Earlier, Henry said:
Treating Lenhard’s nomination as if it were some sort of bribe to Viveca Novak strikes me as overly simplistic. He is an AFSCME attorney with close ties to the Democratic Party who is being appointed to a Commission which the law requires to be roughly balanced along partisan lines. Daschle and Pelosi put his name forward for this position in 2003; Reid supports him now.

You are accusing Jane of thinking simplistically about this, but I think you are wrong, Henry. He may have been “put forth” in 2003, but he was appointed NOW, when his wife is in deep shit. Were other equally qualified Dems also put forward at the same time? Were they appointed?

FITZ: RICO THE COCKSUCKERS NOW!!!

Victoria Toensig misses OJ. Calling Fitzgerald out-of-control is done purly for financial reasons: Fox pays well.

JH
what do you want to bet that there were NSA intercepts between a certain Valerie Plame and her foreign contacts… wait ’til Fitz blows the lid off that.

elizabeth de la vega, who has commented extensively and insightfully re the plame matter, on the general principle of ‘no risk, no gain’ & the virtue of resolve:

I have to admit that some of the responses to my recent article The White House Criminal Conspiracy (published in the Nation and posted at Tomdispatch.com), in which I argued that the Bush administration should be brought to account in Congress or a court of law for defrauding the American people into war, kept me up at night. No, not the ones that questioned my sanity or sobriety. The letters that have given pause are from people who wholeheartedly agree that the Bush administration lied about the war. Yet there’s “zero chance,” these writers contend, that a completely Republican-controlled government will ever do anything about it, so it’s pointless to pursue the matter. While lying awake beside my sleeping husband with my dog staring up at me in the dark, I’ve wondered, is that true? Is it futile, or foolish, to act when there is little apparent chance of success? (continued)

What makes you so sure Bush hasn’t had a nervous breakdown by now?

heh heh

Fitzgerald says one important part of his security precautions is that he doesn’t discuss his security precautions.

After a career chasing mobsters and terrorists, the man must have a healthy and entirely reasonable deep suspicion of anyone he’s investigating. The possibility that he’s been bugged must, therefore, have at least occurred to him.

It would be sheer, absolute madness for the Bush Admin to have wiretapped Fitzgerald.

There would be no guarantees Fitzgerald wouldn’t, somehow, find out about it. He has excellent relations with the FBI, with cops all over the country, and with anyone he’s ever come into contact with at the DOJ.

There would be no way the GOP spin machine could spin its way out of that one – the sh*t would hit the fan like nothing since the Saturday Night Massacre.

Bush was ‘desperate’ to keep the media from running stories about the NSA wiretaps, and they ran them anyway. If Bush knew Fitzgerald’s office had been bugged, and knew it was only a matter of time before Fitzgerald found out about it, he’d be more than ‘desperate’; he’d be having a nervous breakdown right about now.

I therefore conclude, tentatively, that the WH did not bug Fitzgerald’s office.

What’s he building in there? What’s he building in there?

I’ll tell you one thing, he’s not building a playhouse for the kiddies. — Tom Waits

Jan – I didn’t write the comment above, I only adopted a passage from Henry David Thoreau. What I wrote above immediately follows the ‘different drummer’ passage in Walden.

Tom Waits for no one:

What’s he building in there?
What the hell is he building
In there?
He has subscriptions to those
Magazines… He never
Waves when he goes by
He’s hiding something from
The rest of us… He’s all
To himself… I think I know
Why… He took down the
Tire swing from the Peppertree
He has no children of his
Own you see… He has no dog
And he has no friends and
His lawn is dying… and
What about all those packages
He sends. What’s he building in there?
With that hook light
On the stairs. What’s he building
In there… I’ll tell you one thing
He’s not building a playhouse for
The children what’s he building
In there?

Now what’s that sound from under the door?
He’s pounding nails into a
Hardwood floor… and I
Swear to god I heard someone
Moaning low… and I keep
Seeing the blue light of a
T.V. show…
He has a router
And a table saw… and you
Won’t believe what Mr. Sticha saw
There’s poison underneath the sink
Of course… But there’s also
Enough formaldehyde to choke
A horse… What’s he building
In there. What the hell is he
Building in there? I heard he
Has an ex-wife in some place
Called Mayors Income, Tennessee
And he used to have a
consulting business in Indonesia…
but what is he building in there?
What the hell is building in there?

He has no friends
But he gets a lot of mail
I’ll bet he spent a little
Time in jail…
I heard he was up on the
Roof last night
Signaling with a flashlight
And what’s that tune he’s
Always whistling…
What’s he building in there?
What’s he building in there?

We have a right to know…

What’s he building in there? What’s he building in there?

I’ll tell you one thing, he’s not building a playhouse for the kiddies. — Tom Waits
nemo | 12.27.05 – 9:28 am | #

LOL, memo – I had the exact same thought when I saw the headline….

