Well, the ridiculous defense that "Valarie Plame was not covert" has finally — finally — been handed a death blow: Newly released court papers could put holes in the defense of Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, in the Valerie Plame leak case. Lawyers for Libby, and White House allies, have repeatedly questioned whether Plame, the … Read More
Rep. Bill Young (R-FL) – Man Of Principle
When Capitol Police dragged Rep. Young’s wife out of the SOTU because she was wearing a "Support Our Troops" T-shirt, Rep. Young was outraged. Even though Mrs. Young was not handcuffed, fingerprint, and thrown in jail (like Cindy Sheehan), Rep. Young took to the floor of the House and denounced the actions of the police. But later on, to reporters: … Read More
Cindy’s Story
As you probably know, Cindy Sheehan was arrested lat night just before Bush’s State of the Union speech. She blogged the full account here, but this is how it begins: This afternoon at the People’s State of the Union Address in DC where I was joined by Congresspersons Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers, Ann Wright, Malik Rahim and John Cavanagh, … Read More
Hmmmmm
The lead prosecutor in the Abramoff scandal is leaving the case because he’s been appointed to a federal bench by Bush: The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a … Read More
The Unbiased Media
I’ve been following the WaPo story with some interest, but haven’t commented on it. And now, when I’m prepared to comment, Legal Fiction steals my thunder. For those not up on it, it started with the Post’s Ombudsman, Deborah Howell, writing that Jack Abramoff gave money to Republicans and Democrats alike. This created a howl from the left blogosphere, simply … Read More
Bad Omens For Many
“Mr. Abramoff says he has information that could implicate 60 lawmakers,” the WSJ reports (subecription required). Here’s some more news roundups on the impact of the Abramoff plea: The Washington Post: Abramoff represented the most flamboyant and extreme example of a brand of influence trading that flourished after the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives 11 years ago. Now, … Read More
Valerie Plame Is Outted Again
The Washington couple at the heart of the CIA leak investigation had their cover blown by their small son as they tried to sneak away on vacation on Thursday. The former spy, who just retired from the agency, and the diplomat have been at the center of a CIA leak scandal that has reached into the White House. They said … Read More
Rove In The Crosshairs
I haven’t been following the minutae of Plamegate lately, but if this is true, it doesn’t bode well for Karl Rove: In late January 2004, the grand jury investigating whether top officials in the Bush administration knowingly leaked Valerie Plame Wilson’s name and covert CIA status to reporters subpoenaed the White House for records of administration contacts with more than … Read More
So Shouldn’t He Be Subpoenaed?
If Bob Novak is right, I think Fitz needs to subpoena POTUS. From the News-Observer: Newspaper columnist Robert Novak is still not naming his source in the Valerie Plame affair, but he says he is pretty sure the name is no mystery to President Bush. "I’m confident the president knows who the source is," Novak told a luncheon audience at … Read More
Pew Poll Puts Bush At 36%
I like this graph. Especially the dropoff among independents. Additional info from The Left Coaster: A new Pew Center poll out this afternoon shows that Bush’s approval rating has fallen to a new low of 36%, and he’s losing the support of moderate and liberal Republicans, and is seeing a steep decline in support amongst independents. The poll also shows … Read More
Punditry Gone Amok
This is an incredible piece of wishful thinking, spin, and rationalization from conservative blogger Tom McGuire at Just One Minute. McGuire starts his story by quoting from the "always interesting, sometimes accurate" (McGuire’s words) WorldNetDaily. You know you are in for a treat when the basis for a wingnut post starts out with WorldNetDaily (heck, even McGuire acknowledges that the … Read More
Plamegate: Most Serious Scandal In Three Decades
Via Atrios, Editor & Publisher takes a look at a recent CBS poll and tells us that the public thinks the Valerie Plame scandal is more important than any scandal in the past 30 years. Here are the numbers: Plamegate: 86% important 12% not important Clinton-Lewinsky: 62% important, 37% not important Whitewater: 49% important, 45% not important Iran-Contra: 81% important, … Read More
Even William F Buckley Gets It
Bill Buckley: The importance of the law against revealing the true professional identity of an agent is advertised by the draconian punishment, under the federal code, for violating it. In the swirl of the Libby affair, one loses sight of the real offense, and it becomes almost inapprehensible what it is that Cheney/Libby/Rove got themselves into. But the sacredness of … Read More
Smearing Wilson
I honestly don’t give a crap about Joe Wilson. What he did or didn’t do is irrelevant. It’s certainly not an excuse to out his wife as a covert CIA agent. I know this because I’ve read the statutes and there is no "Joe Wilson Is A Liar" exception. Still, Bush supporters somehow think that Libby’s behavior can be justified … Read More