Fitzgerald will "give direction" on the investigation (UPDATE: Fitzgerald Press Conference at 2pm )

[onyx]

Richard Shenkto (spell) has just called it a "scandal."

[Paul C. Jesup]

The moment Fitzgerald stop caring about who the leak was it became a witchhunt.

[Archon of the East]

That relevant enough for ya?

Maybe after years he actually believed that he talk to Russert first. I do stuff like that all the time. This is BS and Fitzgerald is proving to be not that bright IMO.

[tobyhill]

Libby didn't screw up, he's using himself to slam Wilson with everything he's got built up. Every Journalist that Wilson spoke to will have to testify and they won't be able to lie because Libby will know.

[Mo1]

Here's an article about Reid's statement

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=4043023&nav=9qrx
(snip)
Reid says the case is bigger than just the leak of classified information.

The senator says, quoting now, "It is about how the Bush White House manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the president."

Reid says it is time for President Bush to step forward and answer the questions being raised by the investigation.

[Archon of the East]

Just had a thought.....Could Scooter purposely lied in order to get discovery...In order to strengthen the CIA probe...(Aren't they disqualified to do domestic investigations)...../hat

I had the same thought yesterday but I just don't know if that is realistic, but I am hopeful. President Bush did say it was only the first phase (or something like that)

[calreaganfan]

"Libby deserves to be fired for the stupidity of lying to the Grand Jury."

What are you talking about?!? Libby hasn't been found guilty of anything. In fact, he is presumed innocent. You've only heard one side of the story -- a weak story at that. The indictment makes no sense. In the absence of any crime, why would a smart lawyer like Libby lie about conversations that he had with four other gov't officials? Surely he knew that they would testify to the Feds about their conversations with Libby. Something is very fishy here. I'm sure Libby has a much different version of events.

[WHBates]

"Libby didn't screw up, he's using himself to slam Wilson with everything he's got built up. Every Journalist that Wilson spoke to will have to testify and they won't be able to lie because Libby will know."

You make it sound like there was a plan. LOL

I hope your right.

[AmishDude]

Isn't the problem for Libby that he did not tell the grand jury that Cheney told him about Plame, and there were many witnesses that he was told? And apparently, all he had to do was go to the grand jury to clear it up before its term expires, after being "reminded," and no crime. That is what Rove apparently did. And that is why I would guess that Fitzgerald waited until the grand jury's term expired before filing against Libby, so Libby would not have a chance to expunge the crime. Libby's lawyer screwed up.

Too easy to fix. And if Rove knew to do it, why not Libby? They probably weren't supposed to talk to each other about this, but Rove's lawyer could pose a "hypothetical" to Libby's lawyer to remind him.

No, there's something else here. Libby was called too many times not to have an opportunity to correct the record.

[tobyhill]

I don't think there was an intentional plan at first but as Wilson kept running the muck it became obvious that someone needed to get the truth out and this may have been a means of doing so. Libby is the type of person that will go down fighting if the truth can come out and it protects his boss, even if it's just slander like Wilson pulled.

[jwalsh07]

Libby provided the document that falsified, I got that from my evo buds, his own testimony. If he is of sound mind and body he perused the documents before he dumped them. So he provided the evidence that he knew something before he knew it.

Life with the best and brightest must be very difficult at times. :-}

[Mo1]

The libs have been throwing his name around for months

[BlessedByLiberty]

"Libby didn't screw up, he's using himself to slam Wilson with everything he's got built up"

Sounds very Rovian to me or are you trying to have the heads of DU trolls explode?

[BlessedByLiberty]

"Isn't the problem for Libby that he did not tell the grand jury that Cheney told him about Plame, and there were many witnesses that he was told?"

This reminds me of the game we played as kids. One person would whisper a sentence to the next person and it would continue until at the end the original sentence did not match the beginning.

Apparently these Special Counsel investigations are nothing more than a taxpayer funded game of Operator.

[lepton]

Why in the world would he tell the GJ that he didn't even know if he had a wife at the time, when there is apparently a raft of testimony from others that, not only did he know she had a wife, but knew where she worked?

With one clumsy exception, the quotes contained in the indictment are that he claimed that was what he told the reporters. There is only one single quote that even implies he was trying to tell the grand jury he actually didn't know.

It also says he said he didn't know anything about him until this stuff came out in June, yet there is nothing in the timeline to dispute that despite the prosecutors comments.

[tobyhill]

Little of both. Wilson and Plame will have to be called to testify since the charges stem from the "leak". Otherwise how would we know that reporters didn't tell Libby first after Wilson told them?

[Torie]

Yes, reading what one gives to prosecutors does seem to be a good idea, assuming you are suggesting he did not realize that the smoking gun was in the document he turned over.

[dogbyte12]

Libby told the grand jury he heard about Valerie Wilson for the first time on July 10th from Tim Russert.

He talked to Judy Miller about her on June 23rd. This is not rocket science here. Most perjury cases are muddled, this one seems pretty straight forward.

I am happy Fitzgerald didn't overcharge, and only indicted on what he thought he could prove. He proved this charge pretty well unless he is flat out lying about Libby's testimony. Why some here can't see that is beyond me.

Just because there is a natural instinct to protect "our side" we shouldn't let facts not get in our way. Scooter Libby, though still legally innocent, almost certainly committed perjury. The end.

[Torie]

Maybe he got the dates mixed up, and did forget. But as I say, the lawyer should do his own investigation and review, and then have his client rush back to the grand jury, and share the news. Rove must have really annoyed Fitzgerald when he decriminalized himself.

[XEHRpa]

> Or when someone from the CIA resigns to "stay home with their family."

Bingo! Problem fixed, but the govt isn't allowed to speak of it.