Great “song” of course.

Fitz is clearly waiting until the new fiscal year because of some tax implications.

or not.

“Pleas, please, Mr. Fitz-man”

I have a bottle of Perrier Jouet burning a hole in the bottom of our refrigerator.

In the meantime, yeah, I have a crush on him, too.

-S

John, the way to avoid karma is the pre-paid conditional curse: May the evil you do come back to you, from every place it has gone, from every one it has harmed.

Note, no new evil is created. The curse simply returns the evil to its source and pulls it away from its victims which is a karmic plus. Of course, if the original evil has multiplied geometrically, that could be a bit of a problem for the source.

Also, if no evil has been done, the cursee will be unharmed in any way.

You can also go with the simple basic “No joy or profit as long as you continue to do harm.” But that one can have unintended consequences since it lacks specificity, I’ve found.

What’s he building in there? What’s he building in there?

I’ll tell you one thing, he’s not building a playhouse for the kiddies. — Tom Waits

The new semester starts in mid-January. Those of us who will then be too immersed to follow things closely would appreciate a speedy set of indictments by the seventh so we can e-savor them for at least a week before disappearing into the world of copy machines & red pens.

But Fitz strikes me as the kind of person who keeps untidy handwritten notes, that even he has trouble reading . . .

Well, if his signature is any indication, any notes he does keep would be close to illegible.

I wonder if Fitz got a heads-up about potential spying from some sympathetic current or former NSA folk? Or heck, with his own national security background, he may have already known something about it. Regardless, one more way that his natural tendency to caution serves him well.

Nur should be declared a national treasure ccmask. She was also the one who broke the pictures of dead Iraqis for free access to pon story in the states. Check her blog daily it’s well worth it.

ArtShu, it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t try to spy on Fitz. And I’m sure they’ve tried.

Could this perhaps account for what seems to be an unusual number of in-person, face-to-face visits to other lawyers’ offices on the part of Fitzgerald? I’m no lawyer, but his habit of dropping in on people strikes me as curious. Is he eschewing telephones?

(2) if everybody’s speculation as to why Rove was not indicted the first time around (more investigation needed on Luskin-Novak and Woodward), then there would not necessarily be a need to present new witnesses to a grand jury to indict rove. if fitz pursued these investigations and found nothing to change his mind, he will simply represent the original evidence that he had. it would seem that the only witnesses he would present are luskin and novak. but i still think it is unlikely. i am sure he didn’t buy that line of bs, unless of course it tends to help his cause, which it might.

I’ll be surprised if Fitz doesn’t present new evidence — including offering Rove one opportunity to testify in front of the new grand jury. Rove’s story keeps changing, and I can see Fitz wanting to present Rove to the Grand Jury to explain all the contradictions in his testimony right before he issues conspiracy indictments.

And, I’d also suggest that Woodward’s source is in very deep legal jeopardy at this point — if he wasn’t already. Woodward’s source can’t use the “I forgot” excuse, because he was confronted on two occassions by Woodward about the disclosure.

**********************

Having previously been quite skeptical, I’ve warmed a little bit to Lukasiak’s hypothesis that Fitzgerald learned about Woodward’s source before indicting Libby, though I think it would have had to come from the source and not from the WaPo, as Lukasiak thinks (I think).

you think right.

We know that Woodward was working on the Plame story right before the indictments. We know that Woodward claims he came across “new information” that “compelled” him to tell Downie about the leak to him. And we know that Woodward was rumored to have a “bombshell” right before the indictments were handed down — a rumor that Woodward denied at the same time he belittled the investigation. We can thus assume that the “new information” that Woodward came across exonerated people in the White House.

So, what “new information” did Woodward come across? Unless Woodward is still keeping it a secret, the only “new information” we have is the Vivak-Luskin conversation which was supposed to clear Rove.

Again, the real key here is that the Post lawyers were involved in the negotiations for Pincus’s deposition (and probably sat in on it — like they sat in on Woodward’s deposition.) Woodward’s claim that Pincus knew about Plame from him before hearing it from a White House source would have obligated the Post to contact FitzG immediately. So, with days left before his grand jury expires, FitzG would have been confronted with

1) the Vivak-Luskin story

2) the early leak to Woodward

3) grave questions about the credibility of Walter Pincus

FitzG had Woodward by the balls, because he had actively conspired with his source to obstruct the investigation — and Woodward had “blown his source” by finally telling Downie. So FitzG told Woodward that he was NOT to publish his Vivak-Luskin story before the indictments came out, and that he was going to have to get his source to come forward.

Woodward’s story about why his source came forward (i.e. because the leak to Woodward supposedly helped Libby’s defense) doesn’t really add up. FitzG’s claim about Libby being the first leaker was not relevant to the charges against Libby… but the claim gave Woodward sufficient “cover” to go to his source and force him to go to FitzG and admit the leak to Woodward. This allowed Woodward to stay in good with the White House — if the source found out that Woodward ratted him out before the source went to FitzG, Woodward’s White House access could have been terminated.

