What Scooter Libby And I Talked About

TIME Magazine ^ | 10/30/05 | Matt Cooper

[SE Mom]

I was wet, smelling of chlorine. It was July 12, 2003, in Washington, a beautiful summer day, and I had just come back from swimming. All morning I had been trying to reach I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby for a cover story about both President George W. Bush's claim that Iraq had sought uranium in Africa and former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's controversial Op-Ed.

[Dolphy]

I think he was just hoping he could get away with it and then keep his job as the VP's chief of staff. He probably would have been fired for leaking classified information if he testified to that fact.

So you think Libby would hitch his fate to Russert or Cooper? I don't think so, from all reports he's too smart to make such a fatal mistake. And would either Cooper or Russert's statements hold up if not for Miller's testimony? Which brings me back to the question...how is it that Judith Miller, who was never publicly connected to this story at the time, came to be subpoenaed?

[mikegi]

Fitz obviously went with door number 2. The potential problem with that is that full Libby testimony to the GJ and FBI may show that libby admits to having insider info as well.

Yes, I'm sure his lawyers will bring in the context of his statements to the GJ (which we don't have). We only get to see the damning part in the indictment, not the exculpatory part. I think that 90+% of the indictment is bogus and should be slapped down quickly. Strangely enough, I think that his consistency to the FBI and GJ may work in his favor. Otherwise, why would he lie about something that the GJ would know about independently (that he heard from VP and CIA that Plame worked at the CIA)? Basically, if I was his lawyer, I'd say Libby was referring to the "act" he was putting on to the reporters, not what he really knew.

[small voice in the wilderness]

I was putting the final touches on my Triscuit Appetizer board, cutting the cheese with my well-known flair, when the kitchen filled with the familiar smell I had come to recognize: Trouble. The waft was undeniable and thick. It was going to be a big one this time. I knew when the phone rang that my nose had once again picked up on the scent of danger and fear running uncontrollably. It was Libby..

[woofie]

This is the heart of the case:

"I had a tuna sandwich"

[bray]

"Yeah, I've heard that too."

You can do 10 years for that??? This is 1/3 of his case!! Something is missing if you can be convicted for this about a crime that is not even a crime.

Courtesy phone for Mr Novak, Courtesy phone for Mr Novak...

Pray for W and Our Troops

[lastchance]

Perhaps someone can refresh my memory. But wasn't there a friend of court brief filed by several newspapers when J. Miller was arrested that claimed she had done nothing wrong because V. Plame's identity was already known and that Plame was not a covert agent of the CIA?

[Sacajaweau]

The question is: Why did Cooper call Libby AT ALL and slip the Wilson tidbit in at the end? Why did he call Rove THE DAY BEFORE using the same MO?

Cooper called Rove on the 11th and SUPPOSEDLY Novak's article was on the wire BEFORE Cooper called. But why did Cooper go through the White House switchboard when he called Rove?? The call had to be transferred and it was not logged in (time stamped) because of Cooper's clever little telephone system maneuver.

So we don't know WITH ABSOLUE CERTAINTY (or do we) what the relationship is/was between when Novak's article hit the wire and Cooper's call.

But why wasn't a call to Rove enough?? Why did he even call Libby the next day? Did Rove say to Libby "I got a call from Cooper asking about Wilson and Valerie" at some point in time before Cooper called Libby? If so, Libby had every right to say "Yeh, I heard that, too but did not say and you were the source".

The object was to involve BOTH Rove and Libby. Fitz would sort it out? Well, bullshit. From what Fitz said yesterday, he couldn't figure it out. Well, if he couldn't figure it out, how come 12 people said they figured it out by "agreeing with Fitz".

Almost sounds like Jane Bond wrote the script with a little help from Mandy, Cooper's wife.

[woofie]

This is as silly as it gets...Libby assumes he is not saying anything confidential by agreeing with a reporter.
The SP is assuming that it is confidential material...

The up shot of this is no one in Washington should ever talk to a reporter

[ironman]

" Libby told investigtaors that at the time, July 12, he (Libby) did not know that Plame worked for the CIA"

Can you state the parapraph in the indictment where he claims this? Only in count 4 do we have quotes from Libby. He states: I thought this is something that he was telling me that I was first learning.

