(Photo credit Pachacutec at FDL.com)
Jane says I could never work on a film crew. Apparently, she was notorious on film sets for not being able to wait things out. And since I'm orders of magnitude less able to sit and schmooze and relax in the media room than she, I guess that rules me out. Not a surprise, I guess, since I can no longer sit through movies because I hate the way they screw with my sense of time. If I can't watch movies, I surely can't make them. And this movie is dragging on.
That said, with Judge Walton's assurances that the jury isn't going to come back with a verdict, I'm going to grab a flight home while the grabbing is good and the plane fares not yet exorbitant. By the time you read this, I'll be on a plane to MI (if all goes well). I'm sure I'll have lots of tales about ice and snow for you on Monday, when we reconvene for the second third fourth act.
In an effort to give Jane the luxury of taking her time to get into the court house, though (assuming that cable news station you never watch doesn't take the seat that Pachacutec earned fair and square), I thought I'd tell you about our paparazzi moment.
You see, at precisely the moment when Dr. Pachacutec was explaining his expert recommendations to fix my manic mood, we got ourselves stuck in the Libby paparazzi. There Pach was, on the phone with mr. emptywheel, explaining why I was being sent home. And there was, first, Mrs. Scooter and Jeffress, then Wells and Libby were, not ten feet away, loading into their SUV. Snap snap snap snap. And Pach, laughing on the phone with mr. emptywheel. It was very surreal, because I gotta tell you–as manic as I get when my Toobz access goes down, my problems can't compare to the Scooters' problems. And if I'm not mistaken, our own Pachacutec managed to take that photo "on or about" (I learned that from indictment-speak) the same time as he was speaking to mr. emptywheel. A talented man, our Pachacutec. I hope he doesn't bill me double for the call to mr. emptywheel.
Jane and Pach tell me (and I have no reason to doubt them) that the jury has gotten Plame fever. From which I take to mean that the 11 jurors are roughly where Jane and Christy (then aka ReddHedd) and I were in July 2005, when we were giddy with our early obsession with this story. They're looking at dates and cross-referencing documents and noting inconsistencies. The lawyer is bringing her legal background, as Christy did. The PhD is bringing his neurotic detail background, as I and some other key geeks did. And someone–hopefully the jury foreperson–is taking Jane's role, orchestrating the whole show and bringing it together into one cohesive story. I'm hoping that person is a Jane and not a Tom Maguire (sorry, Tom)–because Jane's stories were always more compelling than Tom's. They have a better ending too.
So I have mixed feelings, as I skip town for the weekend. I could never bemoan (how could I, of all people?) anyone the intrigue of getting caught up in this story–for those who spend the time, you always get sucked in. But I'd be a lot happier if we were at the after stage, where a bunch of newly minted Plameologists were explaining to us what they found. Rather than us just waiting on their next flip chart request.
Maybe the jury should start a blog…
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fitz
SuperFitz!
Fitz
Fitz!
Marcy!
FITZ!!
fitz
JUSTICE!
Today’s the day.
FITZ!
Fitz!
Madness! madness!!
There, I’ve said it.
RATZ!
March madness!
emptywheel!
Fitz!
Jane!
Christy!
Pach! Great photo, wow!
Not bad for a silly cell phone shot.
Here at the courthouse, went through the metal detectors with Scooter, “the wife” and Wells. Wells said he was tired, and he looked it.
Fitz, OTOH, was rather ebullient yesterday. I imagine much of that could just be chalked up to differences in post-trial temperment, however, and not necessarily and indicator of what they think the jury is going to come back with
While my experience with juries is much more limited than that of many others here, I’ve yet to have a jury that wasn’t anxious to get back to their lives. A week and a half, without any indication of deadlock issues, would seem to indicate they don’t mind being there, at least not very much.
I must have missed Walton’s “assurances” that a verdict is not imminent. What did he say, and how could he know that? Any other clues?
Pssst. A source close to the jury has informed me of the real reason the jury is leaving early today. To buy green t-shirts for St. Patrick’s Day.
Have a good flight Marcy. The sun was out this morning when I came to work, but it’s clouding up now. No precip, though, which is a good thing. It’s pretty windy, though.
Gets lots of rest this weekend and come back Monday ready for the verdict, whenever it may come.