(This is another reason why I think that Woodward’s leaker was Hadley — it had to be someone that could be pressured to come to Libby’s defense at his own expense.)

Mark from Ireland: That yellowcake story is pretty good over at the link you posted…

http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/

Thanks, anonymous, for the link to the SeattlePI story on the FISA court turning down more requests from Bush than any other. It occurs to me that the numbers may not tell the whole story. If the requests were effectively blanket, data mining searches, even a few denials would be significant. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the FISA court had said no and the administration went ahead anyway?

Re: Fitz, patience. All in good time, my pretties.

As Alice Marshall points out, Pat Fitzgerald doesn’t give a damn about our need for a trickle of information as he moves forward. I don’t think anyone is seriously expecting one until the time is perfect and the staples are in the multiple copies of the indictments. But I do think we have a responsibility to each other to keep humor and snark intact (Thanks Jane and Redd) to balance the anxiety and concern which is ratcheted ever higher with each White House scandal and threat.

I think Fitz is far more concerned with the Grand Jury and with his team of lawyers who are helping him with his work. I am always hopeful that they are still checking in here, enjoying our discussion and silently appreciating our support.

All snark aside, Christmas is, for me a time of gratitude and the New Year is a blank journal for new perspectives and beginnings. I don’t so much make resolutions as I bring forward what’s essential and leave behind the things which no longer serve my life. Fitz is coming forward and is a focus of my need to be grateful every day. I am a believer in karma and simply trust that our (and his) committment to the truth will eventually be rewarded.

since when is bankruptcy and surrender of your law license a business strategy; in that other criminal case:

“I got seduced by the corporate-jet lifestyle of South Florida,” Kidan said, “a Sidney Sheldon novel come true,” with its six-figure salary, a posh condo, a corporate jet and an armored Mercedes for transportation.

Now, Kidan said, “I look forward to cooperating” and getting on with his life. He could face up to 30 years in prison for the SunCruz fraud, but if federal and state prosecutors agree that Kidan has given them substantial help, he could get a year in prison, or less.

Kidan said he was not a failure in the business and legal professions. He did concede once filing for bankruptcy and did acknowledge surrendering his license to practice law, but said that both instances were part of his business tactics.

http://www.newsday.com/news/na…..-headlines

Phoenix Woman,

Did you mean the Kobe Bryant trial in Colorado?

Rove has really gone out of his way up until now to refrain from his usual smear tactics and keep on Fitz’s good side. That they are no longer troubling to do this means they know the party’s over.

Maybe they know that Rove will not be indicted, and the FEC appointments are the beginning of payback for Libby? Maybe they are signals to all that “you can not touch us”?

I believe that Michael was tried in California, not Colorado, Phoenix Woman.

OT, but that’s me middle name

great Terry Jones (nee Monty Python) over there on thee Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm…..94,00.html

like this fabulous awards show:

And now we come to the Dick Cheney “Goblet of Fire” Award for Courage in the Face of Action. And for the sixth successive year, the award goes to … the vice-president of the US … Dick Cheney!…

Those who have already died will be heartened by his courageous determination to risk yet more people’s lives…

comedy helps, especially when none of the shite is funny….

By the way: Jane, go check out what TBogg has to say RE: your last post:

http://tbogg.blogspot.com/2005…..flies.html

The last paras are the kickers:

But what really gets me is the swill that you find on the major anchors like LGF, that Wolcott describes above, and how PJM advertisers like Victoria’s Secret and Circuit City feel about having their ads placed on StormFront Lite and its lessers…unless of course Victoria’s Secret is getting ready to launch their Illsa, SheWolf line and Circuit City is having a sale on nipple clamps and car batteries, in which case it all makes sense.

Maybe someone should ask them.

Yeah, maybe someone should.

Maybe someone should collect a list of PM advertisers and send them snippets of, say, a typical rant from LGF’s “Iron Fist”, with a note explaining that their ad dollars keep this guy in Cheetos.

As Alice just said: Fitzgerald’s biggest strength is that he doesn’t give a damn what’s being said about him by the GOP’s Corporate State Media. Unlike with Ken Starr, he’s not doing this to impress the GOP/Media Axis. He’s doing this because he’s out to show the Bush White House that they can’t get away with burning a NOC and destroying a good chunk of the CIA’s Middle Eastern intelligence network.

We must never let ourselves fall into the silly GOP/Media Axis habit of thinking that trials are won by whoever has seduced the corporate press. The Starr Chamber, as a quasi-legal body whose judgements the Congress had the power to ignore, was not the same as an actual court of law.