The way I read it is: I thought "this is something that he was telling me that I was first learning".

He wanted Russert to belive that, so he put that thought into his mind.

Much like a marathoner will say to himself "I feel good" eventhough he might be feeling really bad.

[Cboldt]

" Libby told investigtaors that at the time, July 12, he (Libby) did not know that Plame worked for the CIA"

Can you state the parapraph in the indictment where he [Fitzgerald] claims this?

26, Libby stated to investigators that while he was speaking to Russert on July 10 or 11, Libby did not recall that he had previously learned about Wilson's wife's employment.

26, Libby stated to investigators that while he was speaking to Cooper on July 12, that Libby didn't know if it was true that Plame worked for the CIA.

33(a)(ii)

[ArmstedFragg]

The thing that gets me about the whole covert question is just the practical aspect. The concept of keeping the relationship of the individual with the government secret is so that they can travel without suspicion and informants can contact them without drawing suspicion to themselves. So... 'covert' or not, who the heck would think that it'd be okay to talk to the flippin' ambassador's wife because she couldn't possibly be involved with the American government? That assumes a level of ineptness among foreign counter-intelligence people that even the CIA would be embarassed by

In any practical sense, her cover was blown when he was appointed ambassador.

[Ghengis]

I was sitting on the toilet, straining. Thinking happy thoughts of happy smells.

I poured the last of the potato chips from the bag into my mouth. The phone rang. My hands were greasy so I wiped them on my shirt. I picked up the phone. It was Libby.

Scooter had some hot information. I looked around the counter for a pen. None there! I grabbed a half melted Hershey bar and scrawled his message on a paper plate stained with barbecue sauce from the last night's ribs.

Scooter was talking CIA, yellowcake, Niger WMDs and covert agents. WMDs? I recalled my recent trip to the john and cursed myself for not refilling my plug-in Glad air freshener. It was Tuesday and the housekeeper would be over in 10 minutes.

[Repub4bush]

I was wet, smelling of chlorine. It was July 12, 2003, in Washington, a beautiful summer day, and I had just come back from swimming.....

Skip, Tad and I had been swimming laps and playing water polo, while Buffy and Muffin were in the corner of the pool discussing the latest European Fashions with Mandy.

Muffin was mad at the waiter for giving her a Bellini made with frozen,(not fresh ) peaches! This caused a huge brouhaha and everyone's afternoon was ruined!

It is seared, seared in my brain...

[Mike Darancette]

It was July 12, 2003, in Washington, a beautiful summer day, and I had just come back from swimming. All morning I had been trying to reach I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby for a cover story

According to Fitzgerald seems like Cooper was that last to know.

What did Libby and rove talk about?

[bray]

The up shot of this is no one in Washington should ever talk to a reporter

See, we knew some good would come of this! When your a Republican, you speak the truth.

Pray for W and Our Troops

[doesnt suffer fools gladly]

LMAO!

[gondramB]

"I think the point most liberal people do not consider who are happy about the Libby indictment is that it could not have happened had Libby not granted waivers to everyone he spoke with."

well, if Libby had not signed the blanket release that everybody in the White House was asked to sign then that would have focused attention on him right away.

[ironman]

"Can you state the paragraph in the indictment where he [Fitzgerald] claims this?"

You made my point by having to put [Fitzgerald] in brackets. Where's the quote from Libby himself? In his GJ testimony he is recalling what he "thought". Is Fitzgerald a mind reader? Maybe Libby did really think and say to himself "I've never heard of Valerie Plame" because that what he wanted Russert to believe.

Now there are the other issues as to conflicts with Russert whether they talked re Plame at all.

[SE Mom]

I swear- it's RIGHT out of The Preppy Handbook:)

[HawaiianGecko]

	Eventually I raced home without showering in order to take Libby's call. When he finally reached me at around 3 p.m., we spoke for a few minutes as I sprawled on my bed. That's the line that caught my attention and made me ask if he really needed to write this in the manner of a Harlequin romance novel for me to understand the story.

!