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As if the Richard Cohen cocktail weenie extravaganza weren't enough, there are a couple more Libby tidbits cooked up. First, this bit from Dan Froomkin's excellent White House Watch, gleaned from the Susan Ralston deposition:
"Q Were you aware of any communications by Mr. Rove about Joe Wilson or Valerie Plame Wilson with the Office of the Vice President?"A You know, it is -- that investigation was so lengthy that the timing of all of the conversations is not really clear in my mind. I believe he did talk to the Vice President's Office about it, but I just don't remember when, with whom, the context.
"Q Why do you believe that he talked with that office about this subject?
"A. I just have a vague recollection that he and Scooter Libby talked about this subject often.
"Q. Often?
"A. Often.
Hmmmmm...interesting. There is quite a bit more in Froomkin's piece as well. And emptywheel has even more -- do take the time to click thru and read this. Very interesting, indeed.
And then there is this from Editor and Publisher (H/T to reader Sparkles The Iguana):
Perhaps the most amusing moment in the book (there aren't many) comes when Pearlstine reprints emails exchanged by Cooper's post-Abrams lawyer Dick Sauber and prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald after Cooper's notes had been submitted.Fitzgerald had just discovered that Cooper had been standing stark naked in his apartment when he received the fateful call that kept him out of jail -- when Libby said it was okay that he testify. Sauber joked that at least the jury would be impressed by Cooper's "transparency." Fitzgerald wrote back that he always believed in not ordering witnesses to dress up for court, preferring that they dress the way they feel most comfortable. Now, he said, he might have to change that policy.
Bwahahahahahaha.
Team Libby has filed a motion for a stay of sentence pending appeal, and I'll be pulling whatever information is available off PACER for analysis at some point today. Looking forward to some quality time with my highlighters and red pens, and will get something out for you all to digest as soon as I can on all of this.
(Photo of Libby's cocktail weenies vienna sausages via kris247. H/T to rwcole for the photo idea -- good one.)
PS -- A couple of tidbits. Laura Rozen will be on Fresh Air this evening talking politics, the Bush Administration, and Iran. Second, I may be doing Sam Seder's show on Air America on Sunday -- will let you know for sure when I firm up the details. Happy West Virginia Day to everyone -- 144 years as a state and counting!
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first!
Good morning Christy!
I am up early for a change!
Morning Christy. Richard Cohen is going to be online at noon today ’splaining himself re: Libby. You can submit questions here
Hey Redd. I would be happy to get the filing off PACER. Been wandering around the AC site for a few days. let me see what I can find. brb
Good morning, Christy!
Cooper stark naked? Please, I’m still waking up. Now that image will haunt me the rest of the day! *g*
I am still enjoying the afterglow from Digby’s speech last night. And then she posted as usual on the scary Scalia/Jack Bauer BS this morning. What a mind and what a pen!
nothing on PACER yet. will check at lunch.
Helen @ 4
Could someone mention his head is too small for his hair?
Wordsmith @ 9
Gladly. And I might add that his brain is too small for his head.
I love the juxtaposition of “vague” and “often”.
Let’s call it a Rovian dialectic.
Finally chiming in on Digby Day. Congratulations to all who were there and to all who were there in spirit. Heckuva team!
I read Lou Dubose & Jake Bernstein’s book: ‘Vice: Dick Cheney & the Hijacking of the American Presidency’.
This caught my attention - pg. 154:
It’s in a chapter dealing with Halliburton and other smallish details */minor bit of snark inserted/* dealing with the Iraq war, Soldiers of Fortune.
Helen @ 4
No kiddin? Wow.
Good Morning, Christy et al. Just curious - I’d assume the appeals court would look at the same issues as Walton in the issue of staying a sentence pending appeal - that is, likelihood of success. So is this just Lawrence Robbins hoping he’ll get some buddies on the appeals court to see the issues (or the plight of his poor client) differently?
Helen @ 4
Looking forward to that. CHS did a great job yesterday. Maybe he could just respond to that one.
at scarecrow’s reminder in the last thread, i’m watching the Senate Rules Committee hearing on S. 1285, the “Fair Elections Now Act,” to reform the finance of Senate elections and on the high cost of broadcasting campaign advertisements.
so far it’s concern trolls whining about not wasting our tax dollars.
