Mr. Fitz, thankyou!

JUSTICE at high noon!!!

Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald, for a job well done.

Watching him, his Chicago accent, his no bullshit attitude, his presence and assurance…I was struck by two things. One, I want him on my side in any rumble. Two, I wish he felt like he could take this investigation further; I want him leading the charge.

It’s the Brooklyn in him.

A tall man indeed. Fitz should be on the short list for AG in an upcoming Democratic administration.

Of course this means the R’s “Justice” department will fire him!

Great job by the big man. I’m glad he’s on the side of angels.

As soon as I saw your title my first thought was Gary Cooper in “High Noon”.

Ned! Such an honor. Now to get some breakfast.

Loosehead & her Little Prop!!!!

On que the NRO calls for the pardon of Libby.

They hit all the tired points, no underlying crime, out of control prosecutor, scandal hungry media, partisan atmosphere, Joe Wilson is gay.

Round up the usual suspects Fitz.

-GSD

James and the Giant Fitz!

Sorry.

And!!!! Fitz does not have a Chicago accent–its pure one hundred percent Brooklyn!

GSD at 10: Did NRO online really say Joe Wilson is gay?

And by simple contrast he calls attention to the stink at the top of DOJ. Not that it’s much of secret anymore. Atty General Fitz in 2009.

Just a simple Thank you from a lurker that enjoyed your coverage and analogies.

Thanks

I’m catholic so I’m going to start it..

St. Fitz!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW–is the woman in the photo behind Fitz Bonamici (sp?)?

LooseHeadProp,
Go have a glass of wine, you have earned it.

I hate to leave, but if I don’t run off and get some things done I won’t be back to watch Joe on KO this evening. Thanks again to everyone. Love is in the air today. At least on our side.

Many thanks to everyone of the Fitz team.

JohnSwifty @ 4:

Thank you so much. The commenters a few days ago busted my chops for saying Fitz had a Chicago accent. Somebody accused me of being a habitual drug user.

I know guys from both Brooklyn and Chicago. I know a Kluczynski Federal Building lawyer accent when I hear one!!!

Thanks for putting Fitz in proper perspective, LHP.

The country is immensely fortunate to have had someone of his character appointed to handle the Plame investigation.

Woodhall at 16 — the one to the left is FBI Agent Deborah Bond, and to the right is Kathleen Kedian.

Hey, I’m 6′2″, 210.

Those are the the ISO 9000 standard dimensions for “integrity,” in case you didn’t know.

And!!!! Fitz does not have a Chicago accent–its pure one hundred percent Brooklyn!

Chicago, Brooklyn…whatever. It’s a voice that speaks clear, from solid roots. I’d like to hear it some more.

H should be on he short list for AG in ANYONE’s adminisstration.

I think a question that should be asked of all presidential candidates is “who is YOUR pick for AG?”

And I mean primary candidates

epu

He will not give his materials to Congress unless they ask for it

I say time for the most important roots project of all time

we must get congress to act before this information is declared classified

Working quietly and rigorously, plugging every hole, no grandstanding, just a dedication to justice.

Maybe there’s hope.

Now it’s up to the rest of us!

(channelling Pachacutec)

Yes, a job well done by Fitz and all that. But I’m still a little vague on what dinging a scapegoat gains us. I’d be dancing in the streets if it was Libby’s boss who was convicted.

Aabshier @ 13
The freepers accused/hypothesized Denis Collins of gayness due to teh gays unrelenting hatred of the Bush admin.

And I was amazed that so many Americans must be gay, given his poll numbers.

# 13.

Sorry, kidding about that angle, just gilding the lily a bit.

-GSD

Fitzilicous! Long live The FITZ!

flatford39 @ 15

March 6th - St. Fitz’s Day???

I’m very impressed that he got a perjury and false statement charge to stick. As a lawyer friend of mine said … “that is tough stuff to prove.”

Now Joe Wilson is gay? First married with 4 kids Edwards, then Fitz just because he is unmarried (god, if I could get $10 the straight never-married men I have known in my life, I would have a nice little pot of mad money)…who’s next?

That said, so what if they were.

LHP:

Let me second that. And at the risk of riling up the crowd, let me add a thought of my own.

Fitzgerald, to coin a phrase, is no partisan gunslinger. We don’t know his politics. He steadfastly resisted all calls to turn his narrow inquiry into an open-ended investigation into the manipulation of prewar intelligence and the suppression of dissent. Instead, he remained resolutely focused upon the task before him - investigating a single, specific leak of information. When that investigation was obstructed, he bored ahead through all obstacles thrown in his path, and removed the obstruction.

The truth is that there doesn’t appear to be sufficient evidence to press this case forward. The trial established that Plame’s identity was disclosed by multiple officials to multiple journalists, and that some clearly lacked intent while in the other cases it would be virtually impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecuting under IIPA in these circumstances would be a travesty of justice. That’s not to say there wasn’t an underlying crime. There was. But not every crime gets tried, and this one shouldn’t be.

I don’t expect many of you to agree with me now. But I do believe that in five years, or maybe ten, this exercise of restraint will be seen as Fitzgerald’s most impressive accomplishment. He went for what he had. He didn’t overreach. He never allowed his lionization in much of the press, or the vicious attacks from the right, to cloud his judgment.

He did what he thought was right. He won. And then he packed his bags and headed home.

If this country had more men like Fitz, it’d have many fewer problems.

brooklyn (flatbush), mets fan, and champion of the truth.
a great day.

Interesting juxtaposition today, the verdict in this case, and hearing about the firings at the justic department.

I for one am not going to deify fitz unless the process goes forward against those that exposed our assets, put life at peril in essence attempting murder

he is surely a capable man but his task is far from done…yet he is done never the less

I’m with Mark Kleinman, it stinks that no one else will be charged.

I am just totally missing something with all this Fitzgerald worship. Isn’t this Fitzgerald the exact same guy who was gung ho to use the Patriot Act to prosecute “domestic terrorists”? When his next assignment is to prosecute dissenters from the Bush regime under the Patriot Act, and he comes after _you_, are you going to be so impressed?