So the jury is hooked! Good for them and better for us, I say! It’s the story that keeps on giving. Poor Cheney! He may run out of countries to visit and end up in New Orleans! (Hi Dick!)
I have a feeling someone will be ordering 11 green t-shirts with shamrocks on them.
Jane, any rumors on how the jury dressed today? House coats and sweat pants again?
I think some of the jury is taking their time and soaking this all in, realizing that one must be well-prepared if one is going to be guestblogging at FDL, after they are finished.
If they’re in pajamas, chances are they have a blog.
When I was in college, I had the opportunity to spend a day as an extra on a movie set. I was in ROTC, and they were filming a military-themed movie nearby (Courage Under Fire if you must know). They bused a few of us cadets over to the filming site so we could decorate the background in lovely haze of camo green.
“Hurry up and wait” is indeed the motto of the film industry. The day I did extra duty was the last day of pickups during principal photography. We were picking up various outdoors shots that weren’t available on the original filming days due to weather, and I think Denzel Washington had to redo a scene that didn’t come out right in dailies. Anyway, I think we made it through all of three or four different setups during that day. Most of us extras spent the day laying around sleeping. I think they actually just filmed us sleeping for one of the setups.
The real wait, though, was the months and months before the movie came out and I could see if I was ever even close to being in focus for any shots! (Sadly, no. I am an indistinct blob marching in formation out on the street in a single shot where Denzel’s character looks pensively out of a window.)
I happen to personally have a Kevin Bacon number of 2 (I was an extra in Courange Under Fire, which co-starred Sean Astin. Astin and Bacon were both in White Water Summer), so if you’re trying to figure out where you are in the Bacon pantheon, you can start there. :)
Pachacutec @ 20
Haven’t heard yet.
I also think it hit them how important this trial is and they are SUPPORTING THE TROOPS by taking time.
03/04 EXCELCIOR
Warnings should be posted – Serious Head Candy Involved in this Posting, Warning May Cause Addiction, Withdrawal Symptoms Severe
from an earlier EPU remark. All the best…..
When it comes to how they are dressing, I don’t mean to complain, but it looks like the Jury is starting to mess with our minds
My husband asked me for a trial update last night. I told him that the day begins with a description of what the jury is wearing–casual; that in solidarity with Jane, many of us wore boots (it didn’t work–we need to rethink the verdict footwear); that the cafeteria flooded because of the bathroom (gross); and that the flood may have prevented the delivery of the jury’s afternoon cookies. To which a wise commenter suggested that the note passed to Walton read, “No cookies, no justice!”
All in all, he found it to be an entertaining day!
already surly from min. sleep and max. caffeine she stomps feet, pounds desk . . .
I want credit ! sometime soon after the completion of jury selection, amid comments about it not being of the usual DC makeup, some little commenter made reference to this being an ‘FDL Jury’, hmmmmm
yeah, I know, I’ll be over here . . .
Jane — Hope the weather is as nice there as it is here today. Good day to get out of the courthouse early and play with some poodles. *g*
Jane,
Do Wells, Scooter, and Co. recognize the FDL crew, or are you just part of the anonymous media horde in their eyes?
Question for any of you legal experts out there: how does the judge know there won’t be a verdict? Is he talking to the jurors? When? Or did they send a note?
What are they wearing today?
Yeah, we’re all going crazy with the waiting, but think about the implications of Jane and Pach’s tidbits from yesterday: their reading of the tea leaves is that the jury is 1) still getting along fabulously and 2) appears to be a new batch of plameaholics. Those two things together do spell an eventual conviction.
I would guess that the thing Fitz feared most as this trial began was the possibility of a mistrial. I doubt that an acquittal was ever that likely, given the strength of the case, but a mistrial was a definite danger. It’s sounding more and more like that danger has been averted.
Well, if I were on the jury and knew that a guilty verdict could bring down a sitting vice president I would want to make sure I got it right as well.
Why doesn’t the judge sequester them? That will make them move faster. It sounds as if they are having too much fun, possibly, a budding romance????
Pachacutec @ 13
That’s great for a cell phone shot. But now we know you really didn’t go out there to calm down Marcy; you were just hoping to catch a glimpse of the Great Man. ;-)
Wouldn’t it be awesome if they delivered the verdict next Thursday on International Women’s Day (in honor of Valerie Plame!).