Happy WV Day to you, Christy! That must be some kinda state to produce the likes of you and Robert Byrd!
We just get stuck with people like Lindsay Graham, Jim DeMinted and Bob Jones. However, we can claim Stephen Colbert as our own!
Mutant at 15 — Well, as defense counsel, you have to argue the angles for your client that you feel are valid ones, whether or not you think you have a chance at success. Each time you get a fresh jury in a trial and/or a fresh judge, you always have a chance to sway them — sometimes, the chance is bigger than others. In this case, everything I saw of Walton’s rulings and trial conduct was very, very well grounded in legal precedent, rules readings and such — which makes it a tough, uphill argument for defense counsel. But I’ve learned to never say never in terms of appeal potential.
But, without knowing which judges they have pulled (we won’t find that out until there is a decision issued, I don’t think, if they follow the usual fed. appeals court procedure), it’s really tough to say how good or how nearly impossible their shot really is.
OT, but Bloomberg makes news by ditching the GOP, gearing up for a run in 2008?
Someone should remind Bloomberg that the last time we had a shortie for president was with John Adam, who was #2. He barely topped 5′ 2″. Bloomberg looks like he is 5′ 7″ in elevators.
Is this petty? No, for whatever strange reason, people associate height with leadership. A study showed that the highest paid CEO’s run to the tall side, around 6′.
Is there some mysterious relationship between height and leadership?
Oddly enough some of the really bad guys in history were short: Hitler and Stalin come to mind. Is there another relationship here?
Ask Napoleon, who was about 5′4″.
FYI, from Truthout:
I finally have to ask, what does H/T stand for?
Helen @ 4
Oh, I am just so silly some mornings. I actually thought for a minute you were saying he was going to be on FDL - ha! Okay, I am a durn fool.
It’s a good thing that WaPo is giving its readers this opportunity, but I don’t appreciate their wording one bit:
stratocruiser at 22 — It means “hat tip” as in “credit to”
Helen @ 4
Dear Mr Cohen:
If politics is really a dark art that is best practiced in the dark, why does “The Washington Post” publish a daily newspaper? Couldn’t they get by with a weekly leaflet detailing the latest hairstyles of the Presidential candidates?
–Frank
stratocruiser @ 22
I think it’s hat tip.
I’ve read concerns that Bloomburg could be a spoiler for 2008 to get the independent vote away from the dems.
THX,all
cathy at 27 — I think Bloomberg likes the attention. But I hear that he is very concerned that he’ll get painted as the third party spoiler, much like Perot and/or Nader did by press and others after their Presidential runs — and I think that his ego and desire for good press will overrule his need to jump in as a third party guy. But we’ll see…it is an interesting dynamic to watch this year.
cathy @ 27
Why is it no one worries that he’d take sane Republicans away from the GOP?
dreamcatcher @ 20
Isn’t that interesting? My ex looks quite a bit like Stalin, no kiddin’. He was 5′5″ (my ex that is) but I believe Stalin was also 5′5″ or 5′6″. It really didn’t hit me until after we divorced.
Mandrake @ 18
And the Fridge!
dreamcatcher @ 20
Oh, and Howard Dean was 5′7″ or 5′8″ - now to me (having been married to a man the same height as me) that’s not short so I was surprised when everybody kept referring to him as short.
In defense of short people, I want to point out that Frank Lloyd Wright was also short for a man - 5′4″, I believe. That said, I recall reading that Scooter Libby is also on the short side.
raven @ 32
Pardon my ignorance, but who’s that?
stratocruiser @ 22
Christy Hardin Smith @ 24
curtsey is also used in the same way (see ampersand)
Mandrake @ 35
Slightly OT, but relevant.
From Blaise Pascal, via The Writers Almanac –
senate rules committee is back in session.
durbin - the current method of financing campaigns is unsustainable. we spend too much time raising money and thinking about raising money. we are removed from the daily life of normal people, results in estrangement for normal people
1) Did Libby cover up the underlying crime by obstruction and perjury?