Cranky

Bionic@30 - Not all gays hate the Bush Administration, re Jeff Gannon

classy move by the veep not to comment.
guy takes a bullet for you, just walk away.
it’s cheneytown, jake.

An honorable, honest, intellectually gifted and hard-working man who deserves our thanks.

Meanwhile Fitzgerald’s polar opposite:

“Bush was in the Oval Office when he was told the jury had reached a verdict…He said he was saddened for Scooter Libby and his family”

We have seen justice today. More remains to be done.

AAB @ 6 -

Don’t look for anyone to make Fitz AG. Daley in Chicago will tell you that he goes after politcal corruption D or R.

So . . . the burning question in my mind is what does this mean for the civil suit? Given that the consenus is that Libby will ultimately escape punishment via pardon, it seems the civil suit is the real mechanism to deliver justice.

Can someone give me some insight?

Fitzgerald represents the best of the tenets of virtue jurisprudence.

JohnSwifty…he does say midwestern vowels. Listen to the long a.

I meant to type doesn’t say midwestern vowels.

looseheadprop,

Thank you again for all of your commentary before and during the trial. You and Christy did such a masterful job of explaining in such a way that those of us without JD’s could understand and follow along. It was wonderful to be able to refer others here and know that they could read the same tremendous explanation and analysis.

I’m only sorry I can’t buy you a drink, but if we ever meet, I owe you one.

-S

95 at 35:

If what you say is true, then the IIPA should be repealed. It is useless and taking up space in the CFR.

Don’t you think the real reason no charges were brought under this law because of the graymail issue?

Nitpick alert re: Comment No. 20–Apparently you don’t know your Chicago federal buildings any better than you know your Chicago (or Brooklyn) accents. The U.S. Attorney’s office and all the U.S. District Courts are in the Dirksen Federal Building, not the Kluczynski Building, which is across Dearborn Street and full of agency bureaucrats.

cgreen @ 43, I don’t recall that Bush expressed any sadness for what had been done to Mrs. Wilson–and to Ambassador Wilson.

I’d be dancing in the streets if it was Libby’s boss who was convicted.

Wait for the war crimes tribunal at The Hague

BTW I see Bush was saddened for Scooter and his family today. Was he saddened when Valerie Plame had to give up her career?

Fitz is not married but has a girlfriend, at least according to wiki.

My internet was down all day, and when my email came up, someone had sent news that “Libby’s Guilty!!!”
So I didn’t see it here first but I came to get the details (haven’t yet opened my friend’s email)
Snoopy Happy Dance cha cha cha…..

Conyers has work to do…

And so does the Senate Intel Cmte– where is Phase 2??? Pat Roberts is no longer chairman.

C’mon Rockefeller.

JohnSwifty…he does say midwestern vowels. Listen to the long a.

I do business in Chicago, it has that sound to me. I equate a Flatbush accent with Stalone, though I’m sure that’s a fabrication of sorts.

Regardless, the no bullshit attitude is sterling, blue-collar goods in any burg or burrow. What he said, how he said it, the truth in his approach, that’s what’s so cool about this guy.

I’d be dancing in the streets if it was Libby’s boss who was convicted.

Wait for the war crimes tribunal at The Hague

Oh, I’m waiting, but I ain’t holding my breath!

Isn’t this Fitzgerald the exact same guy who was gung ho to use the Patriot Act to prosecute “domestic terrorists”?

yeppers
he ain’t perfect, he was just perfect for this case

were it up to me Fitz would be head of the FBI, not AG

but that’s just me

Today it finally feels as if the reclamation of America is truly underway. Guilty verdicts in the Libby trial, which is basically a condemnation of the fraudulent Iraq war runup; the Congressional hearings on the illegal justice tampering by Domenici and Wilson in New Mexico, and the part it played in the greater unethical purging of serious and dedicated US Attorneys ethically doing their job; and the Congressional hearings on the malicious and hypocritical reckless disregard the Bush Administration has for the health and safety of it’s wounded veterans, the very troops the Administration has spent the last five years hiding behind. This is a very good day; but our work has just begun if we are to restore this country, and our government to the ideal it was created to be by the founders and the Constitution.

T Needham says

“March 6th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
So . . . the burning question in my mind is what does this mean for the civil suit? Given that the consenus is that Libby will ultimately escape punishment via pardon, it seems the civil suit is the real mechanism to deliver justice.

Can someone give me some insight?”

One aspect not to be overlooked is the lower standard of proof in a civil case. Remember OJ? Cheney, Rove, et al. could end up having escaped Fitz’s noose (due to burden of proof or other problems persuading Fitz not to prosecute) still held civilly liable.

Actually, I don’t know who all the defendants are in the Wilsons’ civil case. Anyone?

From the WaPo:

The Libby Trial Losers

By Andrew Cohen
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 6, 2007; 12:58 PM

Historians will need an index to list all the losers emerging from the perjury and obstruction trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. They will be able to count the winners on one hand. So it goes when you look back upon a case and a trial that braided together law and politics and journalism and ethics and morals and memory into one fine, ugly mess of a knot.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....00629.html

I keep thinking about the proverbial Martian who comes to earth and hears about America, the most powerful nation in the world, the planet’s leading democracy. He’s shown two men, George W. Bush and Patrick Fitzgerald, on cable news video, without any identification. The Martian is then asked to guess which one is President of the United States…
Just think how different the world would be if the right one were in office…

lina,

For a wide variety of reasons, the IIPA should be repealed. It’s a textbook example of a non-enforceable statute. It was drafted in hasty and ill-considered fashion in response to a specific event, and has never been succesfully used in court. Its infringement on the perogatives of the press also freaks me out.
We need to protect the identities of our intelligence agents, but IIPA is a lousy way to do it. I think that’s something almost everyone agrees on.

Woodhall Hollow prev. thread @ 155

“If my husband & father of my children had gotten himself into a pickle of this nature for the sake the likes of Darth Cheney, I would be royally pissed.”

