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 think Fitz found himself in Ronnie Earle territory, with a grand jury winding down and nothing to charge....like Earle, he was convinced that there was wrongdoing somewhere, but he doesn't have the law on his side to prosecute that wrongdoing. He obviously made a last ditch attempt to get an indictment on the leak law - this is why he had people interviewing Wilson's neighbors this week, to try to prove to the GJ that Plame was covert under the law. But the GJ didn't buy it. Now he has nothing except some "he said-she said" perjury claims on Libby. This press conference was a total CYA to try and salvage his reputation and keep the press from losing interest.
That does NOT look like a confident man. I missed the entire press conference due to family considerations, but from what I have read here at FR, I cannot believe that this is the guy that thinks he can take on Chicago's City Hall. We shall see. Did anyone get the impression from Fitzgerald that he was expanding the investigation to a possible (probable, in my book) CIA conspiracy? From what I've read, he seems to be buying the "Plame was outed" BS.
Yes, it had been extended. And the six month extension was up today.
Aandy Warhole made a comment about people... 15 minutes is ticking...
I think Hillarhea has his FBI file........
Fitz has to convince a judge to convene a new grand jury now. We'll see if he can. Meanwhile, Libby can tie him in knots by demanding a speedy trial.
I think that Fitz thinks he has all he needs to do is put big time pressure on "Scooter" and he will cave and strike a plea deal to give up Rove or higher up.
I just hope Libby has the cajones of Liddy.
I also listened to it. Did you notice his voice sounds exactly like Louis Freeh?
Well, Ill stand up and take the arrows. I thought Fitz's press conference spelled things out fairly well. If Libby did what was alleged, he's in big trouble. You'd think we would have learned by now not to lie to Mr. Prosecutor. DOH!
Reading between the lines in his news conference, I believe releasing Plame's name was not a crime, as Libby (allegedly) did it and was not charged for it. So much for Valerie Plame, 007. So all Mr. Libby had to tell the GJ was "Yup, it was me. I told the reporters about Ms Plame to explain how a self-promoting Bush hater got a plum assignment to Africa", and he would have gone Scott free. Try the truth next time.
I'm saddened to see you guys attacking the prosecutor. We’re better than that.
OK fire away!
God save us from special prosecutors.
For the record, if she was an "undercover operative" I would say thorw Libby in jial for the duration if he "outed" her.
"...I have another job. He has another job. We all have other jobs"
Essentially, saying > "hey look, man, this is a part-time job for me. If I got this one wrong, it's not the only thing I do"
What a time to give a news conference with a big old zit between your eyebrows.
it sounds like he can just take anything else before any gj already meeting, doesn't need a whole new one to be impaneled. However, also sounds like he doesn't expect that to happen.
Here's what I don't understand. Everyone says that they don't know if Plame was a covert agent. I mean, really. HOW HARD WOULD IT BE TO FIND OUT. If the POTUS called the CIA, can't he find out if she was a covert agent during that time. Why doesn't anyone ask that question. HOW HARD IS IT?
His voice sounds exactly like Louis Freeh?
I did not notice that.
But maybe I should have. The "sound" of his voice was about the only thing I could hear. His "words" made very little sense of where he is coming from.
Who hired this dimwit?
Was Valerie Plame "outed" as a covert agent?
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