New Questions About Inquiry in C.I.A. Leak

The New York Times ^ | September 2, 2006 | By DAVID JOHNSTON

[rightgrafix]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 — An enduring mystery of the C.I.A. leak case has been solved in recent days, but with a new twist: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, knew the identity of the leaker from his very first day in the special counsel’s chair, but kept the inquiry open for nearly two more years before indicting I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, on obstruction charges.

Now, the question of whether Mr. Fitzgerald properly exercised his prosecutorial discretion in continuing to pursue possible wrongdoing in the case has become the subject of rich debate on editorial pages and in legal and political circles.

Richard L. Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state, first told the authorities in October 2003 that he had been the primary source for the July 14, 2003, column by Robert D. Novak that identified Valerie Wilson as a C.I.A. operative and set off the leak investigation.

[sportutegrl]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2807994

[bert]

.....and all that accomplished was Judith Miller getting away with a crime herself.......

Which I interpret to mean...... she is being shielded from on high for reasons not apparent.

[Prodn2000]

I don't think Armitage was Miller's source. Scooter Libby was Miller's source. Remember the strange letter he sent her when she was in jail?

[Dolphy]

Thanks for the ping. For as long as I have followed this story I have believed, in varying degrees, that there was much more to it than I knew. The story the media decides to tell is as important as the story they ignore and run away from.

[Prodn2000]

Does he get any more money for this investigation than her currently gets as the Assistant US Attorney for Illinois?

[hosepipe]

[ Does he get any more money for this investigation than her currently gets as the Assistant US Attorney for Illinois? ]

Not any more than your average federal givernment "double dipping" of the treasury.. Its normal in Washington D.C. to double dip..

[Darkwolf377]

Wow, lame pickin's, huh? Their Conspiracy Creator 5000 must be broken this weekend.

[The Electrician]

the article I read said it "was rushed" to be released this week..although it didn't explain why

I may be hallucinating, but I seem to remember Drudge mentioning last week that the book was rushed out because the upcoming fall book release schedule has a lot of competition, and so they wanted to make their splash and sell a few books before the readers had more interesting stuff to choose from...

[DakotaRed]

Uh, had Powell and Armitage brought it out first how it happened and no malicious intent, there would have been no need to protect anyone. There would not have been the witch hunt by Fitzgerald and the calls of "vengeance" against Bush and his administration, which, by the way, has damaged the administration in the publics eyes.

POTUS was not protected, as you claim.

Powell kept a significant portion of what he knew to himself to cover his own butt and let Bush, Cheney, Rove and others take the heat for two years.

Worst of all, to me, he disagreed with Bush's policy on the WoT, which is his right. But, his silence lent credibility to Wilson's false claims of Saddam not seeking uranium in Africa by allowing the Democrats to paint a picture of the Bush White house seeking vengeance on Wilson, through his wife, for "exposing" Bush's "lies."

I agree with him stepping down, which if in disagreement, is the honorable thing to do. If he had legitimate reason to disagree, speak out, that's also honorable. Keeping silent about a canard you know to be false and allowing the administration to be painted as a vengeful group, when they are not, is dishonorable.

[Miss Marple]

That letter was brought up again in a thread about The Aspen Institute. (The strange line was "the aspens are turning...they turn in clusters because their roots are connected.." or something quite similar.) Powell was a member of that group...don't know if Armitage was. Cheney was for a while. Interesting coincidence, if not a veiled message.

Sometimes I am convinced there is a whole other level of stuff going on that we only catch glimpses of occasionally. I know it sounds tin-foilish, but good heavens, what a bunch of weird things going on!

[Huck]

OUR tax money has paid for this sham for 3 years...I want my money back..

Well, I understand your point, and I won't discourage you from contacting your crits and raising hell. I'll just say that when it comes to gubmint shams wasting our money, you could make a pretty long list at this stupid fitzmas would be pretty far down the list (soc. security, for example.) Personally, I thought that Monicagate was a waste of time and money as well. What the hell purpose did that serve? It started out having to do with a real estate deal, and ending up being about boinking interns. Not that I condone the behavior, but was THAT worth the time and money?

[Prodn2000]

I agree with you.

The aspens turning could mean a million different things. Even menopause.

[Txsleuth]

All of them have been shielded to an extent...and I just think that somehow Hillary is involved...

I don't even come close to thinking of myself as "conspiracy theorist"...BUT, I don't have any trouble thinking that since Bubba Clinton got into office...there has been so much "behind the scenes" stuff going on...and that there are so many "career employees" in the government...

that there are plenty of conduits for "pressure" to be put on certain people. Otherwise, how would at least 2 MAJOR Clintonistas get positions on the 9/11 Committee??

It will take someone much more clever that I am to put it all together...but if the book were ever written of the "Family tree" of any and all persons affected negatively by the Clintons since he became POTUS the first time...

I think the book would have to be lifted with a fork lift.

[Txsleuth]

That could be the reason..I don't know, sounds like an okay reason...but, I still wonder if someone else found out..and was getting ready to spill the beans first...LOL

[Txsleuth]

I believe Richard Armitage is a member of the Aspen Institute...and I think that Cheney is only an "honorary" type member or something.

I may be misremembering the list I saw on that thread...but that is what I remember at this moment.

[Txsleuth]

Good points....I am just venting...it seems like there are a lot of things to vent about lately, eh?

[ChadGore]

I think the investigation should be on Joe Wilson. He's the biggest liar in this whole thing.

[bert]

......and I just think that somehow Hillary is involved... .

Interesting. I didn't consider Hillary in this context.

I was thinking that the administration for reasons unknown was doing the shielding. I consider the possibility that she is pperforming some secret service as a reporter.

I am a dedicated conspiracy theorist and automatically put one in place. That is what drew me to this place. here are tons of us. :)

[captnorb]

I would like to think the people sitting on the grand jury that indited Libby should be proud of their their decision and pleased that the prosecutor was so aggressive.

[Stultis]

I'm still wondering about the motivation of Korn and Isikoff for writing this book and outing Armitage. They are both partisan gunslingers so what do they have to gain for the democrats?

PURE speculation on my part, but...

Suppose they know the identity of the NSA surveillance leaker. Suppose this is a high Dim who will have to be defended at all cost. Suppose they know that the DOJ is closing in on said leaker. If so then the Plame affair, in which the Dims (however hypocritically) took an ANTI-leaker stance, must be shoved down the memory hole with all possible haste and discretion so the forces of darkness can more readily come about and adopt a PRO-leaker stance.

ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION: The prospect that Armitage's identity as the Plame leaker might come out was becoming too likely. It might be exposed by forces unfavorable to the Dims, and might be brought out too close to the November elections. Better to bring it out now, and hope that (with the help of the MSM) it will be forgotten by November.