I absolutely agree, my wife made this point to me.

I think by saying that he did not expect to file any further charges unless new information came to light, he put the ball in Congress’s court. It’s now up to them to investigate, but whether the Democrats are up to this, I don’t know. Conyers has shown a willingness to impeach, but the leadership in both houses does not want to go there. And do they concentrate on ending this war or investigating how we were manipulated into war.

All the closeted gays in the Bush Adm. have worked tirelessly against gays - recruiting knuckledraggers (some of whom are also gay) and religious zealots (some of whom are also gay) - in their effort to pander for votes - appealing to the brain-stem instincts of their base.

The real surprise here was at the front end of this crime, i.e., that George Tenet made the criminal referral on his way out the door at Langley. Dick and George had to be shocked when their favorite stooge left them this little goodbye gift.

Lost in moderation on the other thread:

Rule 6(e)“>Rule 6(e) doesn’t explicitly contemplate court authorization of the release of grand jury materials to Congress (as opposed to other federal or state prosecutors).

However, Rule 6(e)(3)A)(ii) does create an exception to grand jury secrecy prohibitions — one that does not require prior court approval:

(ii) any government personnel—including those of a state or state subdivision, Indian tribe, or foreign government—that an attorney for the government considers necessary to assist in performing that attorney’s duty to enforce federal criminal law…

Perhaps Fitz doesn’t think that Congress could assist him in his duty to enforce federal criminal law? Perhaps Rep. Conyers or Sen. Schumer should suggest this to him?

tee-hee

Brooklyn and Chicago fight argue to call him a homie.

Fitz: hero in the ‘hoods.

> he ain’t perfect, he was just perfect for
> this case
>
> were it up to me Fitz would be head of
> the FBI, not AG

Thank you. I am glad I am not the only person who thinks this.

Agree with your comment about the FBI as well.

Cranky

Re: Wilson’s civil suit. Something to think about from further down in Rule 6(e)

(E) The court may authorize disclosure—at a time, in a manner, and subject to any other conditions that it directs—of a grand-jury matter:
(i) preliminarily to or in connection with a judicial proceeding;

Isn’t a civil suit a judicial proceeding. And could not a Congressional investiagtion be preliminary to a judicial proceeding? Just some stuff to think about

perris @ 38 says:

I for one am not going to deify fitz unless the process goes forward against those that exposed our assets, put life at peril in essence attempting murder

he is surely a capable man but his task is far from done…yet he is done never the less

I think Fitz implied in his comments to the press that his is willing to hand over GJ material if Congress wants to pursue the matter. Perhaps he feels that his role is close to done but that Congress must move the ball down the field at this juncture (apologies to lhp for stealing his analogy).

Came out of the same 1st generation Irish background like Fitz in New York. Yes the Catholic School system but Fitz went to Regis the pure brain school of the Jesuits .Was only bright enough for the second top high school All Hallows .Did twenty New York P.D retired detective .Had cousin who attended Regis and yes a brain too .What I know so well 1st generation Irish are very literal about morality , God and yes socking it to bad guys .So perhaps I am even so much more proud and happy now with Libby going down since a Irish lad as Fitz took Libby down.
John

On a recent FDL thread, I proposed Fitz for Attorney General. But some of the other Firepups indicated that he may be more interested in being Director of the FBI. What do y’all think, where can he end up?

Rumor is that Fitz is a Republican, but based on how he’s conducted this trial, I would have no problem with him in a significant law enforcement role in a Democratic administration. If he is a Republican, he plainly hasn’t allowed his politics to let him go easy on Libby. He has used his power as a prosecutor quite responsibly; despite the shrieks of the Freepers, he has been quite restrained and non-partisan. He diligently prosecuted the law with great efforts to be fair, which is just what he’s expected to do. Can you imagine a conscientious lawyer like him running the DOJ? Hey, I want him to be AG.

Glenn Greenwald’s take on the Libby vedict:

http://salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/03/06/libby/

Sorry, here is the linnk for Rule 6(e).

Link.

lina @ 69, good point. Now if Tenet only tells all in his memoirs–truthfully.

Although, from this, the man does live like a monk:

(snip)

[Fitzgerald] went for 14 years without having the gas connected to his New York apartment because he spent his whole life at work, keeping his ties and underwear in drawers, showering and even having his food delivered to his office. He remained a bachelor, his friends joked, because a wife would get in the way of work. “You’d open a drawer, looking for a pen and it would be full of socks,” Karen Patton Seymour, a former US assistant attorney, told the New York Times.

(snip)

I mean, 14 years?

Fitz has said he is an Independent.

Badwater @ 41

I was snarkily extrapolating from the Freeper comments (see the REc diary at Kos) that wondered if Collins was gay because of how much teh gays hate the Bush admin.

Of course plenty of gay people support the Bush administration. You just have to look at Cheney’s daughter and Mark Foley.

W’s uncle John Bush took me to lunch years ago and he set my gaydar off.

from AZ Matt’s link above

” it almost doesn’t matter what happens now to Libby. His trial, and the investigation which led to it, raised forever the curtain on shoddy conduct within an administration that came to power promising to avoid such conduct. That is Fitzgerald’s most important achievement and it is the White House’s biggest shame. It’s just too bad it took so many years, so many botched news reports, and so many millions of tax-payer dollars, to discover it.

Andrew Cohen”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....00629.html

Has the VWRC started up with the “jury of only eleven” meme yet?

Fitz deserves the medal of honor.

“The president says, ‘I don’t care.’ He’s not accountable anymore,” Hagel says, measuring his words by the syllable and his syllables almost by the letter. “He’s not accountable anymore, which isn’t totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don’t know. It depends how this goes.”

The conversation beaches itself for a moment on that word — impeachment — spoken by a conservative Republican from a safe Senate seat in a reddish state. It’s barely even whispered among the serious set in Washington, and it rings like a gong in the middle of the sentence, even though it flowed quite naturally out of the conversation he was having about how everybody had abandoned their responsibility to the country, and now there was a war going bad because of it.

