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

[kcvl]

Per Fox News...

[hummingbird]

I don't condone lying to the FBI and GJ and I don't care who it is. I am not going to put Libby up on a pedestal "if" he did lie and attack the special prosecutor. I want more facts!

Same here, and I think most would agree, PKM. I'm just getting back on this thread because listening to Fitz was making my head spin. I couldn't grab onto anything of substance. Maybe he had one of those mind erasers like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones had in M.I.B.....LOL!

Hannity had Gingrich on his radio program and "Newty" said something odd (at least to me). Gingrich said that he was no attorney but had talked to an attorney who said that Rove and his attorney(s) were probably working out some kind of deal. Struck me as strange speculation, especially when you think about how Gingrich's career took a topple. Gingrich is very cerebral but even the mighty can fall. I hope I am characterizing Gingrich correctly...if any find fault, please correct me.

I sure don't want to end up in front of a GJ for misspeaking! ?8^)

[hoosiermama]

Someone had mentioned earlier that the CIA's investigation had cooled Fritz going after Rove.....Tend to think that may be more likely.

[hummingbird]

Thanks for the David Horowitz link!

[Peach]

You're welcome; he tries to stay on top of the relationships that we all need to know about.

[feralcat]

I think it's great that the Left is wasting all their time and energy pursuing very minor scandals of near-nobodies like Libby and Rove. That means they aren't going to able to spend effort on things that really matter, like the next SCOTUS nominee.

I reminds me of the 1990s when conservatives were eating up articles in TAS by David Brock and others about esoteric scandals involving obscure sub-cabinet officials.

The Right was wasting its energy then and the Left is wasting its energy now.

[hummingbird]

Dear God.............that looks like the outline for a MOVIE!

I know! On the other hand, maybe that is the fella's "insurance" so to speak.

I smell rogue agents at CIA...hope Bush "has" agents at CIA keeping an eye on them. Maybe "Poppy" could pull in a few favors to see what the heck is going on with CIA.

Maybe he already has. If "Scooter" is a little guy on "little" charges such as Fitz pulled out of his arse, maybe Rove isn't the goal. Maybe Wilson, Plame and the Rogues are.

Oh, Howlin, I can write movies, too!

(Shouldn't "arse" and "moonbats" be in the SPELLCHECK by now?!)

[weegee]

Critics of the administration appear to have been caught taking bribes from Saddam.

Joe Wilson appears to have been dispatched by his wife to block the administration.

Sandy "Burglar" stole classified documents and destroyed them as there was an investigation into the government failings that led to 9-11.

Able Danger has shown us that the plan could have been thwarted and now the same claim is made of the attack on the USS Cole.

There are all sorts of scandals. Ms. Plame's life is not in danger. She was more in danger when the muslim sniper was outside CIA headquarters during the Clinton years.

Some people are trying their damnedest to bring down this administration and to save their own hides.

[XEHRpa]

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

I see that as a possibility. Think about how slimy the Rats are, devising a scheme to smear a sitting president, for which it is illegal to publicize their machinations. I could see someone "taking a bullet" figuratively for the President to stop the Democrat's ploy. Makes my head spin. The Rats operate like the KGB... I guess they were quick learners in that regard.

[conservative in nyc]

Scooter Libby, though still legally innocent, almost certainly committed perjury.

I wouldn't be so quick to judge. The indictment only includes snippets of Libby's grand jury testimony/FBI statement, which may or may not be taken out of context. And we haven't even heard Libby's defense yet.

Also, I'm not sure that Libby told the grand jury the first time he heard of Valerie Wilson was on July 10 from Russert. Reading between the lines, he probably acknowledged that he knew of Ms. Wilson's CIA ties beforehand, but claims he forgot about it when Russert (allegedly) told him that other reporters knew. Fitzgerald is claiming perjury because (a) Russert claims he never spoke to Libby about Ms. Wilson on July 10, and (b) even if he did, Libby had to have had a recollection about Ms. Wilson's CIA ties when he spoke to Russert, contrary to his testimony that he had no recollection at the time of the conversation.

[hummingbird]

Anybody else salivating about seeing Tim Russert and Judith Miller, and maybe Novak on the witness stand for this trial?

Why, yes. Yes, I am!

[Carolinamom]

When Libby spoke w/Miller, wasn't there something about his understanding that she had security clearing? Russert and Cooper did not have it, so wouldn't it be understandable that Libby would not confide in them the Cheney/CIA source? And I am reluctant to believe anything Russert says...he's prone to CYA.

[hummingbird]

I am convinced he and Rove wants their day in court. I will love seeing J.Wilson and RebelYellin' DrDean swearing out whilst their hand on is on the bible.

I'm wondering if that just might be true.

[hummingbird]

Listen to those reporters laughing with Fitzgerald. All a big joke to them.

Had to tune out before this part. Can you characterize the laughter....nervous, appropriate, etc?

[lugsoul]

Not that bright? So Scooter has numerous conversations with government officials in June and the first few days of July where the subject of Plame's wife being CIA comes up - a subject he knew a few days before was something he couldn't discuss on a secure line - then on July 10-12 he doesn't know it at all or thinks he's only heard it from reporters?

I know you don't believe that. You are far smarter than that. The only response that explains this is that EVERYONE except Scooter is lying.

I know you don't believe that, either.

[lugsoul]

It wasn't 'after years' that he told the same lie to the FBI that he told to the GJ. More like 'after weeks'.

[lugsoul]

A breath of fresh air, that.

[Jim Noble]

I'm hopping in here after 3100 posts, so this may have already been discussed:

Why would Libby lie, as he seemingly did?

And is Fitz trying to sweat Libby to get more indictments?

[lugsoul]

The most plausible answer is the one Fitz - in an admirable exercise of restraint - refused to presume. He knew he shouldn't have given out the info (hence the 'non-secure line' comment), so he was trying to cover it up and didn't think he'd get caught. It is far more plausible than that he 'forgot' over the course of a few days, or that 7 or 8 others are all lying and Scooter is telling the truth.

[Archon of the East]

So his conversation with investigators happened weeks after his his conversation with Russert?

[PhiKapMom]

I know why people are reacting to this type of indictment -- I just cannot believe Libby put himself in this type of situation when he was a criminal attorney. Seems dumb to me if he did lie to the FBI and GJ.