Remember how all the presstitutes, from Nancy Grace to Bill O’Reilly, swore up and down that the Nice White Jury in Colorado would convict Michael Jackson earlier this year? Remember what actually happened?

Remember when the presstitutes were telling us about Clinton that “indictments were just around the corner”? Remember what actually happened?

(Hint: It wasn’t what the presstitutes said would happen. IN either case.)

to joejoejoe 10:36

Just read your piece and still shivering with delight. What a beautiful, imaginative writer you are.

I realize how late I am in responding. What with holiday stuff I’m behind in my fdl reading.

Thank you for your lovely piece. Now excuse me while I go read it again.

(1) I would be very surprised if anything happens in the Plame case this week. The court system nearly shuts down between Christmas and the new year. many lawyers go on vacation. Fitz may not be the type to take time off, but his assistants might. and he may want to provide some time off to the grand jurors.

(2) if everybody’s speculation as to why Rove was not indicted the first time around (more investigation needed on Luskin-Novak and Woodward), then there would not necessarily be a need to present new witnesses to a grand jury to indict rove. if fitz pursued these investigations and found nothing to change his mind, he will simply represent the original evidence that he had. it would seem that the only witnesses he would present are luskin and novak. but i still think it is unlikely. i am sure he didn’t buy that line of bs, unless of course it tends to help his cause, which it might.

(3) i agree with Henry. Lenhard’s nomination was obviously motivated by the fact that he is a democrat who fought against finance reform. typical cheney administration cynicism. nonetheless, regardless of how independent he may be on the FEC board, the timing of the nomination is highly suspect. clearly, rove (and specifically mean rove here as i am sure it was his recommendations here) could have used better judgment and found another cynical choice. instead, they chose the husband of one of his main witnesses in a criminal case. this definitely raises some red flags.

Check this out — possible reason Bush bypassed Court regarding wiretaps: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/…..ource=mypi

On Timing—Although it’s a bit maddening to wait for action- it doesn’t bother me that Fitz is taking his time- somewhere around the SOTU would be good timing.

Let the latest Clusterfuck crime have time to settle in.

Mark from Ireland – merci! Great resources to add to the fight! Reuters Alertnet has always fascinated me since they approach the world from a very different angle – special thanks for Nur since that is precisely the information we have a hard time getting and I no longer completely trust Juan Cole’s perspective.

I’ll answer email as soon as I get to the office.

it is common to have a change of lawyers between pre indictment representation and post indictment. In some cases, the prosecutor attempts to charge obstruction in the failure to respond to subpoenas and discovery to the extent the prosecutor wishes. In those cases, the pre indictment lawyer very well ends up a witness for the defendant. Luskin has jumped into witness mode a bit early.

I never have understood the purpose of his continual blabbing on this case. Certainly, it hasn’t helped his client, and if he ever has any cases with fitzgerald in the future it would have killed any sense that the prosecutor could take his word on anything. The same could be said for libby’s lawyer.

Treating Lenhard’s nomination as if it were some sort of bribe to Viveca Novak strikes me as overly simplistic. He is an AFSCME attorney with close ties to the Democratic Party who is being appointed to a Commission which the law requires to be roughly balanced along partisan lines. Daschle and Pelosi put his name forward for this position in 2003; Reid supports him now.

They did so because he shares the party leadership’s dislike of McCain-Feingold, which he and other Democratic and GOP-connected lawyers challenged in the McConnell case. He is, in that sense, a significant player in the world of election law–not just “Mr. Viveca Novak.”

The FEC is an independent commission, which means that neither Bush nor Rove is Lenhard’s boss in any meaningful sense: he is not subject to removal, except for cause, nor expected to be responsive to White House pressure on any key points, since he is a Democratic nominee. And while the nomination is a plum–my guess is that he will not go back to AFSCME when his term is over, but will go on to a more lucrative job in private practice–treating it as a quid pro quo for whatever testimony his wife is expected to give is mere speculation.

Which is the problem with Fitzwatching: too few hard facts and too little news from inside Fitzpatrick’s offices (or Luskin’s or elsewhere) to satisfy those of us who want more indictments to issue. In the echo chamber of the blogosphere (and the MSM too), speculations can get reprinted enough times that they start to look like received truth.

A special plea to Mr. Fitzgerald: The natives are getting restless.

It is Fitzgerald’s particular strength that he does not give a damn about stuff like that.

seymour hersh gave a good talk at princeton (11/30/05) that i just listened to… during q&a he gave some hopeful (but vague) comments about fizt’s investigation and the possibility that is had widened to include the broader questions of intelligence manipulation. however, sy also said that he wasn’t going to be writing on it because he thought that fitz should be allowed “to work”.

p.s. i put the link to the talk in the homepage box. sy’s fitz comments are at about 1:19.