“Congress abdicated its oversight responsibility,” he says. “The press abdicated its responsibility, and the American people abdicated their responsibilities. Terror was on the minds of everyone, and nobody questioned anything, quite frankly.”

http://www.esquire.com/features/chuckhagel0407

Sally at 79:

I won’t hold my breath for that.

I don’t know how George Tenet sleeps at night.

I still haven’t had any takers to help me finish LHPs bottle of wine.

For those who may have missed it, my quick transcript of the fitz press conference that I put into the comments here is now up online here.

It is, for the most part, exact quotes (I tivoed and then transcribed, fitz was loud enough to get word for word, the reporters not so much), so it could be useful for various things happening today, enjoy.

Sally @ 53:

cgreen @ 43, I don’t recall that Bush expressed any sadness for what had been done to Mrs. Wilson–and to Ambassador Wilson.

Bloody fucking hell.

Does Bush have any idea how much damge he’s doing to future CIA recuitment efforts with statements like this?

Sympathy for Libby, after conviction over covering-up for the people responsible for outing a NOC.

Seriously, why would any intelligent person contemplating NOC status ever volunteer for it now, knowing that they can be outted by *their own government*, and that the president will sympathize with the people responsible?

Bloody fucking twit.

ew at 87:

you could save some for that coq au vin you promised to cook.

EW @ 88,

Is good stuff or cheap stuff?

Marcy, here’s a virtual glass for LHP’s wine

(….it’s a few hours early for wine in SF - but then it’s never oo early in SF. Cheers.)

Someone today asked about Sealed vs Sealed, implying charges had already been brought, and leaving the hope that Fitz has already filed charges we haven’t tumbled yet.
Anybody?

Sure.

Buford Pusser type tall now.

But if he takes down Conrad the Marauder…..

Well.

I’m thinking Mr. Fitzgerald will then be able to excuse himself from the sock drawer while he reaches down to touch the sky.

Marcy I would buy you a whole bottle (the good stuff too). Great job.

God bless Patrick Fitzgerald and his staff. I really mean that.

Rumor is that Fitz is a Republican, but based on how he’s conducted this trial, I would have no problem with him in a significant law enforcement role in a Democratic administration. If he is a Republican, he plainly hasn’t allowed his politics to let him go easy on Libby. He has used his power as a prosecutor quite responsibly; despite the shrieks of the Freepers, he has been quite restrained and non-partisan. He diligently prosecuted the law with great efforts to be fair, which is just what he’s expected to do. Can you imagine a conscientious lawyer like him running the DOJ? Hey, I want him to be AG.

He is not a Dem or a Rep. He is a Blank. On purpose. For real.

Hard to high-five oneself, but I knew that the White House would have no comment because the case won’t be closed until the pardon comes through. Plus, I just read what I predicted the reaction would be: We’re forward-moving; we’re about moving forward; we’re all into forward-moving, moving forward.
Unbelievable. Just read the deputy press secretary’s remarks: We’ve been able to move forward ….
Time for them all to move so forward the door won’t quit revolving.

AZ Matt — Oh, it’s good stuff. One of my faves for a nice dinner wine, actually. :) Sorry I’m not there, Marcy, or I’d help polish it off today.

I am totally in love with Fitz

Fitz deserves the medal of honor.

After giving it to Tenent? A medal of honor would be an insult

It does seem the Bush white house might have had a better statement ready upon the jury verdict than sympathy for the convicted felon!

Woodhall Hollow:

I was writing a response to your post in the previous thread. Decided to check to see if I’d already been EPU’ed. Of course. You guys sure do think and type fast.

Your observation was that perhaps Mrs. Libby was pissed that her husband hadn’t accepted a deal (perhaps recommended by Wells) and gone to the wall for Cheney instead.

From early in the trial, she has been the most interesting character for me. Nobody knew her or too much about her. So, kind of like Jean Rhys imagining Mrs. Rochester’s story, I began wondering about hers. How much did she know? What did she believe about her husband? As an attorney herself, what did she think about his defense? “Go for it Scooter Baby,” or “roll on these guys, they’re not worth it?”

Given her courtroom behavior today that Jane described, along with her demeanor and body language when Wells spoke outside the courthouse, my mental narrative is shaping up as you’ve speculated.

She wanted him to cut a deal with Fitzgerald, to minimize any jail time or eliminate it altogether. He chose Cheney–by extension, power–over his wife and children. As others have noted, perhaps she, too, enjoyed all the perks of power and position. But the mother hen rose to the surface here. And the father of her children dissed her, and them. Yeah, she looked pissed, almost dismissive of Scooter, as she moved to the other side to accept Jeffress’ hug of support. (Sure, they were standing behind Libby and Wells, but the visual of his wife literally standing behind him in his moment of need would have had been a good one, I think. Instead, she was behind Wells. Where was Barbara Comstock when such obvious stage managing was needed?)

Yes, a nice win. But before we deify him,I’m still pissed that Rove gets FIVE (5) FIVE (5) chances to lie, lie, lie, lie and then, maybe, during his last hearing, tell the TRUTH and get off SCOT FREE.

I don’t practice criminal law but I have never EVER heard of a prosecutor letting someone come in and go before a GJ 5 separate times. If that’s not bowing to the Bushies, I don’t know what is. I mention this not to rain on the parade but to remind people (and Fitz maybe?) that his work isn’t done.

Remember the talking point: “but this isnt’ for the underlying charge” as if it’s not valid. Well, where are the charges for outing Plame? That’s what they did. Yes, it’s harder to prove and gets into murkier, touchier stuff, CIA agents, etc.

Also, if anyone thinks Scooter will flip, they got another thing coming. Some websites are reporting that Libby’s price to hold his mud was $15 million. Supposedly Cheney was balking at this but they probably stole enough from Iraq and elsewhere that they can find it somewhere.

$15 million to these criminals is like a nickel to the rest of us.

Anyone watching the House Judiciary Prosecutor Purge Hearings?

Christy @ 100,

Good to know LHP isn’t cheap!

