wrong

2) bases his assumptions on a Dec 2001 Ledeen meeting, when Cannistraro himself was in Rome in Nov 2001, which would make him just as suspect.

I also discovered that Cannistraro worked directly with Clarridge during Iran Contra, so he has alot of nerve bringing that up in connection to Ledeen. Another interesting tidbit (#47) that I discovered is that Wolf and Clarridge worked with Aldrich Ames, who outed Plame to the Russians in the 90's. Coincidence? I think not. Cannistraro trying to kill two birds with one stone to cover his own carcass seems to be the more likely answer. Equally suspicious is the Hersch article, where Cannistraro and another unnamed agent state the exact route the documents took and Cannistraro actually admits that he called the CIA about the documents before they were proven to be false. This begs the question...just how did Cannistraro know about the documents before they were vetted? Sounds a whole lot like Wilson's slip-up about seeing the documents.

Also take into consideration:

Wilson (as Ambassador to Gabon) had/has connections to the Gabon Chief of State, Omar Bongo, who was the chief African ally of the French oil company TotalFinaElf, a major beneficiary of the Oil-for-Food bribes. Prior to the Iraq War, they had a contract with Saddam's regime worth an estimated 12.5 to 27.0 billion barrels of oil reserves. Also he had connections via the Middle East Institute and Rock Creek, both of which are Saudi controlled.

Wilson's wife Jacqueline was also apparently a lobbyist for Bongo and it seems Wilson was pretty chummy with Saddam's weapons buyer, having dinner with him on the eve that Kuwait was invaded in 1990. That makes it very clear that there are connections to oil-for-food. No wonder Wilson can afford his lifestyle.

Source: Posts 21 and 22

[No Longer Free State]

I'm sure Matthews is drooling at the chance to get on the stand in public and spread his slime.

[Tarheel]

Yes, Fitzgerald has been reading the press releases on himself and is beginning to believe them! The press conference was interminable.

I personally found something very frightening about the man--what I cannot say, except the general feeling that he is someone with far too much power and enjoying that position.

[Dave S]

Excuse me, but do you send someone off to prison if you don't know what his motive was for "lying"? What did he have to gain? Was he protecting someone? Fitzgerald doesn't know the motive?

He doesnt have to know why he lied but if the person he said told him said he didnt and four other govenment officials including the VP say they did tell him that info and then he has discussions with six other government officials about Wilsons wife before Russert supposely told him that tidbit, it does look a little suspicious.

In plea negotiations he may try to get him to explain his motivation but all Fitz has to do now is show he consciously lied.

[staytrue]

Where do i send dollars for the "Scooter Defense Fund?"

I was think the same thing about tom delay.

[eddiemunster]

Excellent post, Billybob. I heard the entire thing on audio. The guy is on the ultimate fishing trip plus he sounded like he was on the verge of getting a chubby. I've heard several times he's a straight-shooter, but he sounded more like an overeager DNC lapdog.

[Decepticon]

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..

IMHO, he doesn't hit me as a "media hound", and his "good looks" do not help him in the circus of the "12 second sound bite generation". If Libby lied to a grand jury that's a crime, the Plame outing is balogna......

[staytrue]

Perjury prosecutions. Never saw one in my entire career.

Ok, but I think it is time to start. And let's start with Bill and Hill. Then lets do this to everyone in Washington.

[gusopol3]

well, if the press leak this summer was reliable, we are still expecting about 21 indictments.

[megatherium]

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.

You've got it. This is very grave. This still could go beyond Libby, too.

[gusopol3]

use the Josh Steiner defense..lie to your diary, then quote it and say it must have been a lie.

[Mini-14]

I saw the press conference and think you are completely off the mark. I received the impression that Fitzgerald is a straight shooter who stayed straight on message.

I can certainly understand how Bushobots would be upset that one of the individuals seems to have been caught red handed.

[Decepticon]

“Look out over the audience and picture them sitting on toilet seats.”

Thank you FRiend, public speaking has never been one of my strong points. I'll try it the next time.....

[Berlin_Freeper]

Fitzgerald came across to me as showing signs of mental distress. He probably has serious issues because his father was a doorman and I heard that doorman in New York are nothing more than anal whores who get called-up on the telecom to report to a certain apartment to preform sexual services for money.

How else does a doorman afford to send his kid to exclusive private schooling. I have no solid proof this is the case here but my father was a printer and I could not afford to go to a private High School. I had to get a government loan just to go to community college, and I paid it back.

[montag813]

The markets didn't seem too concerned about his charges...

[maggief]

"The zit on my forehead is now this big."

[Dave S]

if thats all he has- Libby gets off for sure

What is it that you think that Fitgerald has? On just one charge he's got Libby saying Russert and a bunch of other reporters told about Wilsons wife. Russert said they didnt even discuss Wilson much less his wife and that he didnt know she worked for the agency. Same for the other reporters. Also he's got four government officials including Cheney and an assistant secretary of state that indicate that they told Libby about Wilson and his wife prior to the supposed conversation with Russert. Also prior to the Russert discussion, he was in discussions with six other government officials about Wilson and his wife. Pretty hard to say this is just bad memory. If his memory is this bad I doubt he could hold his job.