2) In general, should perjury to a grand jury be prosecuted- or is it a trivial crime?
3) Was Libby’s sentence within federal guidelines- or was it excessive?
Thank You in advance for your responses.
(My question to Cohen- sent him an e-mail yesterday- we’re gettin ta know each other.)
Ladies and Gents,
The incomparable Mr. Randy Newman:
“Short People got no reason
Short People got no reason
Short People got no reason
To live
They got little hands
And little eyes
And they walk around
Tellin’ great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet
Well, I don’t want no Short People
Don’t want no Short People
Don’t want no Short People
Round here
Short People are just the same
As you and I
(A Fool Such As I)
All men are brothers
Until the day they die
(It’s A Wonderful World)
Short People got nobody
Short People got nobody
Short People got nobody
To love
They got little baby legs
And they stand so low
You got to pick ‘em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin’ peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They’re gonna get you every time
Well, I don’t want no Short People
Don’t want no Short People
Don’t want no Short People
‘Round here”
oops- screwed up “trivial” - oh well- a trivial matter.
mc @ 41
Thank goodness you didn’t post a youtube, there was a connectile dysfunction revolt last night by our bandwith deprived brothers and sisters over tubers!
raven @37: Thanks! Duh! I thought maybe that was a football player but I plead ignorance about his history or the fact that he is from SC. Well, we do have some good ‘uns here and there.
We also had Fritz Hollings but he’s gone now. **sigh**
Also, John Spratt (Chairman of the Budget Committee) and Majority Whip James Clyburn.
If there’s any ‘voluntary compliance’ involved, no law on campaign financing will remove the CorpoRatocracy from the whip-hand it holds over the Congress…
OT:
Just a ‘walkin the blogs–Wed.
There’s a distinctly international flavor to the tunes you’ll find on Woody Guthrie’s Guitar this morning, from Nepal, Mexico, Jamaica, and Brazil. Also an old Joan Armatrading side.
http://www.woodyguthriesguitar.blogspot.com
On the Lamb, you may gaze in mute wonder at the willingness of the Congress to f*ck labor…again.
http://www.thewell-armedlamb.blogspot.com
Then trip joyfully over to The Pond, and see if you can answer the question indelicately posed there:
“Where’s The F*cking Amendment That Allows The F*cking Chimperor To Ignore The F*cking Law?”
http://www.walled-in-pond.blogspot.com
The Older I Get, The Better I Usta Be…
By election day, I may be ready to vote for Bloomberg!! Would love to see a third party prez to shake things up- a centerist could WIN this damned thing- especially if the goopers go native.
Re: Bloomberg and 2008:
This from Walter Shapiro in Salon recently:
Mornin Redd- thanks for the Hat Tip-
Tippin back atcha!!
Headed ta the golf course- see ya all later!!
rwcole @ 40
There is an excellent article by Elizabeth de la Vega (love that name, rolls off the tongue!) about just these issues in Truthout.
The Week with Libby
In honor of Teddy SanFran, I submitted a question to Cohen. It goes approximately like this: You write that “the underlying crime is absent…” Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice. The prosecutor was unable to determine whether there was an underlying crime. The judge took that into consideration in sentencing. What evidence do you have that supports your statement that there is no underlying crime, and will you share that evidence with Patrick Fitzgerald.
Asking questions in this format is hard. I should have been a bit clearer on the point about the implication for sentencing. On the plus side, I think it attacks his reasoning in a clear way, and at a point in his argument that could force at least some minor rethinking on his part if he actually thinks about it.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 24
Not to be confused with a “Wag ‘o the Finger.”
Mandrake @ 23
Interesting choice of wording on Mr. Cohen’s part.
(Not so ) early on in the US Attorneys scandal,
Abu referred to it as an “overblown personnel matter” .
P.S. I now see that “overblown” was undoubtedly written by somebody else.
Freddy?
allan_in_upstate @ 53
I’d like to blow them over.
Christy - forget PACER. here’s the Libby Appeal Libby Appeal
Mandrake @ 23
One could make the case that Clinton/Lewinsky was another “overblown personnel matter,” pun definitely intended.
omg. there’s even video! Andrea Mitchell for one.