Watching him, his Chicago accent,

Fitz is from New York.

Speaking of hard work and integrity… How about a flashback to FDL’s own ever-vigilant ReddHedd a year ago this month on CSPAN discussing this case with that administration sock-puppet outfit, Powerline or powerbloat or whatever it’s called.

Thanks everyone for a new era in raw news and information/community web clearinghouse outlet… (you could fill a paragraph with descriptors) I will retroactively throw some support to the plame house since I’ve been greedily partaking of the efforts of all your hard work. (and now that I have a paycheck :)

I’m a little dizzy and feeling quite lightheaded. PLEASE do not kill my buzz! We can talk about what we do next tomorrow. Tonight we toast to FITZ!!!!!

LHP @ 102,

Tenet received the Medal of Freedom. The Medal of Honor is for military only.

A toast!

TO FDL!!!!!!!!!

kdh22 @32,

It is hearby acclaimed!!!!

Patrick Fitzgerald is a true patriot. I am so proud that my country has honest, dedicated lawyers like him, who truly believe in the ideals enshrined in our constitution. This trial is the closest that we will get towards indicting the miserable purveyors of this foolish war, the cost for which far exceeds the thousands of injured and dead servicemen in the long-term global instability it has wrought and the consequences to the safety of our citizens. Not to forget the horrendous death and destruction it brought to the people of Iraq. The actions of Cheney and his lick-spittle subordinate, and Armitage and Rove and the White House media elite WAS treasonous. By exposing Ms. Plame, they endangered all of her foreign contacts during her service, and all those who dealt with her cover company. A firing squad would be too good for these swaggering, incompetent, gossiping imbeciles! Starting with Cheney and going down to Armitage, Libby, Rove, Fleischer and Novak, they need to be metaphorically hung, drawn and quartered for their treasonous acts to the Republic!

Well, since it is after 5:00 PM somewhere, why not a TOAST! Salud!!

maria@85

Fitz deserves the medal of honor.

Well, he won’t be getting it from this President.

Fitz’s comments: did anyone ask — are you done? will there be more indictments?

Where’s Cheney’s?

I still haven’t had any takers to help me finish LHPs bottle of wine.

Ok,
You talked me into it. See ya in an hour.

————egregious, proudly of firedoglake

Nate @ 108 - that was a YEAR AGO??? my how time flies when you’re having fun. Can hardly wait to see Christy on again (anywhere, any time).

Excellent, eg. We’re about to do PTV (so you can check my makeup). And then I’ve just got to be able to do TV in teh morning. Jane, however, has to do radio. (Good thing she doesn’t drink.)

From The Guardian:

From the moment Patrick Fitzgerald was chosen to investigate the leak of a CIA operative’s identity there must have been some very sweaty palms inside the White House. The special counsel earned his spurs taking down mobsters and terrorists in New York.

He has been described as America’s toughest prosecutor and “Eliot Ness with a Harvard law degree”. Fearless, independent and relentless, the Washington outsider was never likely to let political consequences cloud the outcome of his two-year investigation.

Mr. Guiliani would like to believe that of himself.

oh goody. another PoliticsTV segment. can hardly wait.

emptywheel

I missed it, what TV in the morning?
as a total fan, I want to watch

During election night, I did a shot of patron for every Senate seat we got, plus one for Ned Lamont.

I have several nice tequilas on hand, including one I just started drinking, Herencia Blanco. Only 13 bucks for a 750ml at Don Pisto liquor in Rosarito.

How many shots to do?

~lightbulb going off~ I know! One for each count of Guilty!

Red wine is used for coq au vin, not white.

I see this argument about Fitzgeralds accent and I finally got to hear him speak at the presser just now.
Humor me here, close your eyes and listen closely.
You know who he sounds like to me?

Dan Ackroyd!!!

cheers, emptywheel. thanks for your stellar work.

Marcy, you are allowed a big, big grin when you do the Politics TV segment! Have a glaas of wine or two before going on the air.

Can we have a moment of silence for the goat the litigatormom sacrificed last night?

Great article on Vanity Fair by Michael Wolff on why Libby lied.

http://www.scooterlibby.com/

For a good laugh, check out the link above to Scooter’s defense committee. I think they raised about $8 million bucks for him. What a cast of bozos…

Celtic Muse:

There were a couple of little tidbits in the trial that perked me up on this score. One was the 10th birthday party on Air Force II. As I listened to the testimony about that day, it was obvious that Scooter was not “with” his kid, rather he was sticking a knife into the Wilsons at Cheney’s bidding. The other was the very busy man defense, working from 6 am to 8:30 pm. No marriage with young kids functions well in these circumstances, and if the ultimate price she had to pay for this is that her husband ends up as a convicted felon with a huge fine and a jail sentance hanging over his head (I wouldn’t count on Bush for a pardon if I were either of them) for her “sacrifice” all these years.

Esp. considering that she herself is an attny. I can hear the conversation now, “you said WHAT to the FBI? WHY?”

Fred@119… I know! It’s seems like yesterday I was sitting in my condo in HI, up til near dawn, amp’d on caffeine, watching Christy verbally smack that spin doctor around the public airwaves! I couldn’t have enjoyed myself more watching Asia-Pacific Rugby tournament that was on in New Zealand! (amazing what’s on TV in the so pacific at oh-dark-thirty)

Rep. Cohen from TN (& Howie Klein’s Sat. FDL post) is up on House Jud Comm for Purging Prosecutors.

Irish men have a pattern of late marriage.

Thank you Emptywheel. You’ve done us all a tremendous service.

I’ll toast officially you when I get off work but for now…

*ding*

I love the part about Fitz keeping socks in his desk.
The man has his priorities straight in my book.

coq au vin blanc:

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces lean smoked ham, diced medium
8 skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or Wondra
1 medium onion, diced medium
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced shallots
1 cup cremini or button mushroom slices, 1/4-inch thick (1/3 to 1/2 pound)
1 cup white wine such as sauvignon blanc
1 (14-ounce) can low-fat chicken broth
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 stalks celery, sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1. Choose a heavy Dutch oven or skillet with a tight-fitting cover, large enough to fit the chicken in no more than two layers plus the vegetables. In this pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil, add the ham and saut until browned all over. Remove and reserve the ham, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as you can.