Well, *I’m* depressed. You know they have to have been bugging Fritz, so maybe that’s why they’re so cocky. Hell, maybe HE’S depressed. I think Truth, Justice, and the American Way went out with Oldsmobile 98s. We need to think more creatively, like directed psychic energy to make Cheney’s liver explode. No, wait. Bad karma. Okay, how’s this? Very strong drugs. Not for them, for me. No, wait. I need my consciousness. Well, hell. I’ll just have to find the god within. No, wait. What about the BAD guys??

This is where I came in. Remember when you could say that and people knew just what you meant? Now they keep you in the lobby while they fumigate the seats. Or something. I could drop dead any minute. Let me know how it all comes out when they drop the big one and we’re all together on that golden shore. Truth, Justice, the American Way, and a great big throbbing V-8 chicken in every pot. I’m there, brothers and sisters. Sieg heil and yes, they made me do it, officer.

Oops how could I have forgotten this:

Dictionary of Republicanisms

Excuse my misspellings above. Back to Luskin and Novak, where is a good good summery on the blog of that whole thing. So much of it does not add up.

Jane – you’re intrepretion of Rove’s character, seems to classify him as a purely cynical Machivel lying machine, whose trues sense of patriotism is as barren as his maleovolence is immense.

You sure about that?

contd:

The Global Beat – Written with a US Audience in mind.

The Guardian’s Special Reports Index: Absolutely indispensable.

Nur Al Cubicle

“A blog on the current crises in the Middle East and news accounts unpublished by the US press. Daily timeline of events in Iraq as collected from stories and dispatches in the French and Italian media: Le Monde (Paris), Il Corriere della Sera (Milan), La Repubblica (Rome, L’Orient-Le Jour (Beirut) and occasionally from El Mundo (Madrid).”

Nur is completely indispensable.

Siun check your email – I did a selective datadumpt (to text files) for you from my database.

Replying to Siun fom comments last post:

Siun – The mahar rendition case is by no means unique. Most rendition cases aren’t reported in the US media. They are reported abroad or by US agencies somehow it rarely hits big time coverage.

Begin Sarcasm:

/* I wonder why. */

End Sarcasm:

Siun & Everyone Else

Here’s a list of general news feed resources easily accessible to people in North America. Haloscan only allows 3 links per post so I’ll start with the big 3.

Myway Covers the following feeds:

AP | Reuters | New York Times | CBS | MSNBC | USA TODAY | FOX News | Photos

Reuters Alertnet “Alerting humanitarians to emergencies” The main page has links to pretty much all of Reuters. You can also register to receive targetted service from Reuters on types of stories/topics that interest you.

Knight-Ridder Washington D.C. Bureau The D.C. Bureau has special coverage of:

1. Avian Flu
2. China rising to influence
3. Contracting issues – Pentagon and Iraq
4. Food & Drug Administration
5. Hurricane coverage from Knight Ridder
6. Iraq War Coverage
7. Slavery in Brazil
8. Some Good News
9. Supreme Court / Alito nomination
10. Veterans Issues
11. More Reports

The Scooter indictment was very narrow, and I don’t think it was any accident. Fitz is going to nail Scooter’s ass to the wall for obstruction of justice and perjury without ever revealing the details of his main investigation.

That’s an excellent point that I hadn’t thought of before. I was disappointed that he didn’t throw conspiracy charges at him, but your explanation is a plausible reason for that.

I don’t know what Fitz is up to, but I imagine he’s waiting until after the new year to indict. One last holiday for the condemned man and all that.

ArtShu >”…Cheney listens to wiretapped conversations of Fitz’ office while flying around on Air Force 2.”

Oh I hope they have done this

I`m sure Fitz would suspect same & not be very happy with said behavior; might give him an angle on Dick & George he didn`t have before (an addition to his collection)

I`m happy to wait as long as it takes (but I would hope a lot comes out before November)

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” – Niccoló Machiavelli (The Prince, 1532)

oops.

Sorry.

I shall not post again.

Forgive me.

Seems Cheney listens to both Fitz’s calls and yours.

I say it’s time for realignment. Ask your congresscritter if they uphold the Constitution or W.

Back to you, Lou Waters.

ArtShu, it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t try to spy on Fitz. And I’m sure they’ve tried.

But Fitz strikes me as the kind of person who keeps untidy handwritten notes, that even he has trouble reading, on piles of yellow legal pads.

Yes, obsessed. I’m glad you’re no longer posting as depressed, either.

Seems Cheney listens to both Fitz’s calls and yours.

I say it’s time for realignment. Ask your congresscritter if they uphold the Constitution or W.

Back to you, Lou Waters.

