Posted on 12/06/2005 10:28:41 AM PST by freedomdefender
Though Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., hammered indicted ex-Cheney aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, saying his alleged lying to a grand jury was "simply reprehensible," connections exist between the senator's husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the central figure in the CIA-leak probe via Marc Rich, the man who received an 11th-hour pardon from Clinton and who was represented by attorney Libby.
The Concord, N.H., Monitor points out Libby represented Rich during the '80s and '90s. Rich was the target of a 65-count indictment for various crimes, including trading with Iran amid the American hostage crisis and tax evasion. He was convicted in absentia on 51 counts. Libby reportedly collected $2 million in fees from Rich during the time he represented the financier, who fled the country rather than face the charges.
Around the time of Clinton's 2001 pardon of Rich, his wife, Denise, donated more than $1 million to Democratic causes, including $70,000 to Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign and $450,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
While Libby denied having any involvement in the pardon, the Monitor reported, he did call Rich Jan 22, 2001, to congratulate him on his good fortune.
"Libby's powerful presence inside the White House – his title was assistant to George W. Bush as well as chief of staff to Cheney – might help explain why the incoming Bush administration failed to pursue obvious threads of corruption trailing out of President Clinton's pardon of Rich and other dubious figures," the paper conjectured.
Some see Hillary Clinton's denouncement of Libby as more than ironic, since Independent Counsel Robert Ray accused her of giving false testimony during his probe of the White House travel office. In addition, her husband was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives based in part on a plea bargain deal he made with Ray that included the admission he gave false testimony under oath to a federal grand jury about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Libby supporters announced formation of the "Libby Legal Defense Trust" to raise money. Among those signing on to help are: former Clinton administration
CIA Director James Woolsey, former Republican Sens. Fred Thompson and Alan Simpson, and former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.
The versimilitude is so precious isn't it?
Clinton's CIA director is to help Libby who lied about a CIA operative.
Wonder who thought up that little gem.
Wait. There's more.
Ol' Scooter Libby was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award and the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award in 1993....... from the Clinton Administration.
Libby's spouse is Harriet Grant, a Democrat, who was General Counsel to the Judiciary Committee when it was chaired by Joe Biden (when Dems were in the majority). Mrs Libby was probably part of the Democrat attack machine that slimed Clarence Thomas during his nomination hearings. The Libby's dinnertime conversation must have been interesting.
It's not at all reassuring to authentic conservatives that Libby and spouse were hostile to the social conservative agenda, while Libby was holding power in a conservative admin.
Libby held three titles in the Bush admin: (1) Cheney's chief of staff, (2) national security adviser to the vice president, and (3) assistant to President George W. Bush -- a sign of Libby's broad influence.
thanks. I forgot about the Biden connection. How did this guy get into the Bush Administration?? Mind-boggling.
Looks like, in some circles, Libby's connections especially to Marc Rich gave him the Washington bona fides and entree, enhanced his job prospects, made Libby Most Likely to Succeed and largely immune to criticism.
Libby held three titles in the Bush admin: (1) VP chief of staff, (2) national security adviser to the VP, and (3) assistant to GWB -- a sign of Libby's broad influence, and was apparently the go-to guy as VP Cheney's top aide, in shaping admin policies.
A "specialist in national security," Libby had logged long hours in his office near the West Wing of the White House, steeping himself in subjects ike "counterterrorism, bioweapons defense and energy policy."
Mr and Mrs Libby's dinnertime conversation with guests must have been interesting.
ROTFL! I thought lying to a grand jury was okay with the Clintons!
"I thought lying to a grand jury was okay with the Clintons!"
Lying to the entire country is okay with the Clintons.
I agree with you that representing Rich doesn't mean that Libby is some kind of criminal himself.
Congratulating Rich was ill-advised and doesn't say much for Libby, but this article makes a bit of a stretch in equating that with Libby being "connected" to Hillary. It would be a "connection" if they all belonged to some specific social group in a significant way (such as being officers or something like that), or if they had a common financial interest or were mutually involved in a specific financial exchange, or something to that effect. But the only connection mentioned in this article is the phone. I see this as raising questions about Libby's character, but not as evidence of a connection to Hillary.
You're right, it doesn't make Libby a criminal. Mob lawyers aren't criminals, they're lawyers who represent scum. Libby is such a lawyer, he had a right to represent a traitor (Rich), but he shouldn't have been in the Bush administration. Just as mob lawyers shouldn't be in the Bush administration.
Talk about understatement of the year. It should have disqualified Libby from any post in the Bush administration.
You can say the same thing about a lawyer for the Mafia. Even the Mafia deserve lawyers. But mob lawyers shouldn't have a role in a Republican administration. And the lawyer for a traitor - Rich, who traded with Iran when they held US hostages - doesn't belong in a Bush administration., If Bush and Cheney had understood this, they could have saved themselves a lot of grief. Libby's alleged lying to the FBI and to the Grand Jury is a Clintonian exercise - something that has embarrassed BUsh and Cheney. They never should have hired this creep, LEt the Democrats hire Marc Rich's cronies. republicans should keep their distance from traitors and from traitors' lawyers.
Who is supporting him?
IT was wrong when CLintonites did it. And it was wrong if, as the federal prosecutor claims, Libby did it. Libby is a creep who belonged in the Clinton administration (Where he worked, by the way), and not in a Republican administration
bump
Libby supported Rich. He was his lawyer, and he congratulated Rich when Clinton corruptly pardoned him. If that isn't support, then the word has no meaning.
BS. Utter tripe.
WND sucks.
He most certainly did not; grow up; Libby was his lawyer.
Gawd, you are easily led, aren't you?
Libby also went before Rep Burton's committee to offer support for Rich. Libby's testamony took the wind out of the Republicans' efforts to investigate the corruption behind the pardon. At the time, many conservative commentators, including Byron York in National Review, castigated Libby, saying that he'd done the GOP great harm by sticking up for Rich. That's what I call "support" for Marc Rich. Libby - who worked in the Clinton Administration - disqualified himself for a job with Bush and Cheney when he spoke out in defense of traitor Marc Rich.
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