Of course, my birthday is Tuesday and I wouldn’t mind a verdict as a present…
I actually want to know what Jane is wearing today…I have shoe envy. Also, did anyone else see the Apple homepage article about how the WAPO.com uses Macs to get things done?
Jane Hamsher @ 14
More details if possible? (I know, I’m pathetic)
nonna @ 35
The thought of them being unsequestered for the weekend really bothers me, especially after Monday’s dismissal. It’s too easy for someone to see something they shouldn’t.
egregious @
6
Are you and Jane and Pach in the courthouse? What’s happening on scene – any tidbit for us at all?
When I came home from Vietnam, 3 September, 1969 (the day Ho Chi Mihn died) there was such a backlog at Oakland Army Base that we sat on concrete floors for 3 days waiting to get out. They finally released me at 2 am so I spent the night riding a San Francisco city bus until I felt good calling a friend to pick me up. Welcome Home! Waiting.
Forgot to add, I tromped around in boots yesterday in solidarity with the gang! Little faux-leather ankle boots that I didn’t mind going through deep puddles in down hear in the ATL.
nonna @ 35
There is no need to rush them. There is no deadline. I hope they take as much time as they need and reach the proper result.
In the meantime, I take great comfort in the fact that the long wait for the verdict is bothering Libby much more than me.
Christy Hardin Smith @
30
Yeah going back to CT tonight, egregious is here with me at the courthouse because we may need two people if they have a hearing on the meaning of whatever dictionary term it is the jury is puzzling over. (Pach is hopefully busy with BILLABLES today.)
If the jury was asking to go home at 2pm nobody is expecting a verdict today. I’m dressed casually — jeans, empire waist jacket, Clergeries — so the chances that they will actually come back with a verdict are, I think, slightly increased.
For everyone waiting around, in need of a laugh, here’s the OT news story of the day – Switzerland adopts the doctrine of preemption:
Five hundred years of neutrality down the drain…
How ’bout some music:
the rest is at
Another Last Song for Dick Cheney
Citizen Jane @ 42
Lookin fine on Peachtree!
Jane– Thanks again for all that you do. Hope that you’re getting a bit of rest and recuperatation and treating yourself well. If I were really a dog, I’d sit beside you, put a paw on your knee and give you that cocked-head concerned look. Take care, and many blessings.
SharonRB @ 39
I know, Sharon, but she went looking for something. And after what happened, I bet the other jurors are going to be doubly cautious about accidental exposure.
jayacoop @
15
I’m hoping it means that they realize that they are part of something that is very, very important.
*waving hi from the media room* :)
Attaturk @ 27
LOL
Plame Fever? Oh, my –it’s catching. Not only that, but that means it’ll take awhile….
reba @ 32
I think it was just the short deliberating time today that made it seem unlikely. I don’t believe the jury’s actually given any indication of where they are in the process. Asking for the time off in the afternoon could have been a contingency request. That said, I’m mentally preparing myself for today to NOT be the day.
any word on the attire of the jury today?
Jane–it is an education of footwear, I have to google them each time you mention them. The research has revealed that you are wearing works of art on your feet.
http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722668795/page/1.html
Btw the cafeteria is open.
LBrowne @ 48
I am beginning to suspect that after 2 days with this bunch she was beginning to realize that she would not get back to “real” life anytime soon, so she figured out a neat little way to disqualify herself.
raven @ 41
Yep. same here, in April 1970, via Travis and OAB. When they handed me the papers that said I was done, and a little cash to get home, all I wanted to do was just walk around and feel free.
raven @ 46
*g*
Actually, tromping across the B-School quad at Emory heading to try avoid the trial blog while making up a Latin test and a midterm on Classical Epic.
I then sat through a lecture which rivalled Ted Wells’ cross examinations in its snooze factor rating!
Peachtree sounds like more fun!
egregious @ 55
Maybe you guys should stay away from there until next week…
Wow and they think there’s Oscar buzz about people will be wearing.
