CIA Leak Probe Relatively Inexpensive

WashPost ^ | 9-27-06 | Carol Leonnig

[STARWISE]

Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who investigated whether senior Bush administration officials illegally leaked the name of a CIA operative for political payback, has spent $1.4 million in his probe over the past three years, his office reported yesterday -- a figure that establishes him as remarkably frugal in the ranks of recent special investigators.

Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr's investigations of President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica S. Lewinsky and his ties to the failed Whitewater land investment cost $71.5 million and took eight years. Independent Counsel David M. Barrett's examination of Clinton housing secretary Henry G. Cisneros over an extramarital affair and potential illegal payments cost $21 million and lasted 10 years.

Nevertheless, some are already arguing about whether the parsimonious prosecutor's expenditures in the Valerie Plame case were worth the results.

Fitzgerald's probe roiled the White House, laid bare an Oval Office intent on squelching a critic of the Iraq war and forced reporters to do the unthinkable -- name their confidential sources. Though Fitzgerald debated for months whether to charge Bush Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove with a crime, the investigation eventually led to no charges of a criminal leak.

[STARWISE]

Nevertheless, some are already arguing about whether the parsimonious prosecutor's expenditures in the Valerie Plame case were worth the results.

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I'd rather he'd spend more and do a real search for the whole truth.

[STARWISE]

PING~!

[scott7278]

I'd rather he'd spend more and do a real search for the whole truth.

Yes, one that doesn't involve a perjury trap for a party not even related to the investigation.

[jwparkerjr]

There is absolutely no comparison between the two cases! I won't bore the reader with a laundry list of the those differences, but the simply in no comparison.

[seasoned traditionalist]

Gee, wonder if we threw him another couple hundred grand, if we could get him to lookisee at who was responsible for divulging the NSA wiretap info as well as the latest NIE leaks?

I'll chip in $2.00.

[A CA Guy]

It was really over day two when he found out who did it.

The rest of the time seems to have been spent getting innocent people to fall for a technical perjury rap.

[Lancey Howard]

The Washington Post got the headline "right" - - they know how to take a cue over at that place.

Fitz wants to drop this case like a hot potato and he's laying the groundwork: "Well, even though we have decided to drop the case (out of national security concerns, don't you know) we are happy to report that it didn't cost the taxpayers very much, relatively speaking." (Notice how the WashPost dutifully reports the costs of the investigations into the Clinton Administration?

Yeah, this case is about to be dropped. And if I was Libby I would immediately sue every-freakin-body.

[STARWISE]

I sure hope so .. pre or post election?

[Hannibal Hamlin]

What a moronic article.

Fitzgerald is a Special Prosecutor. He operates within the Department of Justice and uses his existing staff as the US Attorney of Chicago to run this case.

Starr was an Independent Counsel. He was completely separate from the Department of Justice, and had to fund his office from the ground up. Office space. Attorneys. Secretaries. Investigators. Etc.

[Gil4]

He might have been able to spend more time/money if there was actually any evidence or wrong-doing. With what he had, I'd say he milked it pretty well.

[Tall_Texan]

CIA Leak Probe Relatively Inexpensive

..ignoring for the moment that it was a fraud based on a fraud.

[AmeriBrit]

Have you seen this?


Libby is due in court Wednesday for the first of what could be several closed-door hearings over whether he can use President Bush's daily terrorism briefings and other classified documents as evidence. He wants to show jurors that he didn't lie to authorities _ he just didn't remember because he had more weighty issues on his mind.

Prosecutors have said Libby is trying to sabotage the case by requesting so much classified information that the government will be forced to withhold it and let the case be dismissed. It's a legal tactic known as "graymail."

[unspun]

$71.5 can buy alot of flack jackets, or shore up the armor on many Hummers, or help to pay down the national debt, or ...be spent at the discretion of its owner, the taxpayer.

[AmeriBrit]

I have a question I'd like to ask all those DC big-wigs.

Why does it always cost so much more to prosecute democRATs than it does Republican's?

The only reasonable answer I can come up with is because the lies slide off democRATs lips so easily you can never tell when they're telling the truth and when they aren't.

[Loyal Buckeye]

The WaPo is full of it, unless they mean $1.4 mil. (and growing) is a bargain when trying to discredit the Bush Administration.

[OldFriend]

The bias in this article is simply dripping over every single word.

To these traitors, the roiling of the White House while there are those who would incinerate all, is the most important factor in this non case.

[ricks_place]

Administration Cooperation = Low Cost Plame Investigation

Administration Stonewalling = High Cost Whitewater Investigation

[DustyMoment]

I strongly doubt the figure cited. $1.4 million is barely enough to get a court room opened in Wash. DC for one day.

This is a WaPo story - it's NOT gospel!!

[RedRover]

...laid bare an Oval Office intent on squelching a critic of the Iraq war...

No, it didn't. The Libs can repeat this all they want, but it won't make it true.

[mewzilla]

CIA Leak Probe Relatively Inexpensive

A good reputation is priceless.