Libby's Reply to the Appellate Court on Bond Pending Appeal

The American Thinker ^ | 6/27/07 | Clarice Feldman

[Laverne]

At the close of business today, Lewis Libby filed his response to the Fitzgerald response to his Application for Release Pending Appeal (and to the supplemental 30 page opinion Judge Walton entered after the bond hearing.

It is short and and easy to read. Let me tempt you to do so by setting forth the first paragraph, something that should be a model to all legal writers for its succinct and persuasive presentation of this argument:

"When a Special Counsel is directed to exercise the "plenary" authority of the Attorney General "independent of' anyone's "supervision or control"; is exempted from the "limit[s]" of 28 C.F.R. Part 600 (which include the duty to "comply" with DOJ "rules" and "policies"); is authorized to prosecute any violation he deems "related to" his original mandate; and discharges CIPA authority that Congress reserved only to the actual Attorney General and a narrow set of other high-level officers not including the Special Counsel or U.S. Attorneys, surely it is a "close" question whether he is a "principal" officer. Special Counsel Fitzgerald, backed by Judge Walton's .30-page post-hearing memorandum ("Mem"), contends otherwise, but does so unpersuasively. "

[Laverne]

Free Scooter latest filing.

[rickdylan]

I’ll say it again. George Bush is standing there bleeding in front of sharks on this one. If he does not pardon Libby and soon, he’s going to get impeached and republicans will be standing there laughing when it happens.

[Laverne]

Patience rickdylan.....Scooter probably does not want a pardon at this point, he wants to use the appeals court process to clear his name. If the appeals deny his bail request, President Bush will commute the sentence or issue a respite. If he fails on the overall appeals of the case, I’m certain President Bush will pardon him.

I don’t expect Scooter to stay one day in jail. At some point this injustice will be rectified.

Fitzy is another Niphong; Walton another Ito.

I’m certain that the appeals court will recognize that Scooter was not given a fair trial due to the overzealousness of Fitzy and the poor decisions by Judge Walton.

I don’t know when the hearing will be regarding this bail appeal, but I’m sure the folks over at JOM will be on top of it. Its the best site for all things Plame and/or Libby.

[STARWISE]

Scooter ~~ PING!

[Nomorjer Kinov]

There is no good reason for dems to impeach W. He is busy alienating the base of his own party - the last solid block of support he retained. His effectiveness as an opponent to democrats diminishes. Without popular support, the dems can happily watch Bush twist.

[rickdylan]

That’s what you and I would do; the rats aren’t rational like that.

[xeno]

With regard to Libby's complaint about Fitz's discharge of CIPA authority:

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION PROCEDURES ACT
Section 14
The functions and duties of the Attorney General under this Act may be exercised by the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, or by an Assistant Attorney General designated by the Attorney General for such purpose and may not be delegated to any other official.

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/laws/pl096456.htm

[grb]

I’ll say it again. George Bush is standing there bleeding in front of sharks on this one. If he does not pardon Libby and soon, he’s going to get impeached and republicans will be standing there laughing when it happens.

I disagree, we won't be laughing

[highball]

I’ll say it again. George Bush is standing there bleeding in front of sharks on this one. If he does not pardon Libby and soon, he’s going to get impeached and republicans will be standing there laughing when it happens.

I think Scooter talked himself right out of a pardon when he claimed in court that he had been set up by the White House to protect Carl Rove....

[Steve_Seattle]

"I think Scooter talked himself right out of a pardon when he claimed in court that he had been set up by the White House to protect Carl Rove...."

That was a HUGE blunder by the defense, trying the good cop, bad cop thing. That just fed into Fitz's conspiracy theory, that there really WAS something dark and sinister going on, that they really were trying to "out" Plame to punish Wilson.

They should have confronted the conspiracy theory head-on, shown Wilson to be a liar, and the admin just trying to get the facts out.

Libby did not get his money's worth from his defense team.

[Grampa Dave]

[highball]

That was a HUGE blunder by the defense, trying the good cop, bad cop thing. That just fed into Fitz's conspiracy theory, that there really WAS something dark and sinister going on, that they really were trying to "out" Plame to punish Wilson.

Agreed. I think they knew it, too - they abandoned the strategy between opening statements and the start of the defense case. Which is probably what sunk them - they "admitted" that there was a White House conspiracy, which the prosecution was desperate to establish. Fitzgerald must have thought Christmas came early when he heard that - Scooter made his case.

They should have confronted the conspiracy theory head-on, shown Wilson to be a liar, and the admin just trying to get the facts out.

Libby did not get his money's worth from his defense team.

True, but Scooter does bear responsibility. He either believed that the White House was setting him up or allowed his lawyers to argue things he knew were not true (and could therefore not be supported). He's not a moron - he rolled the dice and came up snake-eyes.

[Enchante]

"That was a HUGE blunder by the defense, trying the good cop, bad cop thing. That just fed into Fitz's conspiracy theory, that there really WAS something dark and sinister going on, that they really were trying to "out" Plame to punish Wilson."

Agreed, I was appalled the instant Libby's team took that line of defense....... it was beyond stupid since it conceded a central point to the prosecution that need never have been conceded (and for which NO evidence has ever been produced), that there was any sort of WH "conspiracy" about anything in this case. I've wondered whether the fact that Libby's defense team was led by a 'RAT had any bearing on this........ it was a self-destructive form of argument, and untrue besides, so why would any sensible defense attorney take this line in court???? It just about guaranteed that Libby would be convicted of something....
It's almost as though the 'RATs were calling the shots on the defense team...... now THERE is a conspiracy theory worthy of discussion!! Maybe Libby paid the big bucks just to have 'RAT politics advanced by his defense team!!

[Steve_Seattle]

The only possible rationale for the defense's strategy is that they believed they were dealing with an irredeemably hostile jury. But even then it was a mistake. I think Libby had the facts on his side, and he should have stuck with the facts rather than try to sway the jury with a sob story about being the fall guy for the evil Cheney.

I think an aggressive defense, based on the facts and a no-holds-barred attack on Wilson, the journalists he was in cahoots with, and Fitz, might have won over even a hostile jury. At any rate, the result couldn't have been worse than what actually happened.

[Steve_Seattle]

One addendum to my comments: One thing in support of the idea that Libby had the facts on his side is that - unlike most trials - it was the prosecution, not the defense, that was trying to keep particular witnesses and evidence out of the trial.