You know, I keep thinking about how much of an X-factor the jury is here, both in terms of this trial and in terms of the overall story. They have the potential to run the ball on this story much farther than they’re being given credit for. The verdict will be big, but their post-verdict interviews will be even bigger. A “not guilty” verdict would cripple Fitz’s investigation. But if the jury comes out in interviews and says that this was all much ado about nothing, then the story is pretty much over.
On the other hand, a “guilty” verdict on even one charge would be a big deal. But the jury could go even further than that. They could come out in interviews and say, “Look, this was about the betrayal of a CIA officer. If Libby did it on purpose, that’s treason.” A statement along those lines would take a pardon off the table and focus a lot more attention on the whole affair.
Scarecrow @
59
You mean no hippies spit on you :)!
As a sign that I’m spending too much time at this site, I had a dream about FDL last night. Jane was writing “How could David Shuster do this to me!”
egregious @ 57
Good to know – but the real question is, with the early dismissal, does the jury not get its cookies today? Without cookies to look forward to, maybe they’ll decide to give us a verdict :)
Frank Probst @ 63
In my opinion, it would be dangerous if the jury talked at length about Valerie Plame’s status.
Valerie Plame wasn’t the focus of the trial – Libby’s perjury was.
If the jurors harp on the fact that treason was committed, it will help the defense argue for a mistrial and help Republicans to slander the jury.
Citizen Jane @
60
How’s the fight over the Emory Village coming?
waving wildly and with much affection to egregious!
bwahaaa haaaa! me too!
gives new meaning to the term: Twelve Step
A happy jury seems to me like it is a good sign for the prosecution…
It seems as if they feel like they are accomplishing something, and to me it is only logical, that they have methodically sorted out and crushed all those “vague” doubts that Wells and crew tried to confuse them with.
It just seems logical that the charts and post-its weren’t there to prove these doubts, but to disprove them.
Like I said, a happy jury is a good thing for the prosecution.
Sequester them, and they may not be so happy.
Morning, all. I’m expecting today to not be the day, but I certainly wouldn’t mind being wrong.
A couple of days ago, Marcy said she was going to tell us about her conversation with Fitz, and then she never did, unless she posted it in comments somewhere. Did she do that, and I missed it, or did she never write about it?
Will the jury get their cookies today?
Jane S. @ 61
Maybe you guys should stay away from there until next week…
Hey I’m in public health. I used to be the one to CLOSE restaurants if I didn’t like the looks of their sanitation. Not to worry about us.
Christy -
If you’re reading this, you might want to let those who might start worrying about a mistrial or a hung jury know that, in this type of situation, there is a provision for a partial mistrial, that is, that the jury could hang on one or more of the counts, but return a verdict on one or more of the others.
Relative to the jury’s behavior, however, I’ve got to take a dissenting view here. The jury is entering its eighth day of deliberations. That would mean that, even with the first day being a partial, and not counting today or lunch or breaks etc., they have been actually deliberating for at least 40 hours. To come out after that time and to basically announce that they won’t have a verdict today and, oh btw, they’d like to leave early today should, at the very least, raise a couple of flags in Walton’s mind. Yes, it may be nice that they have Plame fever, but we need to remember that they are not us. This is not an academic exercise for them, a person’s freedom is on the line. Maybe I’m just an old fashioned lawyer, but the impression that I’m getting is that the jury is NOT taking its responsibility all that seriously. The behavior just doesn’t track to a jury engaged in serious deliberations. I hope to hell that I’m proved wrong, but I see some problems possibly arising out of the jury’s behavior here.
The Nefarious Leslie @ 71
Marcy has been maintaining a gentlewomanly reticence about that conversation. Hmm…
egregious @ 73
Hey EG, my wife is in public health too. WIC, teen pregnancy, breast feeding and the like!
raven and Citizen Jane if you keep quoting each other it’ll bust the margins.
raven — You mean no hippies spit on you :)!
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a “hippie” spit. They inhale, IIRC. Actually, I think I took a bus over to Telegraph Avenue, where most of the people were dressed like a few at the Libby Trial today. Ahead of its time.
So are we calling him papara-pach?
Interested Observer @
16
How the Judge Knows
recent posts are listed along the left margin of the FDL page for quick reference
I LOVE current history!
LBrowne @ 74
Utterly outdated.
Spill!
-
Pacharazzi ! I like it !
