Scooter Libby was found guilty today of four counts against him -- two counts of perjury, one count of lying to the FBI and one count of obstructing justice.
The last one is the most important. Think about what it means. He obstructed justice. We could not adequately punish the people who outed a covert government agent and endangered her life, the lives of all of her contacts and national security because Libby obstructed justice!
We found out during the trail why he did this -- for politics. Classy. The Vice President decided to smear the administration's political opponents and ordered several people to out Valerie Plame, who was a covert CIA agent.
How do we know this? They all admit it now! Why? Because they're afraid that Patrick Fitzgerald will also convict them of lying if they try to deny it. There are notes of Dick Cheney writing down her identity, Libby admits he talked to the Vice President about it first. Ari Fleischer admits he leaked her name. Richard Armitage admits he leaked her name. Karl Rove admits he leaked her name.
Their only defense to the criminal charges is that they weren't sure she was covert. They all outed a CIA agent for political reasons, but it's okay because they weren't positive she was covert? That might be a defense in criminal proceedings -- though we'll never know because Libby obstructed justice -- but it doesn't make the act anymore palatable. It was still dangerous, immoral and harmful to our national security (Valerie Plame worked on weapons of mass destruction intelligence).
Remember what George H.W. Bush said about people who leak the names of our agents:
"I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."
They are all guilty of playing with our security for their own political gain. Will there be any consequences? In any normal administration Karl Rove and Dick Cheney would be run out of town. They would resign in shame and embarrassment. But not these guys. They never admit a mistake -- and they are willing to take everyone down with them.
Before Republicans celebrate their lack of shame, you should realize that these guys are dragging you down with them. This is the culture of corruption that voters can't stand and voted resoundingly against in 2006. You think they're going to like it any better in 2008?
The reason politicians have resigned in the past when they did something this horribly wrong is because it would harm their president and their party if they didn't. But Rove and Cheney are so selfish, they don't even care about that. So, enjoy the next two years in power because it might be the last two years for a long time to come.
If you continue to do the wrong thing and rub it in people's face, there are consequences. For Scooter Libby that might be 30 years in jail. For the Republicans it might be another thirty years in political purgatory.
The Young Turks
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 2)
1. bull crap, nothing worse then what clinton and many other politicians do. Bush will let him out. You make it sound like only the republicans are low lifes. Get a grip. better yet just shut up. why not stand up and be a real american and not A party puke?
rowdy harger at 3:50PM on Mar 6th 2007
2. Check out this article in Vanity Fair by Michael Wolff explaining why Libby lied. It's one of the best article's tying the who and why together that I've seen.
not the senator at 4:01PM on Mar 6th 2007
3. What covert spy was outed? The real crime was that Fitzgerald spent three years looking to make a name for himself when he new within two months after he started that Armitage is the one who gave out Plame's name to the press. End of investigation. Aparently when Fitzgerald looks for his socks he starts in the sock drawer then goes into the closet, his wifes dresser, the bathroom, the garage, etc. All of this while he has the pair of socks in his hands.
The next real crime is Joe Wilson give an "Oral" report on his findings in Africa that Iraq HAD ATTEMPTED to purchase yellow cake uranium, then he writes an OPED that Bush lied because the Iraqis did not buy uranium. Though the President never mentioned that in his State of the Union Address. Just that British Intelligence believed that Iraq had attempted to acquire uranium.
Poor Scooter is the scape goat for the over zeolous left that can't admit that they only want Bush out even if it means ignoring the law and the destruction of America.
marnedog at 4:05PM on Mar 6th 2007
4. The link to Vanity Fair didn't work: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/04/wolff200704
not the senator at 4:03PM on Mar 6th 2007
5. "For the Republicans it might be another thirty years in political purgatory."
You assume that we have a rational and intelligent electorate. We don't. Which is why a Republican from California can be elected to a seat vacated by another Republican who was thrown in jail after being convicted on corruption changes. Or why an overwhelming majority of the Republican Evangelical Christian voting still believes that Iraq had weapons of mass distruction and had involvement in the events of 9/11. Or why the current Vice President can travel the globe on our behalf in an airplane that is named "the Spirit of Strom Thurmond" and no one questions it. The electorate is populated by a bunch of bozos. God help us.
Joe Mitchell at 11:51PM on Mar 6th 2007
6. Go back and read the facts, she was NOT a "covert agent", she was a clerk typist. ALL CIA employees from the janitor to the top gun are protected from generalized employment for their safety. She was a CLERK TYPIST! Enough disinformation, the Nazi and th KGB would love you.