“Do you think there are other congressmen he might be able to and willing to finger?”
I have to think so. I cannot believe Defense Contractors would have paid that much just for his his vote, alone. Tonite on Hardball, a former Federal prosecutor specifically mentioned that the “Cunninghan situation” was not over with.
When you have time and the inclination, I would be interested in learning how the heck, Bush banned Timba from the U.S. I understand the problem with Visa’s and getting musicians in, but it sounded from your post as though musicians in the US were not allowed to play Timba. Maybe I got that part wrong?
OT I am very happy, you are no longer posting as “depressed formerly obsessed.” However, as I am sure you already know, if you are feeling depressed, it is always better to express it than to keep it locked in. (I am a huge Tony Dungy fan (assume you live in Florida and he used to coach Tampa Bay), so his oldest son’s suicide was a real sad moment for me.) I have to get to bed.

Anything, just anything to get this evil cabal out of power. They are actively damaging the planet with their activities, and it must stop.

i’m still in redstate x-mas hell so, please no indictments until i can get to my bubbly back in brooklyn… hmmm, on second thought, dancing in the streets of a red state loudly celebrating fitzivus could be sooo sweet!

(on his – oh, so important – iPod)

Meanwhile,

Cheney listens to wiretapped conversations of Fitz’ office while flying around on Air Force 2.

Okay, so maybe it is more Like Dead Presidents Day is the new day to look forward to….or FitzValentines…I can live with either, or….but we do need something- I am ONE of the Restless Natives…Do you think that that Abramahoff case crimped things at all ? Certain people and plea deals on the table etc…..just wondering???

Fitz will allow Rove sufficient time to exchange all of his Christmas presents for something more representative of the dark side. My guess is Jan 5th for the press conference.

Does anyone know how to research how large are the oil deposits under New Orleans’ 9th Ward? Every inquiry I’ve made ends up on a tangential subject. I suspect it’s huge being in the delta. Would be a good reason to discourage repopulating that area. Might end up looking like Oildale, California.

John Casper – Interesting point. If Bush’s ability to pardon were to come under question, Libby and other possible Plame indictees might start thinking like Scanlon, Kidan and now Abramoff. Of course, I guess if Bush were impeached for the (unrelated) wiretapping charge, he could still pardon Libby for Plame before officially leaving office, and probably would at that point, arrogant slimeball that he is.

Speaking of slime, remember when Duke Cunningham tearfully pleaded (or is it “pled?) guilty? He said he wanted to start serving his time ASAP and would “help the investigation” — does this conceivably mean that the Dukester is getting leniency in return for implicating others? Do you think there are other congressmen he might be able to and willing to finger?

“Here’s my big question about the nomination of Viveca Novak’s husband to the FEC: Why the hell did he take the job?”
Excellent question.
WAG Alert (Wild Ass Guess) Maybe Novak’s husband figures, he didn’t nominate himself. If the Senate confirms him, great, in the meantime he’s not quitting his day job, because Time already fired Vivica.
My hope is that the nomination of Novak’s husband was primarily a signal to Libby that the WH is going to support him. Libby is not hearing anyone cry, “overzealous prosecutor.” Another problem for Libby is that he is now competing with Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay for contributions to his criminal defense. Both of these indictments took place after Libby’s. I agree with all the prior speculation that Fitz will indict Rove and imo this further weakens Libby’s position. IMO Harry Reid’s “hijacking the senate” about Phase 2 pre war intelligence, (when is the the Gang of 6 going to report back to us?) hurts Libby almost as much as Bush’s secret spying does. The fact that the “I” word is now appearing in print has got to really worry Libby with respect to any “pardon” strategy he was counting on. WAG Alert.

Two things: First-thanks Jane for something to tide us over Fitzukah.
Second-Looks the “prof” might want to take you up on your challenge!

“There was a prosecutor in the city of Chicago who was disposed to strive after perfection. One day it came into his mind to make an indictment. Having considered that in an imperfect work time is an ingredient, but into a perfect work time does not enter, he said to himself, It shall be perfect in all respects, though I should do nothing else in my life. He proceeded instantly to the forest for truth, being resolved that it should not be made of unsuitable material; and as he searched for and rejected lie after lie, his friends gradually deserted him, for they grew old in their works and died, but he grew not older by a moment. His singleness of purpose and resolution, and his elevated piety, endowed him, without his knowledge, with perennial youth. As he made no compromise with Time, Time kept out of his way, and only sighed at a distance because he could not overcome him. Before he had made a case in all respects suitable the city of DC was a hoary ruin, and he sat on one of its mounds to plead his case. Before he had given it the proper hearing the dynasty of the Neocons was at an end, and with the closing argument he wrote the name of the last of that race in the sand, and then resumed his work. By the time he had smoothed and polished his arguments Fear was no longer the pole-star; and ere he had put out the indictment and the case adorned with precious truths, Justice had awoke and slumbered many times. But why do I stay to mention these things? When the finishing stroke was put to his work, it suddenly expanded before the eyes of the astonished Nation into the fairest of all the creations of Justice. He had made a new system in speaking the truth, a world with full and fair proportions; in which, though the old cities and dynasties had passed away, fairer and more glorious ones had taken their places. And now he saw by the heap of shavings still fresh at his feet, that, for him and his work, the former lapse of time had been an illusion, and that no more time had elapsed than is required for a single scintillation from the brain of Justice to fall on and inflame the tinder of a mortal brain. The material was pure, and his art was pure; how could the result be other than wonderful?”