Good mornin’ all,
It’s starting feel a lot like Fitzmas…could today be the day?
I have a response to people who are concerned about the jury not being serious based on the fact that they were chatting and smiling.
It cannot have escaped their notice that what they are doing is serious.
But just as in open-heart surgery, where the stakes are high minute to minute, you need to blow off steam sometimes.
We make funny comments right over the [anesthetized] patient in the OR. And believe me, we take our work seriously.
Talking about movies. From Variety:
Morning pups.
Speaking of heart surgery my father-in-law seems to be holding his own but the kidney’s are still an issue.
Black cashmere, the green jewelry, and mid-height Louboutins with the little green stripe.
pacharazzi, yeah, that’s better.
Man, CNN is showing pictures of the hospital in Americus, GA after the storms. I spent a couple of weeks there last spring and the town has dozens of beautiful old homes.
Hey raven, glad your father in law is coming along ok. It must be quite the ordeal.
(((((raven’s family)))))
Carrying forward one thing from last thread:
If you didn’t have an opportunity to hear Bob and Lee Woodruff on Imus/MSNBC this morning, you can hear it via WFAN. [turf issue, anyone?] Scroll down to WFAN Instant Replay in the left column.
A powerful story of their healing experience after his injury in Iraq.
Wasn’t Mandrake having surgery this week? Yesterday?
From the Variety link:
“Valerie has been incredibly careful with what she tells us, it’s almost like she is still working for the CIA. The biggest element of the movie to us is the story of two people who spent their lives in service of their government, and were then betrayed by that government.”
The woman’s a true patriot.
I guess that means that while we wait we get to be casting directors today.
Shit, I’m not going to get any work done -again.
I was wondering how long the judge will let them go before he will call them in to see how things are going. Don’t they do that or is that just in the movies?
Biodun @ 85
For the poster, I’m picturing Valerie Plame front and center, with Libby, Cheney, Bush, and Novak in the background…
The title?
Snakes and a Plame…
dratty@74: Without knowing what personal business the jurors need to attend to this afternoon, it’s difficult to judge whether or not they’re taking their deliberations seriously. Walton has had them four and sometimes five days a week for over a month. They may have medical appointments, etc., that simply can’t be delayed any longer. The jury might have even gone to some trouble to cram all their outside obligations into that three-hour window. The tenor of their questions during the trial indicated that at least some of the jurors were engaged in the process. I see no reason to believe they’ve become disengaged.
The County has weighed in and put the brakes on the deal – it is unclear now what’s next.
I live in the adjacent neighborhood, so I’ve been getting all too frequent updates on this.
[Mod Note; Please only nest 2 or 3 quotes at a maximum. Any more may break the margins. Thank You.]
LBrowne @
49
I never saw anything explaining that she went looking, just saw people start to refer to the fact that she had “searched online.” How did we learn that she went searching? Or is this a case where someone speculated, someone else didn’t realize it was speculation, and after enough repetitions it became “truth”?
EW – great bit of writing there – loved every word of it.
LBrowne @ 97:
The jurors asked to leave early to attend DC’s parent-teacher conferences this afternoon.
Pat_AlexVA @
79
pacharachi sounds better
Who pays for the large flip charts the jury loves so much? The court? I can see the court providing legal pads and pens, pencils and small post its for the jury but the large flip chart requests are a bit unusal (I think). Does Libby get billed? Is the bill split between the US and Libby?
Speaking of heart surgery, Gillard is in queue, and guest posters are rallying to fill the void he leaves:
A better response to the no underlying crime meme I have yet to read.
Uncommon Sense
k2 @ 99
My understanding is that she sought some information and read something she shouldn’t have. I saw the speculation that she went looking for it online, but as far as I know, it’s only speculation. We don’t know what the information was.
Looks like Holden gets another pony! Bush hits 29%:
http://www.pollster.com/myster…..survey.php
Christie: Just thought I’d take a moment while things are (relatively) quiet to apologize for my accusation last Friday that FDL had censored me. I was way too quick on the trigger, and not well-versed in the ways of this all-volunteer group. So I gave myself a one-week time-out to contemplate and observe, and perhaps mellow out a bit…
Thank you again for your exemplary work on this important issue, and thanks for the H/T also.
