Never in the history of political conflict, has so much been written about such little people, with so modest accomplishments.
Posted on 09/02/2006 5:19:23 AM PDT by Clive
Has a Washington scandal ever ended with a more anti-climactic splat than the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson affair?
This week it was at last fully and finally confirmed that it was former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage who had leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Put like that, the story sounds pretty bare. So let me put it another way. Imagine that Ken Starr's investigation had concluded that Monica Lewinsky had made the whole thing up -- and that it was established beyond all possible doubt that at the very moment Monica claimed she was experiencing ecstasy in the Oval Office with Bill Clinton, Clinton was in fact up in the White House family quarters helping Hillary sort old wedding photographs.
Imagine all that, and you only begin to imagine how utterly the biggest scandal of the Bush years has fizzled into nothing.
The scandal originated in George Bush's Jan. 28, 2003, State of the Union address:
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Six months later, on July 6, 2003, The New York Times published an op-ed by one Joseph Wilson that accused the president of twisting intelligence. Wilson explained that the CIA had sent him to Niger in 2002 to investigate Iraqi uranium buying -- and that he had reported back that it was all bunk. Suddenly all Washington was asking the same question: Who the hell was Joe Wilson?
Wilson, a former ambassador to Gabon now struggling to earn a living as an international business consultant, seemed a very unlikely person to investigate a secret nuclear transaction. The next week, syndicated columnist Robert Novak provided the answer: Wilson had been proposed for the assignment by his wife, Valerie Plame, "an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction."
The administration's critics immediately erupted in outrage. "Did senior Bush officials blow the cover of a U.S. intelligence officer working covertly in a field of vital importance to national security -- and break the law -- in order to strike at a Bush administration critic and intimidate others?" So demanded David Corn of The Nation magazine.
For his part, Ambassador Wilson vehemently denied that his wife had anything to do with his assignment.
The administration succumbed to media pressure and appointed a special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, to investigate the case. Critics gleefully settled in to wait for "Fitzmas" -- the happy day when the prosecutor would indict the so-called neocon cabal. Many speculated that the scandal must touch the Vice President, even the President. Wilson himself said he was looking forward to seeing Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs.
Over time, it became clear that almost every detail of Joe Wilson's original story was false. Wilson's appointment was engineered by his wife. The report he filed did not acquit the Iraqis. Wilson had not detected forged documents. Above all: An Iraqi trade mission had in fact sought uranium in Niger in 1998 -- the President had spoken accurately.
Nonetheless, the Plame scandal ricocheted throughout the government. The Bush administration's pro-democracy, pro-Israel foreign policies were ferociously opposed by most of the U.S. national-security bureaucracy, and especially the CIA. Inflamed by the Plame allegations, CIA officials acted almost as part of the Kerry campaign organization through campaign 2004. Since Kerry's defeat, CIA betrayals of administration secrets have helped clinch one Pulitzer Prize for The New York Times and another for the Washington Post.
Yet somehow Fitzmas never came.
And then last week, Newsweek excerpted a new book co-authored by the magazine's Michael Isikoff and arch-conspiracy theorist David Corn that reveals that the Plame leak sprang not from Rove or Cheney, but from Armitage -- and that Patrick Fitzgerald has known this truth for close to three years.
Armitage was never an administration hawk. Indeed, he and his close friend Colin Powell loathed the so-called neocon cabal as fervently as David Corn himself. Armitage identified Plame to Novak not to settle scores, but out of a weak-minded delight in gossip.
Armitage, a former Marine, often questioned the physical courage of civilians who disagreed with him. But after the scandal exploded, and even as his administration colleagues and the President to whom he owed loyalty were exposed to enormous legal jeopardy by his actions, he kept silent to protect himself.
It's a shameful story. But the shame does not fall quite where the media promoters of the story hoped it would. Which may explain why newspapers such as The New York Times and left-wing blogs which once relished every last twist and turn of the saga have suddenly gone as silent about it as Armitage himself.
It's the seriousness of the charge that matters.
Wilson has shown he has absolutely no shame and is a pompou, arrogant, lying, self-appointed patrician. Her public statements have been more infrequent. Wouldn't be surprised if she dumps him in the near future.
Leni
Never in the history of political conflict, has so much been written about such little people, with so modest accomplishments.
Five years from now people will be saying 'Joe Wilson who?' Joe will be 'running a website', something like conspiracytheory.com. Val will have moved on and remarried, written a couple of books, one about the nightmare of persecution she endured at the hands of the Bush Administration, and the second about her dumping Joe and moving on. Couple of appearances on OPRAH there too.