Jim Anderson at 5:04PM on Mar 6th 2007
7. Go back and read the facts, she was NOT a "covert agent", she was a clerk typist. ALL CIA employees from the janitor to the top gun are protected from generalized employment for their safety. She was a CLERK TYPIST! Enough disinformation, the Nazi and th KGB would love you.
Jim Anderson at 5:04PM on Mar 6th 2007
8. Val was a danged clerk typist!
Jim Anderson at 5:07PM on Mar 6th 2007
9. What a terrible lie! I think he should get the same punishment as Bill Clinton and Sandy Burger got for the same crime. Nothing...
Ron Fellastanoocci at 5:54PM on Mar 6th 2007
10. Everything is so much easier when we don't let facts interfere with our political opinions. I'm not interested in defending Libby, but to those who would roast him I would suggest that your arguments are significantly weakened by such blatant disregard for the truth as we see here. Plame was not a covert agent, no one's life was endangered, and there is not a shred of evidence that anything Libby or others did was on orders from Cheney. If these were the facts of the case, you certainly would have seen the VP indicted (and rightly so). Bottom line: Get your facts straight, and the things you say might be worth listening to.
Phil Corsi at 6:15PM on Mar 6th 2007
11. Folks - this is neither a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. This is an issue for all of us. Just because one stupid president issued an idiotic pardon in the past (M. Rich and B. Clinton) doesn't make it right. American voters want accountability and obstruction of justice requires some serious accountability. The voters have made that VERY clear.
Jeff Elliot at 7:30PM on Mar 6th 2007
12. We can debate whether Plame was covered by the law in the first place. We can debate the abuse of prosecutorial discretion in even bringing Libby before the Grand Jury when the source of the leak was already known to be Richard Armitage. We can certainly debate why any sane person would ever give testimony before a Grand Jury anyway. We need to consider the obvious bias of this jury (after hearing their post-conviction remarks) and whether any Bush administration official could ever get a fair trial in Washington D.C. And we can debate the validity of the conviction on the "Obstruction of Justice" count.
But what is clearly beyond debate is the wretched excess of Cenk Uygur in attempting to extrapolate a wildly unsupported set of conclusions from this verdict: "Think about what it means. He obstructed justice. We could not adequately punish the people who outed a covert government agent and endangered her life, the lives of all of her contacts and national security because Libby obstructed justice!"
Part of the schtick of anyone writing a blog is to be provocative and stir the pot. But this tripe is beneath contempt...pure Istanbulshit.
Cincinnati Rick at 9:54PM on Mar 6th 2007
13. The tax payers have just seen the completion of one of the biggest Boondoggles in FBI history. Special prosecutor Fitzgerald, and the F.B.I. were commissioned by the Senate to find out who 'outed' a Covert C.I.A. operative".
After more then a year and millions of Tax payer money, we were privileged to receive the results of this Gold Plated investigation. In a dramatic presentation, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald spent an hour of Prime TV time to confess he discovered no wrong doing in the matter under investigation. However, as with all F.B.I miscarriaged investigations, they pronounced that one of the political witnesses "lied" to them.
Fitzgerald in a neat variance to the 'shell game', pronounced an inditement of a politician on perjury charges. Give us a break; there isn't a political truth teller in either our political parties. Now after a long expensive trial we are to cheer the efforts of the F.B.I. to justify a moronic abuse of tax payer money and our legal system.
By the way, what ever happened to the theft and destruction of classified documents from the US National Archives by the Clinton Administration (Sandy Burger, President Clinton’s National Security Advisor), right before the 911 commission investigation? Was Mr. Burger Convicted and sent to prison for theft and destruction of U.S. Government classified documents??? I haven't seen or heard any Special Prosecutor or media follow up on this crime against the United States Government
Bob Rogan at 1:13AM on Mar 7th 2007
14. good job, Scooter
way to take one for the TEAM..............
Sincerely,
Dick
Darryl Hampton at 6:07AM on Mar 7th 2007
15. So, why even vote if you are that cynical, it justs makes you part of the problem not the solution. Its just whining of the very worst nature that you know longer believe in the system and stay content with it perversion. I do thing, give money, volunteer on campaigns and speak out.
All of you that believe Valerie wasn't dong anything to protect our country from terrorist must be planning on reading her book, right. We all know that if she lies in the book, at least one of her co-workers will expose her, because all your co-workers love you and have your back. Don't look at the truth just let rely on someone else to tell you the truth, you types are the most Unamerican, because looking back there is no doubt our founding fathers thought for themselves.
truthtell3409 at 10:21AM on Mar 7th 2007