EPU’d from previous thread:
Jane S. – What edition of the ComPost do you &/or your mother-in-law get? Froomkin’s not in the District edition.
Thanks –
mc—
I’m in for 23%.
It’s comin’ my way.
egregious @ 88
Tres Chic !
rweyburn @ 108
Need to go online.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
They brought us a fan! O yay.
Jane — So which Clergeries are you in Jane; there are lots to choose from —- so the lovely retro 30s/40s/50s my mother wore or the space age ones?
In light of the fact that Mrs. Butterworth is a co-author of the Wilson/Plame screenplay, I’m concerned that the movie will be too syrupy.
newspaperbrat @ 110
egregious, I’ll bet you look gorgeous!
BTW, don’t tell Jane, but there’s a gorgeous pair of black suede Louboutin boots right now on eBay…
-S
old gold @ 17
Oh, pog mo thoin! I canNOT wait that long!!!
Re: Frank Probst at 63 above,
I wonder if they aren’t amassing an outline for a jointly authored book… title could be WE THE PEOPLE, or LIES! LIES! LIES! or TREASON IN THE WHITE HOUSE or …whatever… by The Eleven Still Standing.
mods, can you kill my 113? Accented characters apparently not allowed. :-)
Wolverine @ 115
You mean like with Drew Barrymore as Valerie Plame?
JoyB @ 117
Translation, please? :)
When, and how often do you think Jane will post today? I need to know so I can plan my day around my addiction.
Are we all completely insane?
And I was beginning to think I was defective ’cause I wasn’t fixated on the Libby trial. I am what many might describe as fixated on some things (politics, justice, foreign policy, the environment, education, labor, other social and economic issues, etc.) though. I’ll cop to that. ;0)
LaFourmiRouge at 107 — That was a lovely gesture, and I really appreciate it. Our moderators do a wonderful job for us, but they do it as volunteers — and I really appreciate you hanging back and watching how things work. It takes a lot of effort to keep things running, and I know that I am grateful every day for all of the work that they put in for us. I could not get anything written — let alone keeps our comments section moving — without them.
raven @
87
I’ll keep your dad-in-law in my thoughts raven.
Thanks for your help with my image search the other day. I found it!
rweyburn @ 106
Well I took Froomkin’s word for it because when I was reading the online version, he mentioned that he’d be in the print edition. I immediately notified my mother-in-law. Is he not in the print edition?! She never confirmed; I thought it was an opportunity for her to broaden her perspective.
Nef Les @ 120
If no one has said it already —- “Kiss My A…”
o/t via Raw Story
hearts and minds. . .not so much
eg.
Hope you have a great day! Brief break in my work day brings me to you.
Maddness !Maddness! thy name is Roxie .
*xyz @ 67
That’s what I was thinking.
Hey…is that Marcy in the background??
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..leak_trial
pog mo thoin – kiss my butt
Gary @ 132
Sure looks like her.
The Nefarious Leslie @ 121
Kiss my [pasty Irish] A$$!
Photo looks like it was taken at the same time as Pach’s. Maybe that is Pach also.
OT– Amy Goodman interviewed Wes Clark Tuesday nite and you can listen/watch the interview now at the website…riveting so far.
http://www.democracynow.org/ar…..02/1440234
Gary @ 132
I think it is! This picture looks like the opposite perspective of the picture above.
Gary @
131
Good catch. Thanks for finding the photo for the next post…
I’m having real mixed feelings about vacationing all next week. No puters or toobz can be a good thing, but not when there is no verdict yet. Crikey!
Gore/Clark?
raven @
87
Thanks for the update. I’ll send some healing vibes for kidneys — all I can do, but it can’t hurt.
BurkeDem @
137
Looks like it might have been taken a fraction of a second before Libby extends his arm, and the photographer in the dark jacket crouches down for his shot…
Way too much time spent here…..:)
LA Times opinion piece on the conservatives’ convention:
Rosa Brooks: The lunatic right returns
Bad news for Republicans: Leading conservatives are embracing former Swift Boaters.
—
Oh yeah, the captive-audience screen in the elevator says the
surgeescalation will need at least 7000 more troops than they told us. Reaction: ‘Lies, lies and more d*mned lies!’Oklahoma kiddo @ 140
I like that.
