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

[palmer]

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

How very Freudian. Got any dirt on his mother?

[AndyJackson]

it was a wholesale fabrication that went directly to who was the source of the original leak, which was at the heart of the investigation.

But, is the fact "material," i.e., having discovered this fact can Fitzgerald prove that a crime was committed when he could not before? The heart of the issue is whether or not Plame was outed, unlawfully.

[palmer]

Joe Wilson: "What They Did, What The Office Of The Vice President Did, And, In Fact, I Believe Now From Mr. Libby's Statement, It Was Probably The Vice President Himself ..." (CNN's "Late Edition," 8/3/03)

Use the rest of the material if you want, but at least leave that one butchered interrupted quote out of it. Wilson did NOT say on that show that Cheney sent him, he said the opposite.

[Decepticon]

No he did not sound vindictive or partisan. I think he came across as someone who was not going to walk away without getting a scalp to put in his trophy case.

Frankly, I agree. It would have seemed wasteful (in the tax payers eyes) if this man came up with nada....so he justifies his inquiry, his Grand Jury and his indictment...what else can he do?..."I spent two years investigating nothing"? Plamegate is Bologna, he knows it also, if Libby lied he needs to pay the piper....a court of law will decide that.....I believe Libby will walk.

[devolve]

  
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[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Fitz says he could have wound it up last October, as in before last November elections? I might just give Libby an A+ for loyalty to the president.

[JessieHelmsJr]

I haven't posted in awhile but heres my take on it.He was nervous as H*ll.Bet ya he didnt sleep alot last night.The pimple looked like he had been squeezing the heck out of it.(nervousness).There was so much build up by the media, plus all the time and the millions of $$$s .He had to produce something because of all the hype.This is all he could come up with .Which is a bunch of BS. I agree with what Rush said today on his show.Get a good lawyer like the one Ollie North had and Nuke this to h*ll and back!

[gusopol3]

I was kind of thinking the same thng, unless there's really nothing there without the perjury, which seems to be the case.

[jwalsh07]

Until today I thought the guy was a stright shooter. After reading the indictment I changed my mind. Did you read it?

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

I thinking people are missing the point when they somehow blame Fitzgerald for taking 22 months to conduct an investigation and then claim that he had to indict someone to justify the enormous length and expense of the investigation.

This entire investigation would have been completed in only several months were it NOT for the facts that:

- the DOJ guidelines that essentially require that an investigation be completed as to all non-journalists before one can even begin investigating evidence held by journalists, and even then the prosecutor must first try to negotiate in good faith with the journalists to try to reach agreement on the limited scope of his investigation of their evidence;

- the journalists litigated the issue all the up to the Supreme Court on the basis of what, IMO, is nearly a frivolous attempt to get new federal common law written granting them a reporters’ privilege; this consumed several months alone

- one journalist sat in jail for another three months, wasting everybody’s time.

Folks, months and months of this investigation are attributable to nothing other than the fact that reporters already have special status over ordinary citizens and were seeking in this case to be given even more special status in the law.

The main lesson for me in the investigation is that reporters should not in the first place be given special privileges over ordinary citizens.

[Rome2000]

This is going to blow up in Wilson and his fellow subversives faces.

These people are as deadly an enemy as the ragheads, undermining the war effort and the troops.

They will be totally exposed and destroyed.

[jwalsh07]

Libby's indictment

Haven't seen you around in a while, did you stop by to put me on the straight and narrow? (g)

[Mike Darancette]

So much for Valerie Plame, 007.

Ooooh no, Fitz's case is based on one fact, that no one outside the WH and CIA knew of Plame so Libby lied about being told of Plame by a reporter (Russert). Plame will have to be a sworn prosecution witness to that fact along with her husband, Russert, Miller, Cooper and all matter of other of Plame and Wilson's friends, neighbors acquaintances and co-workers.

Reporters will have to give up their sources. If they don't they will go to jail if that doesn't work the case will probably be dismissed.

I hope Libby moves for a change of venue out of DC, Northern Virginia would do.

[jwalsh07]

Now as a practical matter, IF facts developed early on demonstrated that there could have been no violation, I would want an explanation as to why the grand jury continued to call witnesses.

You are a sharp barrister, right to the heart of the matter.

[Southack]

"The reason Libby lied to the Grand Jury was to cover his closeness to the press."

The reason that Libby lied is the same as the reason for why liberal reporters were willing to risk going to jail to protect him: none of them, least of all Libby, wanted anyone else to know the identity of the White House leaker.

It was to the White House's advantage to cooperate with this investigation. They did, and the prosecutor bagged the guy who's been leaking our secrets to the press.

Now he's gone. Goodness, how will the left-wing news media get their inside scoop now?!

[demkicker]

Here's what I don't understand: Since Valerie Plame Wilson cannot be classified as a covert CIA agent, why did Fitzgerald drone about how horrible that her cover was blown? Was her status at the CIA considered "classified" and if so, did Libby know it?

I'd like Porter Goss to have an in-house investigation at the CIA to find out exactly when Plame's status became "classified" since her husband was busy telling eveyone who would listen that she worked at the CIA.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" Fitz says he could have wound it up last October, as in before last November elections? I might just give Libby an A+ for loyalty to the president."

The A should go to Judy Miller and Matthew Cooper for refusing to testify and litigating for months. Miller was first subpoenaed in August 2004.
Had she testified at the time, it would have all been wrapped up by then.
Imagine the Kerry campaign ads.
The NYT may be furious with Judy because they feel she cost Kerry the election.

[Davef]

Fitzgerald got a scholarship to Regis High School (it's a scholarship school by entrance exam)and then got a full ride to Amherst. I hope you enjoyed community college.

[gusopol3]

they still had al Quuaqa... one year ago today, wasn't it?

[TalBlack]

FitzMoron's almost breathless pontificating on The Importance of Law and Order in America seemed stunningly grotesque after two Clintion terms