Ralph Nader 6′3″
Ross Perot 5′5″
Little Jimmy Dickens 4′11″
If Libby is a scapegoat, taking the bullet for someone else in the administration, shouldn’t that person be in trouble? Doesn’t that mean that Libby was obstructing justice?
Mandrake @ 33
Sitting around the student center one afternoon when I was in college, we established the “munchkins club” Males couldn’t be taller than 5′8″ (that was a sop to me and another fellow as we just barely hit that mark) and females maxed out at 5′2″. We didn’t go any further with it but we had fun that day being exclusionary as all of us had experienced some levels of short discrimination…
Maybe trivia, but maybe not:
All the short women friends I have in academia are (1) highly intelligent (2) extremely ambitious, and (3) highly accomplished.
No data on short male friends ‘coz I know mostly tall men. But as some have already pointed out: Napoleon was short, and so was Einstein.
Mandrake says:
Was? He should still be 5′ 5″. Has he grown shorter? (Some say we lose inches as we get older.)
Done with my trivia for the day.
Well, as someone who is 5′3″, I could really give a rats ass how tall someone is in terms of evaluating them. What I do is try and realy listen to what they have to say — or what they aren’t saying — and then take it from there. That said, there haven’t been many short Presidents over the course of history, have there? Even when there wasn’t 24-hour cable news obsessed with looks and brown-toned suits. Weird.
dreamcatcher @ 50
Descendant of Don Diego de la Vega… ;})
dakine01 @ 60
I like my men on the short/stocky side! They’re so huggable! I even dated a guy who was 5′2″ (3 inches shorter than me!) Still, I have to say, that, given a preference, 5′6″ and above.
allan_in_upstate @ 53
And Watergate was just a “third-rate burglary” per the national pundit CW in the early ’70s.
Biodun @ 61
Fitz is tall.
Mickey Kaus is short.
Case dismissed.
Good morning all. Happy WV day.
I have a new post up about Bloomberg and buying elections.
Biodun @ 61
Oh dear, referring to him in the past tense as if he were dead!
Cassie at 67 — Good to see you around during morning posting time. :)
Christy Hardin Smith @ 62
But you COULD be Napoleon!
Mandrake @ 64
Personally, not real stocky (160 or so). I try to keep the weight in the 155-160 range just cuz I feel better. But since I hit max height at 14 and weighed 130 at 18, I guess it’s all relative…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 69
Thanks! Too much rain for the stuff I’d normally be doing at this hour. :)
Christy Hardin Smith @ 62
Yes, my knee-jerk reaction was to blame the msm (which, these days, I blame for pretty much everything except my bad hair days) but it doesn’t hold true, history-wise. And men and women were shorter and smaller in the olden days, too.
scooter’s
freedomincarceration count-down clock is ticking. . . ticking. . . ticking. . .
okay, this morning’s court
docket search informs us that
as of june 16, 2007, that one of
the “laboring oars” at lawrence s. robbins’
law-firm (and he), were granted 24-hour-
a-day, seven-day-a-week, rights of entry
and access, in and to the e. barrett
prettyman courthouse “secure area” — where
the portions of the libby-trial-materials
that are still “classified” or “eyes only”
currently reside. . .
what this tell us is that the appellate team
is working overtime — way overtime — to get
up to speed, given that they were not part
of the original-trial-team-entourage. . .
and that a substantive filing should
soon appear. [the one page order is
linked, above.]
it simply floors me that — as i earlier
reported — ms. ralston testified that
valerie plame wilson’s covert identity
as an asset of the c.i.a. was considered
suitable “office gossip” in “karl rove’s white house shop“.
i posted on it earlier, espousing great
indignation, but upon reflection, i am unsure
why i would have expected anything better of
this lot of pirates. . . pirates.
[apologies — for the insult to the good
name of true pirates, the world
over — by the above-described (humorous?)
association. . .]
LOOK why they cancelled the sports programs for this morning!!!!! YIKES!
SnarKassandra @ 75
wow. what the heck IS that? an inland hurricane?