Please, no more Clintons and no more Bushes.
steve @ 96
707!!! I’m laughing out loud at that one. Sounds like a KO caption — do you write for his show?
On the jury’s obsession with the Plame affair. It’s hard for us to realize how poorly informed people are (the jury was picked of course because it was poorly informed), and how they pick up when you show them the threads of the story, which this jury has seen. I spoke with a colleague yestereay on the Libby trial. He’s a fairly eminent political scientist, in his mid 60s, who used to write for TNR and is generally well informed, and a conventional liberal democrat. He hasn’t followed the trial closely, but knows the jury has been out for some days. I said that the betting line is that he will be found guilty on four of five counts, and that Libby hadn’t taken the stand. He said, oh, if he didn’t take the stand it must mean that Fitzgerald didn’t have much of a case and the defense decided it wasn’t worth the bother. I told him that neither Libby nor Cheney took the stand because the defense suspected Fitz had too much on both of them, and they were afraid doors might open that would be better left shut.
At that point I mentioned Brewster-Jennings, and he said, ‘who’s he?’ The thing is that here is a well-informed person who knows nothing about the background to the Plame case and how serius it is, why the CIA insisted on an investigation. The press has suppressed this story. The jury is backing into it.
Thanks for all the translations. What a useful bit of Gaelic … but JoyB, I doubt very much they’re going to make us wait that long.
Jane Hamsher @
24
What’s important here is the timeliness of this intelligence. If they’re in jeans, it’s not too late for the addicted among us to pull up our socks and get on with our lives. For a few hours anyway. If they’re all dolled up, then we stick. It did (me anyway) no good yesterday to find out half-way through the day that that they were dressing down. By then, it’s too late to do something productive!
Please, heroes – send a scout NOW. What are the jurors wearing???
Wolverine @
114
Well, this would be appropriate since the jury is taking its own sweet time.
Maybe Kevin Bacon can play Joseph Wilson to round out the breakfast theme.
Just read that Olbermann will be inteviewing Valerie Plame on March 17. Looks like its live and not on his show: linky from Radar Magazine.
knut wicksell @ 147
Excellent point; there are relatively few people who have really followed this case closely, and it’s good that the jury is taking its time with the evidence. Hard on us, but good for the process.
egregious @
93
Yesterday, I think. Anyone hear? Mandrake, you out ther? Waving!!!!! {{{{{{{{Mandrake}}}}}}}}}}
*xyz @
133
ummm, voting yes,
cameraman has gray and dk gray jacket… look at photo Pach took and see other side of gray and gray jacket…
question on question… if that’s our Marcy, is the dude our Pach?
So, the 11 idiots are having another fun day of cookies & giggles.. “Wheeeeeee, look at me, I’m on a jury !”
I agree with the comments @74 and @39 – lock these dopes in a room until they get a verdict.
Walton has a LOT more faith in these peeps then I do – how many people will they see at this WASHINGTON DC PTA meeting whom might be chatty about the trial ???
Ridiculous.
My problem with the Clintons these days, and I voted for large dog twice, is not so much that I don’t like their politics, it’s the fact that they don’t seem to have any politics.
“Maybe the jury should start a blog…”
LOL!
Or watch this Mark Fiore – Scooter Libby cartoon.
NEW THREAD
C-Span2 – Lieberman live from the Senate floor and not looking too good – robotic and rattled reading from a script.
OT but breaking news in todays Monterey County Herald – former Rethug Peter Smith who Leon Panetta honored with appointing Smith as the first president of our fledging CAlifornia State University Monterey Bay and home of the Leon and Sylvia Institute has been caught double dipping and accepting salaries from both CSUMB and his new employer his last year.
It is a perfect example of the shame of triangulation so favored by the Clinton administration in the second term. Sorry, no linky but a simple google of the Monterey County Herald will take you to the front page story.
The rightwing is off the charts:
Somebody tell TRex–STAT
“That dude” is not Pach …. just fyi
He’s much more dashing.
TruthShark @ 154
I think Walton is going out of this way to firewall this trial from being overturned on appeal. Thus treating the jury with kid gloves, and insuring that no one will ever be able to say that they were pressured in *any* way. If it takes them longer to come to a verdict, so be it. At some point, one or more of those jurors is going to need to get back to the real world and at that point it is likely that his/her friends will sportively tie up all the loose ends and decide on their verdicts.