Having previously been quite skeptical, I’ve warmed a little bit to Lukasiak’s hypothesis that Fitzgerald learned about Woodward’s source before indicting Libby, though I think it would have had to come from the source and not from the WaPo, as Lukasiak thinks (I think). Novak’s tidbit — which he refused to back away from even as he called it a stupid thing to say publicly the other day on CNN — that he would be amazed if Bush didn’t know who his, Novak’s, source was, along with his belief that his source and Woodward’s are the same person, made it slightly more plausible to me that Fitzgerald’s visit immediately before the Libby indictment to Bush’s lawyer’s office might have had something to do with the newly gained information on Woodward’s source. This is because Novak’s strong expression suggests that the leaker may be very very close to Bush. But I’m only a little warmer to that hypothesis. Is there any evidence for it these days?

On a related note, with a little free time for research on this, I’ve arrived at the very strong conviction that Walter Pincus’ source on July 12, 2003 was either Hadley or Dan Bartlett, and I lean toward Bartlett, who seems to have been at the center of the communications effort in responding to the whole 16 words controversy — though the leak to Pincus was so hamhanded and off message that I wonder whether Bartlett would have screwed up that badly.

The idea that it was Bartlett does fit with Swopa’s pretty convincing theory of the 1×2×6 idea, which I take to be, basically, Bartlett and Fleischer aboard AF1 on the way back from Africa on July 12, 2003 leaked to six reporters, and were overheard by either Powell or Card, who busted them to the WaPo in September 2003. Steve Clemons has recently given cause for some skepticism of whether the source for 1×2×6 stands by the story, though Swopa has powerfully pushed back against that. However, be that as it may, I think it may be that those leakers consciously thought they were not breaking the law because by then word had gone out — probably from AF2, where Cheney and Libby, who had heard from Rove that Novak was going to be publishing, though perhaps from Rove himself — that Novak’s column was on the wires already (if that crucial fact, which I think was initially reported by the somewhat unreliable Steno Sue Schmidt), so the cat was out of the bag and Plame’s info could be leaked with impunity. The only other thing that makes me still doubtful of whether there really were six reporters contacted is that, as best as I can tell, the only one anyone has ever been able to pin down is Walter Pincus, and ultimately I think a lot of the WaPo’s confidence in the story rests on the fact that one of their own got a call that fits with the 1×2×6 story. Who else got a call that day from the leakers (and Miller and Cooper from Libby don’t count, since on this theory the 2 do not include Libby)?

Isn’t the inference that Vivak is a crook, btw?
Maybe she has just been telling lies to Fitz.

My two cents:

1. I agree with the Luskin analysis. It’s also possible he’s now a target, which would explain why he’s keeping his mouth shut. But it’s more likely that Karl’s realized that Luskin seems to spin him into trouble instead of out of it, and Karl’s given him the boot.

2. Here’s my big question about the nomination of Viveca Novak’s husband to the FEC: Why the hell did he take the job? He’s got to know that it looks really bad. Was this his lifelong dream or something? They must have really sweetened the pot for him. You can bet your ass that Fitz’s eyebrows went up. I wonder if her inability to date her conversations with Luskin led to her husband’s new job. I’ll bet that Fitz’s team is wondering, too.

3. What’s it all mean? I’m not really sure. Unlike Jane, I’m not going to ask for any weenies. I figure if we’re all up late chewing over all of this, you know Scooter and Karl aren’t getting much sleep. I think Scooter’s lawyers are going to file a number of discovery motions to try to figure out what else Fitz has in his hands. And I think all of those motions are going to fail. The Scooter indictment was very narrow, and I don’t think it was any accident. Fitz is going to nail Scooter’s ass to the wall for obstruction of justice and perjury without ever revealing the details of his main investigation. The whole thing is going to take a while. He might hit Karl with charges of obstruction, perjury, or lying to federal agents, but we’re months–if not years–from charges on what the conservative talking heads are calling “the underlying crime”. I’m quite happy to kick back and speculate until that day comes.

Oh, Jane, I don’t know which you do better– tantalize us with little glimmers of Fitzmas Yet to Come, or slap down those Fauxy trolls! (And I join sonate, lowlygrunt, and zennurse– love that prosecutorial porn!)

Jane…On the Hardball show tonight, Nora O’Donnell had a discussion with a few lawyers and they all said they felt that Rover would be indicted…they were quite strong about that.
The misinformed master is on vacation, do the show was a bit informative…;-)

Keep up the great work…Even Nora said that 2006 will be rocking!!