Re: Bloomberg II:
On the other hand, from New York Observer today:
Comment: If Bloomberg does run, that will complicate things considerably for the Dems and the Repugs by putting the center in play.
SnarKassandra @ 67
Good job, there! I think everyone, besides the Bloomburgs and Bushes of this world, agrees that public financing of elections is the only way to go. Again, the will of the people is subverted by huge monied and corporate interests.
Oh, I only have the most vague recollection of the two of the world’s most powerful people having numerous discussions about committing treason and lying to cover it up.
How could anyone be expected to remember such unimportant details? And if you believe that, can I interest you in buying a bridge…?
excellent work tired fed!
wow wow wow!
thanks for the link — off to read!
you are a stone-cold-goddess!
Media figures don’t seem to be all that tall with the notable exception of David Gregory, which may explain their obsession with the tall ones.
Morning Christy.
hope you are doing well.
i too liked the vague/often apposition.
looking fwd to your irving analysis.
I wish Gore could run as an independent. I know that’s not realistic, but . . .
wasnt it sweet of dear old Larry Robbins’ firm to host that file? wonder if their server is gonna crash soon. suggest ya’ll save your own copy just in case.
OT.
Has anyone seen this yet?
“When she declared, “The American military has done its job,” boos began to be heard around the room. As the boos increased, Sen. Clinton raised her voice. “The American military has succeeded,” she said, to more boos. “It is the Iraqi government that has failed to make the tough decisions.” Still more boos.”
Is this true or is it another ‘Wellstone funeral’ hitjob?
It sure makes it look like the “left” hates the military.
It is being headlined at Drudge and was penned by Lord Byron of York.
-GSD
Mandrake @ 83
Somebody said yesterday he might run WITH Bloomberg.
SnarKassandra @ 72
We just had a twelve degree temp drop in San Antone with a thunder storm rolling by (82 down to 70)
GSD @ 85
The military DID do their job. They got Baghdad, looked for WMD & found Saddam. That was their mission.
I hope you will be on Sam Seder on sunday, Christy.
I am waiting for Air America to realize that moving Sam from weekday am was a huge mistake. I really miss him. Lionel puts me to sleep.
It is a wonder to me that the most obnoxious members of the punditocracy uniformly seem to be so ‘vertically challenged.’
e.g.: Joke Lein, Saletan, Kaus; they’re LEETLE guys… much too tiny physically to bear the weight of their excessively out-sized egos.
.
SnarKassandra @ 88
The troops in the field did THEIR jobs. The failures occurred in the management of the actions by the Pentagon and civilian leadership.
Does anyone have a final count on the number of pages that were posted at the WaPo skewering “Lights Out” Cohen? Last I saw there were 90. His live blog at the WaTimes, I mean Post, should be entertaining.
Mandrake @ 73
That fact was brought home to me when I toured the Gamble House in Pasadena a few yrs. ago. House was built by Greene & Greene in 1909-10. While touring, the guide opened a closet in which a few of Mrs. Gamble’s clothes were still hanging. Her shoe wasn’t as long as the palm plus first knuckle of my hand! (I’m 5′7″, not a real big hand for my heighth). Fairly recent history, 1910- sheesh…
Damn, I thought sure someone would snark on my Zorro reference… :}(
Christy, looking forward to hearing you on Sam Seder on Sunday. His replacement on Air America is a mere shadow.
Mandrake -
Congrats on getting rid of Ravenel! Small drop in the bucket but every little bit helps. Good looker but he must be dumber than a stump!
SnarKassandra @ 86
oh please no… i do hope not.
I realize this article is a few weeks old, but I wondered how many of you had heard anything about Cheney, in collusion with the AEI, attempting to start a war with Iran sans Bush.
Bluetoe @ 92
I think 98
OT: Tony Snow trots out the “Clinton did it” defense when asked about the RNC emails:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/.....n-records/
Of course, the “liberal” WH press corps neglected to ask the obvious follow-up question.
dakine01 @ 94
From the original Doug Fairbanks (silent film archiver here):
Douglas Fairbanks in “The Mark of Zorro” 1920