2. Liberally season the pieces of chicken with salt and pepper and dredge them in the flour. Add the remaining oil to pan. When the oil is hot, sear the pieces of chicken thoroughly on all sides until well browned. Take care not to scorch the flour coating, but do let it get brown. Do this in batches. Reserve the chicken with the ham.

3. Return pan to the burner set to medium. Add the onion, garlic, shallots, and mushrooms, and saut for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until tender and fragrant. Add the wine, chicken broth, carrots, celery, and thyme, and let the pan come to a boil. Add the reserved chicken and ham. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 45 to 50 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce has thickened from the flour. Taste and correct seasoning with salt and pepper.

4. Arrange chicken pieces and vegetables on a warmed platter, and cover with the sauce. Serve with roasted potatoes.

Irish men have a pattern of late marriage.

At least the catholic ones do, in which marriage is for keeps.

And a guy like Fitz is not going to make a vow that he isn’t certain he is capable of keeping. The cat that attacked his ankles probably drove that point home.

Marcy, you’re a tough act to follow. Now I can go home & celebrate.

Great post LHP.

House Judiciary Comm for Purged Prosecutors. The Fired Attorneys are now up as witnesses.

ew: i’ll see your white wine and raise you a glass of champagne. *clink*.

(it’s after noon here in l.a…not that i waited. had a mini-bottle in the frig ready to go)

and another toast to the peanut and her dino wear, our good luck charm! *clink*

it made me laugh that even some leftleaning pundits started second guessing Fitz’s strategy during the trial… stressing….

hahahaha

relax

Ohhhh Thanks for the recipe lina, that sounds yummy.
(printing out now)

Wow, I meant to check on this first thing today, but I’ve been super-busy and couldn’t. I haven’t posted here in a long time (for similar reasons), but I’ve continued reading, and this is just incredible. I’ve been watching this with Jane, Christy, and the bunch for quite a while, since right around the time of the whole “dust bunny” bit with Judy Miller, and it’s almost unreal to see an actual verdict in this case. You guys have done a singular job of tracking the case and keeping people informed (heck, even Murray Waas defers to you at this point)…anyway, I just wanted to say thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald.

And Congratulations. Very well done.

The New York Times article today by David Stout and Neil A. Louis, “Libby Guilty of Lying in C.I.A. Leak Case,” has some subtle and not-so-subtle spin, all in the general direction of the “no underlying crime” talking points.

It even includes some misleading comments like this one - “During the trial, Mr. Wells tried to show that his client was being made a scapegoat to protect Mr. Rove, who was considered vital to President Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004.” That statement makes you wonder whether the authors actually followed the trial, or were just handed a copy of defense talking points to rewrite.

Seems that, at a minimum of journalistic accuracy, they would have to change that sentence to “During his opening arguments, Mr. Wells asserted that his client was being made a scapegoat to protect Mr. Rove, but that assertion was not followed up by any testimony or other information during the trial itself.”

It may take a while for this group of citizen activists to decide upon a course of action to keep the ball rolling on the investigation of who leaked the CIA agents’ identity. In the meantime I drafted a letter for my US Rep, Senators, Speaker, President and VP. Feel free to comment: there’s always room for improvement!

Today the former chief of staff of the Vice President, Mr. I. Scooter Libby was found guilty of two counts of lying to FBI investigators, one count of perjury for testifying falsely under oath, and one count of obstruction of justice in the leak investigation of a CIA agent’s identity.

If Mr. Libby’s motive for lying, perjury and obstruction of justice was to conceal Mr. Cheney’s role in the disclosure of classified information and insulate him from legal jeopardy, then it is the sole responsibility of Congress to investigate; and to initiate impeachment proceedings if there is probable cause and ample justification

While Mr. Libby has been found guilty of perjury and obstruction, there has been no determination regarding who is responsible for disclosing the classified information and blowing the cover of the CIA NOC. Mr. Libby learned of the CIA agent’s identity from Mr. Cheney. There is evidence presented at trial that indicates that Mr. Cheney learned about the CIA agent’s classified identity from his CIA briefer and a classified State Department memo. The prosecutor was clear where the facts lead. He stated in his closing argument, “There is a cloud over the Vice President.”

Congress must investigate in order to meet its responsibilities under the Constitution. As you know, this disclosure of classified information came from senior White House officials and occurred during a time when our President had war authorization for a pre-emptive war in Iraq to disarm Saddam Hussein of his nuclear WMDs, which as we all know never materialized. This disclosure of classified information came from senior White House officials in reaction to an op-ed in the New York Times challenging the intelligence used to justify war authorization. We now know that Mr. Cheney’s office was involved in providing “intelligence” for war authorization. This disclosure of classified information came from senior White House officials and revealed a CIA agent’s identity, Valerie Plame, who is also the wife of the man who published the op-ed. On or about the time Valerie Plame’s name was published, the President’s chief policy advisor Karl Rove told Chris Matthews, “Valeria Plame is fair game.” The identity of the CIA agent was classified and her status was covert. She had non-official cover.

I call on you to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter, using subpoena power, as a high priority in Congress. If instead Congress elects to investigate the intelligence used for war authorization, then the interests of the integrity of our Republic will be equally well represented. Thank you.

Awesome…the wall of the fallen humbly shakes themselves awake…this administration pettieness of destroying career federal employees careers and lives and reputations…i hope this is the beginning of the end of these tactics…guesss Cheney’s world tour still did not change the fate of the juries verdict…yea…Fitz a true hero

Media Matters has an excellent list of “Media Myths and Falsehoods” to look out for in the coming days. It’s an excellent review of winger & TradMed talking points, and specific refutations of each one.