Maureen
Boston, MA

WaPo:

President Bush nominated two controversial lawyers to the Federal Election Commission yesterday: Hans von Spakovsky who helped Georgia win approval of a disputed voter-identification law, and Robert D. Lenhard, who was part of a legal team that challenged the constitutionality of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.

Don’t waste my fucking time.

Jane,

That’s garbage. Don’t feed the trolls… ; )

“On Friday, the President announced nominations to the FEC.”

http://www.redstate.org/section/FEC

Jane,

thought I saw the same info kathyp did. Perhaps this website helps with procedure. Sorry about the dates.

Jane,

http://www.reforminstitute.org…..iles/119.s

I have no clue what he’s talking to them about but it would suggest he is presenting information that was previously given to the other grand jury and it’s not a new matter. We’ve been told over and over again that Rover barely escaped the hangman’s noose during Round One, so it’s not outside the realm of the imaginable to assume his turn is up once again.

I would say that this would be an absolute necessity before presenting any new evidence to a grand jury. FitzG doesn’t seem like the kind of prosecutor who is going to take a “shortcut” — he wants a grand jury that is fully aware and informed about all the relevant facts in the case — especially since any indictment of Rove that relied upon the presentation of highly “selective” evidence would lead to all sorts of crap spin.

I still say that FitzG was planning on casting a much wider net — and that he was told about Woodward’s disclosure (and about Woodward’s claim regarding Pincus) during the days before the original grand jury expired — and the questions raised about Pincus’s testimony by Woodward prevented FitzG from pursuing his original plan at that point….

but now that matter has been resolved, he’s going back to his original plan…with a vengeance.

PS> See, there Pat, lowly grunt would love to be your date. We’re a full-service blog here.

Dear Patrick-
We understand, really we do. It’s just that we here at firedoglake are VERY invested in seeing the investigation move forward and would like a little Fitzmas to get us through this steady diet of lying, fraud, illegal spying, underhanded reporting, congressional partisan power plays and waiting for Abramoff. Have you talked to his lawyers yet? Hope so.

We have faith in you and know you are working long hours for us, the American People and Truth, Justice and the American Way. We hope you had a really great Christmas and that you have a date for New Years Eve, but please, please, please Pat, don’t forget about us. We just need a little peek. Or a handful of indictments would also be nice.

just sayin’
Sincerely,

zennurse

What’s he up to?

about six feet of dreaminess!

mmm….. Patrick Fitzgerald!

Thanks for the Fitz fix Jane. I needed it to calm my anxiety.

Could it be possible that Fitz simply decided to shut or slow things down for the holidays and will pick things up after Jan. 1?

To Menopausal Mommybrain

I don’t claim to be an FEC-watcher, so here’s my limited information:

The FEC is supposed to be roughly bipartisan, i.e., no more than three Republicans or Democrats on a six member Commission, by statutory command.

According to other sites on the web (always a risky proposition, I know), FEC appointments have traditionally followed the recommendations of the congressional leaders of each major party. http://reforminstitute.org/cgi…..411.shtml. Daschle and Pelosi nominated (in that unofficial sense) Lenhard in 2003. Reid and Pelosi announced their continued support for him last summer; they also support Steven Walther, “an attorney and Reid associate from Reno, Nevada.”

I do not know of any others who were put forward by the House and Senate leadership in 2003 or since then. Looking at the FEC website, I cannot find any sign that any other Democratic Commissioners have been seated since 2002. Do you know of any other candidates whose names were put forward during this period?

Which leaves us where we left off: FEC positions are traditionally filled by nomination by the party leadership, Lenhard’s name has been out there since 2003, he was “renominated” by Reid and Pelosi in July, 2005 and no one else has been named by the Democratic leadership for Scott Thomas’ seat or seated as a Democratic FEC Commissioner since then. Yes, the timing is suspicious, since it appears that Thomas is a holdover–but we knew that when we started this discussion.

I don’t think that suspicious timing is enough to support the claim that this is some sort of quid pro quo, since Lenhard owes his nomination to support from Daschle, Reid and Pelosi rather than from Karl Rove. That support rests on policy grounds–the Democratic Party leadership’s preference for less aggressive enforcement of federal campaign finance laws.

It may be that Bush nominated Lenhard at this particular historical moment as a gesture of contempt aimed at Fitzpatrick–but even that is speculation, at best. It is also far different from accusing Lenhard of being party to some sort of conspiracy to obstruct justice. I don’t know anything about Lenhard, other than what I read in the papers and on the internet, but it strikes me as unfair to accuse him of that on such shaky grounds or to make him prove his own innocence.

Treating every administration decision that has any conceivable connection to this case as if it were solely the work of the unseen hand of Karl Rove can lead us astray. Call it the prismatic effect, to go along with the echo chamber effect.