The GOP does not have a "War Room" for a scalping raid.
Clinton's/DNC "War Room" was the entire MSM and Hollywood.
If this is true, didn't Fitsgerald himself break the law?
Yes, Fitzgerald perpetrated a fraud upon the court. The ringer is, the presiding judge knew it too. An honest judge will halt a proceeding that ceases to be a contest or is based on fraudulent premises.
The minute Victoria Toensing announced that there was no violation of the law she wrote, an honest judge would have stopped things right then and there.
Trouble is, honest judge is an oxymoron these days. This judge not only tolerated fraud, but cooperated in its perpetration. With judges like this, we are only a step away from Rwanda.
I want somebody held accountable for this FRAUD against a sitting President.
The media knew full well it was Armitage .. they only pretended they didn't .. because it didn't fit their agenda .. and Powell knew and said nothing to the President .. how's that for loyalty (NOT) ..?? Didn't Novak say that he had told Fitz who leaked the info to him ..?? And .. how about Fitz .. what did he know and when did he know it ..?? If he knew .. what on earth gave him license to continue this witchhunt when none of the BUSH people were involved ..??
This was a concerted, orchestrated HIT ON A SITTING PRESIDENT - in an attempt to set him up for impeachment. This proves to me the dems are still smarting over Clinton's impeachment and losing in 2000 and 2004 .. and this was their way of trying to get even. Proving without a doubt that these liberals/dems cannot be allowed to run the country EVER AGAIN. Their petty, juvenile attitude does not deserve to have a position of power.
As usual .. since they cannot win elections .. they must resort to deceipt, treachery, treason, lying, etc., in order to achieve their goal - RUNNING AMERICA INTO THE GROUND.
PRAISE GOD - IT DIDN'T WORK!!
Maybe it didn't technically "work" but it certainly helped damage the president severely. Compared to all the press coverage this has gotten for the last three years, the present mea culpa's will last about 2 minutes.
This is just one of many many attacks the left has made upon the Bush presidency that have taken their toll. Unfortunately, it looks like to me it really did "work" in that respect. We'll find out for certain in November.
Armitage, because the MSM like his war stance was only "gossiping" , not "blowing the cover" of a "secret agent".
Scooter Libby, who got this information from Novak, Karl Rove whom the MSM already had indicted, and like Obgore-on's followers didn't like the results, indicted Karl Rove through the MSM and started a whisper campaign as to WHY ROVE ESCAPED BEING INDICTED, now after 3 years, Scooty was "blowing the cover" and "outing a secret agent" after it was published in MSM, but Armitage was JUST GOSSIPING (to the MSM). I sure am glad that they explained the difference. I was really struggling.
Pres Bush can end this charade by doing the moral thing, pardon his (falsely charged) friend Libby and returning him to the job he was unjustly denied.
Of course, Bush would sooner apologize to his friend Brownie. Gotta feel sorry for Scooter Libby. Libby was used to working for Clinton, a man who often stood by his friends, at least when they were useful. Ol Scooter's gonna wait a long time for his life to return to normal.
You can't pardon somebody who hasn't been convicted.
Are all your posts this misinformed?
Well, David Frum certainly has wrapped up the whole story and put a bow on it.
Where is the media drumbeat for an Armitage interview? Where are the hordes of satellite trucks parked on his street?
Yes, Fitz was after someone in the Bush administration...he was trying as hard as he could to get Rove to perjury himself. Instead, he got Libby [who actually just forgot and it never was perjury]... political hack fitz ended up NOT GETTING THE MAN HE WANTED...which was ROVE...those were his marching orders from the left...LOL...get Rove. The DOJ...after fitz presser performance has left him out there to blow in the wind...once all is said and done...fitz is history.
Sandy -just sloppy with records
Dick -just a gossip
You're correct in that it did "work" in damaging a sitting President. What didn't work was that it did not lead to Rove being discredited, jailed, or charged with a crime, or Bush being impeached - which was the ultimate goal.
Rush was talking about this and said the reason Hardball's idiot would not apologize .. was because IT DID WORK!
What do you suggest that the New Media do? I'm not having any creative thoughts on the topic.
Well, yes the truth did prevail and the president wasn't impeached. Unfortunately, he is now damaged goods, the repeated lies have become CV, his administration is dangerously close to becoming derailed completely which means we could be run by a Democrat Congress as a proxy to an ineffective executive. So, if you want to consider that "not working" as a technicality then fine. But as part of a greater scheme, it seemed to work quite well for the Dems. Lesson learned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.