So the next step is that Congress has to request the materials from Fitz to see if any action should be taken - is that right?

alternetYou’ve probably seen it by now, but I found this article about Scooter by his boyhood friend.
It’s hard to be more eloquent about the way Scooter has worked against all our interests as American and world citizens than this very personal writing, by Nick Bromell in the Winter 07 American Scholar, as posted on alternet.

Baked Potato (And anyone else) - Whether or not the CM goes with the “no underlying crime” theme is meaningless. The only thing that matters for the vast, vast majority of the public is GUILTY ON COUNTS/FELONIES. They’re not going to dig deeper, and they’re going to know it wasn’t for parking tickets.

There are plenty of things to worry about in life, but the trial and the verdicts being spun as “meaningless” isn’t one fo them.

Not that it isn’t important to call the CM out, and I don’t want to disuade anyone from going after them. The truth in and of itself is important. But the idea of how the verdicts play with the majority is unspinable. And those who would listen to such bullshit, already agree with it - the “true believers.”

Hooray for justice, even with it’s hobbled capacity in today’s “cheat to win - live the lies” environment. Thnx Fitz!

Joe Wilson coming up on NPR momentarily!!!

Celtic Muse @104: Interesting conjectures about Mrs. Libby and her interactions with the defense team and her husband. I wonder if she’s going to be nagging her husband to make a deal to lessen his sentence and whether she’d have any success at wearing him down now that 1) he’s actually been convicted 2) it looks like he’s the only one going down for the crime 3) Fitz intimated that Walton would be receptive to the government’s sentencing recommendations. I have no idea what Mrs. Scooter’s normal personality is like, much less what she’d be like under the duress of the current situation, but unless they live separately or she is utterly silent, it’s difficult to imagine she’d refrain from at least one, “You’re going to jail and leaving me and the kids alone and it’s not fair! Why are you still protecting X? People already know he’s in this up to his eyeballs. Give Fitzgerald what he wants so you can come back to your kids while they still recognize you!” outburst.

LHP @ 102,

Tenet received the Medal of Freedom. The Medal of Honor is for military only

I ws responding to someone else’s comment further upthread suggesting that Fitz should get the Medal of Honor.

Yes, this is nice but after all the illegal crap this Admin has pulled — wiretapes, illegal detentions, no warrants, no charges, no nothing, repealing the 4th through 6th amendments and the Magna Carta — does anyone think that Libby is rather small potatoes?

Whatever the medal is called, Medal of Freedom is correct, I think, lhp is right that it has been throughly debased with the likes of Tenet being a recipient. Someone else objectionable got it too, but my memory fails me.

126 Bustednuckles says:

March 6th, 2007 at 12:38 pm

I see this argument about Fitzgeralds accent and I finally got to hear him speak at the presser just now.
Humor me here, close your eyes and listen closely.
You know who he sounds like to me?

Dan Ackroyd!!!

OMG! I never noticed that before. He does a bit

Thoroughly, that is. I’m starting to adopt lhp style.

Now I wish he would turn his sights directly on that massive blood clot known as Dick Cheney.

Look, I think Bush should be impeached and that Cheney should be indicted and the boys brought home–but would you STOP WITH THE GUSHING! It is inappropriate for a lawyer to gush over the outcome of a criminal trial. That is all it was–a prosecutor presenting his evidence, the defense tearing it down, the judge giving the law, and the jury rendering its verdict–and if you think it was some grand exercise of ideological righteousness then you are really no different than the citizens who gushed over that moron Ten Commandments judge. Show some respect for our system, will you? A man is going to prison.

lina (@69) wrote above:

“The real surprise here was at the front end of this crime, i.e., that George Tenet made the criminal referral on his way out the door at Langley. Dick and George had to be shocked when their favorite stooge left them this little goodbye gift.”

Could someone explain this please? What criminal referral did Tenet make?

kg Tenet referred the criminal act of outing of covert agent to the Justice Dept.

161Archer says

March 6th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Look, I think Bush should be impeached and that Cheney should be indicted and the boys brought home–but would you STOP WITH THE GUSHING! It is inappropriate for a lawyer to gush over the outcome of a criminal trial. That is all it was–a prosecutor presenting his evidence, the defense tearing it down, the judge giving the law, and the jury rendering its verdict–and if you think it was some grand exercise of ideological righteousness then you are really no different than the citizens who gushed over that moron Ten Commandments judge. Show some respect for our system, will you? A man is going to prison.

I am not gushing over the outcome of a criminal trial. I am gushing over a job well done, and the dignity and integrity with which it was done.

In an administration filled with the Mike Chertoff’s and Abu Gonzale’s and John Yoo’s who think government service is all some kind of evil game (who made that “we make our own reality” Quote?) instead of a sacred trust, yeah, I DO GUSH when someone stands up to that kind of cynicism and does things the right way.

As for feeling bad that Libby is going to jail. I feel bad for his wife. I feel really bad for his kids. But Irving Libby is an experieance White Collar Crimanl Defense Lawyer.

He knew what he was doing was wrong. He went in there to thwart to GJ process on purpose. He lied. On purpose. To protect Shrub and Shooter.

Nobody did this to Libby. Libby did this to himself AND to all of us. He obstructied our American Justice System.

I have no crocodile tears for that betrayal

looseheadprop@165

He knew what he was doing was wrong. He went in there to thwart to GJ process on purpose. He lied. On purpose. To protect Shrub and Shooter.

Nobody did this to Libby. Libby did this to himself AND to all of us. He obstructied our American Justice System.

I have no crocodile tears for that betrayal

you got that right

“The truth is the engine of our judicial system. And if you compromise the truth, the whole process is lost.” - Patrick Fitzgerald press conference on indictment of Libby

“He stole the truth from the judicial system,” Fitzgerald told the jury. “If you return a guilty verdict, you give the truth back.”

I wasn’t following the thread in the comments but Victoria Toensing was just on CNN and said that there was no underlying crime which is why Fitzgerald did not intend anymore prosecutions and that she wrote the law about covert agents and that the case not apply in this situation. She looked like she was on drugs, she was so giddy. Did I miss something? I am just a layperson and this is not what I understood to be the reason why he would not be prosecuting anyone for the outing a CIA agent crime. I understood him to say that the truth wasn’t discovered because of the obstruction of justice?

