Marcy Wheeler
Posted on 01/23/2007 10:30:54 AM PST by Incorrigible
By ART AISNER
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When Assistant U.S. Attorney General Patrick Fitzgerald delivers opening arguments in the perjury trial of former White House staffer I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, Internet users will be able to read about it as it's happening.
Many segments of the blogosphere will be reading Marcy Wheeler's take on the action.
Wheeler, a business consultant from Ann Arbor, is one of a handful of bloggers to receive press credentials for the trial emanating from the CIA leak scandal that reached the upper echelon of President Bush's administration and put some of the most reputable names in journalism under scrutiny.
Known in reporting circles and in cyberspace as one of the top researchers and commentators on the scandal by her pseudonym, emptywheel, Wheeler will be relaying the legal play-by-play from the press room alongside some 100 credentialed journalists. The trial marks the first time that bloggers have received the same credentials as print and broadcast journalists at the federal courthouse in Washington.
It may seem like strange surroundings for an independent contractor who left academia to design training programs used by American automakers overseas. But there are fewer subjects Wheeler knows more about than the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame and the political circumstances surrounding it.
For the better part of two years, Wheeler has immersed herself in case filings, government reports and interview transcripts, filling the office of her Ann Arbor home with overflowing stacks of paperwork and 11 thick binders.
Her fascination with the case began out of frustration with the media that she says were first exploited by elected leaders to sell the public on the need to invade Iraq in 2003, then bullied once arguments about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorists rang hollow.
Those beliefs, along with the administration's willingness to use discredited intelligence to justify the war, are prevailing themes in her new book, ``Anatomy of Deceit.''
Wheeler completed the 146-page book, which evolved from several years of her blog posts, in November. It is a meticulously footnoted study of the three-year-long investigation into how Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, allegedly lied to a grand jury about several discussions he had with reporters about Plame's identity in July 2003.
The grand jury was probing whether Libby leaked Plame's name after her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, criticized the Bush administration's prewar intelligence in a New York Times op-ed piece.
Aside from the intrigue and hype, the case strikes at the heart of America's ability to sustain its democracy, Wheeler said. Government officials were blatantly willing to use the press to achieve their goals, she said, and reporters appeared to acquiesce to maintain access to powerful people.
``The case captures the question of honesty within the administration and the question of complicity within the D.C. press corps leading up to the invasion of Iraq,'' she said. ``That's one of reasons why this case lit a fire under people, because it captures those elements in one.''
Libby's attorneys contend no one in the White House sought retaliation against Wilson and that Libby misspoke to investigators because he was preoccupied by other national security matters.
They've also indicated in court filings that Libby was loyal and duty-bound to protect the president and vice president.
``There will be an Ollie North side to his defense, where he didn't do it out of corrupt intent, but did it because he was a good soldier working for the vice president,'' she said, referring to the Marine at the center of the Reagan administration's Iran-contra scandal. ``But you have to ask, why do we put up with that from people at the highest ranks of our government?''
Although the high-ranking government officials and media figures will provide the splash and drama of the trial, the true ``shock and awe'' will come with testimony of key White House aides, Wheeler predicts.
Wheeler, a New York state native who came to Ann Arbor for a Ph.D. in 1995,got her real first taste of political activism while campaigning for former presidential hopeful Howard Dean in 2004 and is a former vice chairwoman for the Washtenaw County Democratic Party.
(Art Aisner is a staff writer for The Ann Arbor (Mich.) News. He can be contacted at aaisner(at)annarbornews.com.)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
You may find the ramblings of the empty headed "emptywheel" here:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/contributoremptywheel/index.html
http://emptywheel.dailykos.com/
Bump
Lemme know when Wilson is called to the stand.
I was going to express sorry at the pathetic life of a person who would waste three years of their existance on something as meaningless as this.
But then I see she was able to sell a book out of it.
A former Howard Dean campaign worker has access to this trial???? AEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYAAAAAAAAHH!
A former Howard Dean campaign worker has access to this trial???? AEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYAAAAAAAAHH!
Must be one of those who GUARANTEED Carl Rove and Dick Cheney would be "frog-marched" after indictment.......
There you are! I was missing you!
I was missing you all, too. Kind of. :-)
Welcome back! I'm getting whip lash trying to keep up w/who leaked when and to whom. DC is an absolute sieve.
Announcing CIA Leak Investigation Book by Marcy Wheeler: We Need Your Help!
"Marcy Wheeler is one of the very best of the researchers investigating the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s identity as a covert CIA officer. Her work has been consistently on the mark and her conclusions almost always confirmed as facts dribble out. Hers will be the definitive study of what happened and why." – Ambassador Joseph Wilson
http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/09/06/announcing-cia-leak-investigation-book-by-marcy-wheeler-we-need-your-help/
Marcy Wheeler
Can somebody give me the Cliff Notes on what I have missed here? I thought I heard somebody say he was trying to blame the White House, is that right?
Deflecting the jury to their own biases against the Administration, this could be a ruse to garner sympathy for Libby as a victim. In the present climate, victimhood is w/in a DC jury's understanding embrace, you know.
YYYYyyyyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhhhh Baby.
Wheeler = KOSmanuat.
I doubt that we'll get anything unbiased, from this lunatic.
Are there any INTELLIGENT and HONEST bloggers accredited to live-blog the trial?? This "emptywheel" moron ("Empty Brain" would be a more apt pseudonym) has a lefty nutcase "book" out that regurgitates the usual drivel.....
Here is the description at Amazon:
Book Description
What happens when Washington, D.C. pundits and journalists run in the same social circles as the powerful people they cover? When the President and his administration trade press access for loyalty? You get a complicit, uncritical press greasing the skids to a brutal war, conspiring to out a CIA agent, and muddying the waters of a grand jury investigation. In the fearful aftermath of 9/11, much of America’s pride — its free press — became an unquestioning propaganda arm.
Marcy Wheeler’s Anatomy of Deceit documents how the media promoted the Bush administration’s justification for war — that Iraq was on the verge of acquiring weapons of mass destruction — even though much of it was debunked. And it provides a play-by-play account of how Vice President Dick Cheney’s office first used the media to target a critic, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, and then to avoid criminal charges in the CIA leak case.
While the media was beating the drums of war and cozying up to the administration, citizen journalists were digging for the truth. Wheeler's compelling account tells the story, as it needs to be told — from outside the Beltway's cocktail circuit.
About the Author
Marcy Wheeler blogs under the name "emptywheel" at the political blog The Next Hurrah. Her PhD and academic background — relating to citizen journalism at times of heavy propaganda — brings a unique perspective to her blogging and the CIA leak case. Several of her posts have scooped the mainstream media's coverage of the Plame Affair, including her coverage of Scooter Libby's NIE leaks. She is a self-employed business consultant based in Ann Arbor, MI.
I'm not a fan of Wheeler or her web site (emptywheel), but she is doing a fine job blogging the trial. As long as you stay out of the comment section on firedoglake, you will find her take quite interesting and accurate. Of course JOM is also liveblogging, but not every day (Clarice Feldman has a press pass and blogged one of the jury selection days). JOM has a running thread daily about the events which is also informative, and comments there are quite informative and enjoyable to read.
Headline from today: CIA Manager Testifies Sending Wilson Was Val’s Idea
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