At any rate, I think the longer they deliberate, the better for the prosecution simply because the defense had nothing other than fuzzy speculation on important business and a lame memory.
egregious @ 84
So very true. I also work in the OR, and release of stress, at times, is so very necessary.
raven @
90
raven, my niece was working in abbeville when that tornado blew through. They watched it cross the lake. It was 800 yards wide on the ALABAMA side, and really messed up Enterprise too. Just spoke to my sister and she was grateful they made it through the night.
dratty @
74
I hate to agree, but I am starting to get the feeling that this jury is having it too easy. Again, Libby is being charged ONLY with the perjury in relation to the GJ and the FBI lies. He is not being charged with the outing of Valerie Plame! I can’t remember what the excuse was for leaving early (school conference or whatever). But my question is, was that meeting/appointment/whatever so damn important that it could not be re-scheduled?!?!?! C’mon!!
HQuentinCompson @
81
Hey Marcy….If you are not going to tell us about the conversation, pleeeeeeeaaaaase at least tell us that you are NOT going to spill it.
EW, you can’t sit through a movie because it messes with your sense of time? That’s a fascinating condition, did you ask Dr. Pach about it? Doing research and writing makes me lose track of time, are movies the only situation where you have this reaction?
Great job on the live-blogging, although this may not be the week to mention it. I hope you successfully battle the elements and make it back.
And FWIW, if you like Tim Russert and Colin Powell led away in chains, my stories have GREAT endings. Yet inexplicably, no one seems to like that as much.
Considering that there has already been a juror dismissed for outside exposure, I find a lack of sequestration this weekend very odd. At least one juror is saying they’re going to parent-teacher conferences, and you gotta know the school(s) will know that one of the parents is a juror. The chance for “tainting” has just gone up substantially. Why take this risk on at such a late date? Disturbing…hope I’m just overreacting.
karelroc @ 165
Today is school conference day for the entire DC Public School Board. Not likely they can reschedule that. And it will affect any juror with kids in school.
Karel…Is that YOU?
njr guess at 153 wrong…
yes on Marcy, no on the dude with earphones
clearer pic next thread!
So, it effects any parent with kids… TOO BAD. They have a duty now – this is why people dont like jury duty, it can go on forever and is unpredictable. I am certain that the teachers could find time next week to meet with them – even if all 11 of them have kids in school, its a tiny fraction of the student body’s population, and its not like they dont have a good reason to not attend !!
LOCK THEM UP FOR THE WEEKEND.
I take it that you’ve never been on a jury.
“Locking them up for the weekend” would only make them pissed off, and an jury that is angry about having to serve is not good for the prosecution.
I also take it that you don’t have kids, or have ever had (or know) anyone with health problems. Parent/teacher conferences, like doctor’s appointments (which apparently one of the juror’s has today) can indeed be rescheduled, but rescheduleing can mean a month plus wait for the new appointment/conference. Personally, I’m unconfortable telling someone with a kid in a public school, or someone with a heart problem or someone who is pregnant or someone with diabetes, that they should wait a month because they have a “duty”. A “duty” to what? To appease my impatience? The jury is in no way whatsoever neglecting their duty to the court by taking three hours off. These people also have a duty to their families.
Yes, people don’t like jury duty, and it’s not just because it goes on forever and is unpredictable. They also hate it because it interferes with pesky little problems like parenting and taking care of their health. HOW DARE the jury ask for three hours to worry about silly stuff like that.
If Libby is convicted, I don’t see Fitz going anywhere else:
Rove and Armitage have already admitted to leaking and no charges. Is Libby going to be able to prove they knew she was covert, given he has just been convicted for lying?
Cheney is more of a long shot they have very little on him. Libby’s testimony won’t be worth much, so unless he has some memo’s squirreled away . .
Libby more likely to wait for pardon then make a deal anyway?
Another problem is Plume was not stationed overseas so not actually covert for purposes of the one law (I forget its name), and some think Fitz does not want to try to use older laws since that would then be used against anyone who leaks (even good reasons) in the future.