Fitzgerald: Was Any Damage Done By the Valerie Wilson Leak? I Don’t Know.

NRO ^ | Byron York

[hipaatwo]

Have at it. Have to post and run.

[hipaatwo]

FYI

[txhurl]

'destroyed evidence' is all we'll hear for the next 6 weeks.

[massgopguy]

Judge: Okay Mr. Fitzgerald please state your case
Fitz: Your honor I have these threads from Democratic Underground and clippings from the New York Times that started them or vice versa. I don't know.
Judge: Mr. Fitgerald I sentence you to be Scooter Libby's butler.

[colorado tanker]

On the question of Wilson's status, Fitzgerald wrote, "We have neither sought, much less obtained, 'all documents, regardless of when created, relating to whether Valerie Wilson's status as a CIA employee, or any aspect of that status, was classified at any time between May 6, 2003 and July 14, 2003.'"

Does that mean Fitz never investigated whether there was an IIPA violation, the job he was hired to do in the first place???

[E. Pluribus Unum]

In any event, Fitzgerald argued, "we would not view an assessment of the damaged caused by the disclosure as relevant to the issue of whether or not Mr. Libby intentionally lied when he made the statements and gave the grand jury testimony that the grand jury alleged was false."

At least Mr. Fitzgerald is admitting that the purpose of of his inquisition was not to find the truth, but to manufacture prosecutable crimes.

[advance_copy]

Does that mean Fitz never investigated whether there was an IIPA violation, the job he was hired to do in the first place???

Yep. And that is seriously irresponsible.

[AmericaUnited]

Anal Fitzgerald is getting caught with his pants down. He shows his true hand by not going after Wilson and Plame also.

[Peach]

Bump for later read

[weegee]

Can I borrow him?
No!
Why not?
Because he's my butler. < /laffs >

[CharlesWayneCT]

I thought that one aspect of a purjury charge was that the lie had to be material to the investigation.

If there is evidence that no crime existed, wouldn't that at least raise a legitimate inquiry of fact about whether the perjury was material?

Further, wouldn't proof that no law had been violated raise a legitimate jury issue about whether Libby had a reason to purposely mislead investigators, another hurdle of perjury and the false statements charge?

In other words, even though he was not charged with violating a statute, his statements that he didn't purposely lie and had no reason to do so would be bolstered if there was proof that there was no violation of law, and therefore no reason to lie.

[wildcatf4f3]

drop the charges now Pat before you and your career are ruined. Nuncle grab not a great wheel as it rolls downhill.

[Robe]

I'm just the average Joe , so bear with me.....
If no crime has been committed then how can he be charged with "obstruction of justice".
"Justice" implies (at least to me)punishment for the commission of a crime or the vindication from the initial charge

To me (yep I know)any sane judge should throw this case out the window

[popdonnelly]

In terms of significance to the society at large, I would rate this case as less important than the average DUI. But it's a lot more fun to watch.

[talleyman]

Attempted murder is a crime. Outing Valerie apparently was not a crime. That's the distinction, IMHO.

[dblshot]

Fitz:Mr Libby Lied.
Libby's lawyer:About what?
Fitz:About who said Valeria Flame was a covert agent first.
Libby's lawyer: Was she a covert agent?
Fitz: I don't know it's not germane.
Libby's lawyer:If it's not germane what did Mr. Libby lie about that is germane to this case?
Fitz: About who said she was a covert agent first.
Libby's lawyer: Was she?
Fitz:It's not germane.
Libby's lawyer: But Mr Libby lied about something not germane to this case?
Fitz:Yes.
Libby's lawyer: Did Mr. Libby lie about something germane to this case?
Fitz: That's what I'm saying.
Libby's lawyer: Saying what that is germane?
Fitz: That's right, germane.
Libby's lawyer: To this case.
Fitz: Yes.
Libby's lawyer: What.
Fitz: No, What's on second.

[Let's Roll]

Earth to Fitzgerald, we know damage was done by traitors leaking NSA procedures ... uh, think you could look into that?

sound of crickets

[FlipWilson]

Good question. A prosecutor conducts an investigation to (theoretically) determine whether a crime has be committed or not. If Libby mislead the prosecutor, destroyed evidence or liee, he could face perjury or obstruction of justice charges even if it turns out at the end of the investigation that no crime has been committed. Ahh, but therein lies the rub, the prosecutor has to (theoretically) at least be investigating an underlying crime. In this case, it appears that Libby's lawyers are trying to show that Fitz never so much as engaged in such activity. Hence, charging Libby with perjury and obstruction amounts to entrapment.

Fitz claimed, during his now famous presser, that Libby mislead him such that he could not determine if a crime had been committed. But, as many of us suspected, Fitz never asked a basic question, namely, was Plame really undercover? If not, then what crime was Fitz's investigation based upon?