Patrick Fitzgerald has restored America’s faith in its judicial system.

NO man or woman is above the law.

Now Congress MUST hold its own hearings.

Okay, so would it put pressure on Libby to roll over if an impeachment were in process. Could we start making strong demands of both republicans and dems to start impeachment proceedings against Bush for so many reasons which include info that was raised in the trial?? Wouldn’t impeachment put a pardon at risk?? And also restore some faith in AMERICANS?? It seems like we need to be riding our representatives to move on this. Let’s make sure we wink back at Fitz…it seems like that might have some power to make Libby consider the roll over.

The talking heads are saying that Libby is looking at a year, or two at the most in jail. I say, “Bullshit!”

The key is that in Federal Court criminal defendants get sentenced for their “relevant conduct” not merely the counts upon which they have been convicted. Bummer for Libby who could realistically be facing more than 10 years.

To see why, visit the Schapira blog, What we know so far …

“… and tell ‘em Big Mitch sent ya!”

I suspect that Rove resents Cheney’s powerful influence over the frat-boy-who-would-be-king because it diminishes his own influence. I also suspect that he blames Libby for bringing down the house, so to speak, because Libby’s lie (about Russert being his source regarding Plame) was too easy to disprove. Rove made a casual and rather insulting dismissive remark about Libby the day that Rove found out that he wasn’t going to be indicted.

If I’m right, Libby may be making a serious mistake if he is counting on a pardon from Bush because Rove may be lobbying against it. At least, I strongly suspect that the subject of a pardon will come up in conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Libby. Oh, to be a fly on the wall.

Maybe Scooter will see the light.

Let’s stop by and give Fitz and his staff some “thank you” love …

from his DOJ site these are the many ways and many places …

Contact OSC

Chicago Office:
Dirksen Federal Building
219 South Dearborn Street, Fifth Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60604
www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/

Washington Office:
Bond Federal Building
1400 New York Avenue, NW, Ninth Floor
Washington D.C. 20530
sorry, no email addy listed for the DC office

Hard to high-five oneself, but I knew that the White House would have no comment because the case won’t be closed until the pardon comes through. Plus, I just read what I predicted the reaction would be: We’re forward-moving; we’re about moving forward; we’re all into forward-moving, moving forward.
Unbelievable. Just read the deputy press secretary’s remarks: We’ve been able to move forward ….
Time for them all to move so forward the door won’t quit revolving.
Pat

Oh. Are they talking about ‘moving forward’ already? Marvelous. It’s like the day or two after the Amish children were shot down one of the msm’s ‘newswomen’ asked one of the parents, ‘have you been able to move on yet?’
How different from the former u.s. intelligence officer is vietnam I once heard interviewed on cbc radio. He had found the private writings of a n.vietnamese field physician. He was so impressed that after the war he and his brother (also a vietnamese speaking intell. officer) returned papers to her parents who ‘emotionally’ adopted both men. He was full of grief and horror at what the u.s.a. had done to the vietnamese. ‘we burned them, we butchered them…’ he said. AND HE SAID ‘closure is a dirty word to me. I never want to forget what we did to those beautiful people.’

i actually had time to read all the threads here and at many other sites talking about the trial.

amazing brilliance and finally vindication.

the trolls are very very quiet

and hissing like deflating

week old balloons.

I try to be very good as Fitz is the Atty for my district. Let’s see, we have Fitz, Durbin, Obama, Daley (who is being investigated by fitz). What a state.
You guys did a good job in this. Gave blogs a great name and rep.
And Fitz is the ideal prosecutor and the way you think our officials should be. Don’t you wish they all were?

95 in Post 35 is what I’ve been saying, si naturally, you’re 100% right.

But look, this talk about Libby “turning’ or whatever…… It’s not like the guy is looking at hard time. He has no reason to cooperate and Fitz had no real leverage with him. It’s a waiting game until a pardon.

Congratulations,Mr.Fitzgerald,on this case today! Have so appreciated you & your staff working so hard for Justice for the American People. It certainly gives me faith again that there are people like you working for the people. As an older lady that remembers how it used to be like this,and again today, I was so proud of all of you on your team.

Oh, I forgot, hope you are the Attorney General for 2009.

I only want to say that it is a deeply satisfying
feeling to have someone to admire in government.
Fitzgerald has given us a role model to look up to
both as a representitive of our citizen’s and as
a being.

Fitz is probably the next USA to get the axe.

EPU’d - didn’t read this until this morning (here)

Just to observe, the position of AG is a political position that gives legal support to the administration it serves. Mr. Fitzgerald would NOT fit those requirements well.

However, the post of Solicitor General, which traditionally was politically neutral and represented the interests of apolitical government with the Supreme Court would certainly fit Mr. Fitzgerald’s reputation. The post was once refered to as the 10th Justice on the strength of integrity of the tradition as the SC followed the commendations of the SG’s office.

Unfortunately the Reagan administration obliterated the post and reduced it to a political hack job, terminating a hundred plus decades of tradition. The New Yorkers of 1987 have a three issue article by a Lincoln xxxx (the name excapes me and my reference is packed away in the process of moving - sorry - many like New Yorker articles were so like todays excellence in blogging, precursors in print). To have been exposed to the New Yorker all my life has been an untold blessing. There are resources there in the (NYer) that give excellent contemporanious reporting of complex(ious) and nefarious carry-on by the executive administration.

IANAL but in the comments in these posts somewhere, someone observed that the power to issue pardons ceased if the president was under impeachment proceedings. If this is so, it is imperitive that such start immediately. That ought to leave Libby, Libby, Libby, hanging, hanging, hanging, in the breeze, in the breeze, in the breeze - oughten it? Just how difficult would it be to investigate the spectrum of maladminsitration until the term is expired and still not return to senate for trial. It might be the leash needed to put some manners on the administration. Please enlighten as curiosity is eating me alive. All the best…….