Take a look at this graphic from Fox News yesterday: The caption reads: "Libby Convicted On 4 Counts But Was There Even A Crime?" This shows the level of stupid thinking (as well as propagandazing) that one sees every day on Faux News. Yes, Hannity. There was a crime. Perjury is a crime. Obstruction of justice is a crime. Making … Read More
Breaking: Libby Guilty
on four of five counts in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial. The verdict isn’t as important as what the whole Plamegate process and trial actually revealed, i.e., the Vice President’s main adviser has just been convicted of obstructing an investigation not just of himself but of the Vice President, and the trial brought out substantial evidence that Cheney … Read More
Bombshells In The Libby Case
I haven’t followed the case of Scooter Libby (an extension of the whole Valerie Plame leak thing) lately. But I have to heap praise on the folks at FDL, who are liveblogging the trial from the courtroom. If they gave Pulitzers for blogging, these people would be the recipients. Today is opening statements, and the trial, which I dismissed long … Read More
Well, Well, Well
Looks like convicted briber/lobbyist Jack Abramoff did spend a lot of time nuzzling with Karl Rove after all.
Plamegate Is Bogus?
The WaPo editorial board thinks so: Nevertheless, it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame’s CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming — falsely, as it turned out — that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated … Read More
The Plamegate Bombshell
The National Journal reports that Bush himself told Cheney to leak classified information in order to discredit Joseph Wilson. More on this later, I’m sure… but it’s hard for this Administration to get all blustery when newspapers supposedly leak classified information.
Plamegate In The News In A Big Way
Murray Waas, who has an excellent track record for these things, reports that Novak’s source regarding Valerie Plame was Karl Rove. Moreover, he reports that three days after the announcement of a federal investigation into the leak, Rove and Novak spoke by phone and — some investigators believe — concocted a cover story. (What this means in legal terms? The … Read More
The Week Ahead
So much to write about, so little time. I don’t have much to say about Bush’s approval rating breaking the 30% mark (last week’s Harris poll puts him at 29%). And the fallout over the NSA datamining of telecom records continues. But I’m looking forward to this week. There are two rumors which are getting the buzz: (1) Rove indicted … Read More
Why Outing Plame Mattered
Here’s the press release (in its original allcaps): INTELLIGENCE SOURCES SAY VALERIE WILSON WAS PART OF AN OPERATION THREE YEARS AGO TRACKING THE PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS MATERIAL INTO IRAN. AND THE SOURCES ALLEGE THAT WHEN MRS. WILSON’S COVER WAS BLOWN, THE ADMINISTRATION’S ABILITY TO TRACK IRAN’S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS WAS DAMAGED AS WELL. Interesting.
Another Scandal May Get Ratched Up A Notch
A federal judge has just ordered that the White House must turn over its visitor logs to public interest group Judicial Watch (who sought the documents under a FOIA request). What this means is that we will soon learn when, how often, and whom, convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff visited within the White House. The logs are to be turned over … Read More
Rove Indictment Imminent?
Could be. Larry O’Donnell wrote: Karl Rove’s return to the grand jury today could mean the end of the Rove investigation or the beginning of the Rove prosecution. It depends on who asked Rove to return. If Fitzgerald asked Rove to return to the grand jury, that means Fitzgerald thinks he doesn’t have enough for an indictment. If Rove asked … Read More
Holy Crap!
Why is nobody talking about this (which comes from the right-leaning NY Sun, no less)?!? A former White House aide under indictment for obstructing a leak probe, I. Lewis Libby, testified to a grand jury that he gave information from a closely-guarded "National Intelligence Estimate" on Iraq to a New York Times reporter in 2003 with the specific permission of … Read More
White House Infighting
The rumors are apparently true. Rove is cooperating with the Fitzgerald investigation, and pointing investigators to the Cheney office. It was Rove, reports say, who informed Fitzgerald about the "missing" emails from the VP’s office. From The Washington Note: According to several Pentagon sources close to Rove and others familiar with the inquiry, Bush’s senior adviser tipped off Special Prosecutor … Read More
Waas’s New Scoop
Pretty big news: Beyond what was stated in the court paper, say people with firsthand knowledge of the matter, Libby also indicated what he will offer as a broad defense during his upcoming criminal trial: that Vice President Cheney and other senior Bush administration officials had earlier encouraged and authorized him to share classified information with journalists to build public … Read More
Bush Knew Abramoff, Spoke Knowingly About Abramoff’s Kids
More White House lies exposed. Bush has said that he didn’t know Abramoff: "You know, I, frankly, don’t even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don’t know him." But Think Progress has obtained emails from Abramoff himself (sent to Kim Eisler, an editor at Washingtonian magazine) which suggest an entirely different story. In the emails, Abramoff describes … Read More