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jusdeadphunky
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 Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:52 pm Post subject: libby guilty verdict points finger at cheney |
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Yahoo! News
Analysis: Verdict puts focus on Cheney
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer 18 minutes ago
Campaigning in 2000, George Bush promised he would swear on the Bible to restore honor and dignity to a sullied White House and give it "one heck of a scrubbing." The conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby gave the White House a scrubbing — but not the one Bush had in mind.
The case laid bare the inner workings of a presidency under siege and the secretive world of Vice President Dick Cheney.
It showed the lengths to which Cheney went in early summer 2003 to discredit administration critic Joseph Wilson. The former ambassador's assertions had cast doubt on the administration's justification for having taken the country to war in Iraq. And the Libby case showed the president assisting Cheney in the leaked attacks on Wilson.
Libby, who was Cheney's chief of staff, was found guilty on Tuesday of four of five counts of obstructing justice, lying and perjury during an investigation into the administration's disclosure of the identity of undercover CIA official Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife.
The verdict "does great damage to the Bush administration," said Paul C. Light, professor of public service at New York University. "It undermines the president's pledge of ethical conduct. But the most serious consequence is that it will raise questions about Cheney's durability in office. It may be time for Cheney to submit his resignation."
But don't count on it. Bush in the past has repeatedly come to the defense of his vice president.
The trial, which included a month of testimony, is also relevant as the U.S. seeks to build a case that Iran is providing sophisticated munitions to Shiite insurgents in Iraq who are using them against U.S. troops. Administration critics have suggested the administration is trying to lay the groundwork for isolating or even attacking Iran — using flawed intelligence, like in Iraq.
Wilson, a retired career diplomat, had accused the administration of manipulating intelligence to build its case to invade Iraq.
The trial leaves a trail of unanswered questions leading to the doorsteps of Bush and Cheney.
Testimony and evidence did not clear up whether they directed the leaking of Plame's identity to the news media.
But the trial did show Bush declassified prewar intelligence that Libby leaked to New York Times reporter Judith Miller, a plan carried out in such secrecy that no one in the government except Bush, Cheney and Libby even knew about it.
Testimony showed the vice president was aware early on that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA and told Libby about it. Cheney even scribbled a note to himself a week before Wilson's wife was exposed asking whether she had sent her husband on the CIA mission to Africa that triggered the controversy.
Cheney also directed Libby to speak with selected reporters to counter Wilson's accusations. Cheney developed talking points on the matter for the White House press office. He helped draft a statement by then-CIA Director George Tenet. And he moved to declassify some intelligence material to bolster the case against Wilson.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer who worked in the Clinton White House during several investigations, said Tuesday that, while Libby was the defendant, "it was Vice President Cheney who was on trial today and who has the responsibility for what Libby did. The vice president has a personal and moral responsibility to take responsibility for what Mr. Libby did at his instruction — and to apologize to Valerie Plame."
Cheney said in a statement that he was "very disappointed with the verdict" and that Libby had "served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction." Cheney said he would withhold further comment because Libby was seeking a new trial or, if necessary, an appeal.
Prosecutors said Libby concocted a story to avoid losing his job for disclosing classified information to reporters without authorization. Libby's attorneys said any errors resulted from memory flaws.
The White House refused to comment on the possibility that Bush would pardon Libby. He was the only one charged in the case, and he was not charged with deliberately disclosing Plame's identity, which can be a federal crime, but with lying to investigators and a grand jury. Testimony showed there were other leakers, including adviser Karl Rove, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
The White House has never corrected the denials it issued in the fall of 2003 saying neither Rove nor Libby was involved in the leak of Plame's CIA identity. Political observers doubt any correction will be made.
"What's really focused people's attention is the loss of American troops in Iraq and it's allowed Bush, Cheney and Rove — once he wasn't indicted — to kind of be pushed off the radar screen" regarding the Plame affair, said presidential historian Robert Dallek.
Democrats used the verdicts to attack Cheney. "Lewis Libby has been convicted of perjury, but his trial revealed deeper truths about Vice President Cheney's role in this sordid affair. Now President Bush must pledge not to pardon Libby for his criminal conduct," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino would not characterize the verdict as embarrassing for the White House. "I think that we have been able to continue on in moving forward on all sorts of different fronts," she said.
It's not the administration's first ethics-related conviction. Two former Bush administration officials have been convicted in investigations related to jailed Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Last June, a former White House aide, David H. Safavian, was convicted of lying to government investigators about his ties to Abramoff. He faces an 180-month prison sentence. Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting tickets he received from Abramoff.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE — Tom Raum has covered national and international affair for The Associated Press since 1973. Associated Press Writer Pete Yost contributed to this article.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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Some Chick
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:35 am Post subject: |
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What? Libby's guilty?? But... but, fox news said he isn't
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jusdeadphunky
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:11 am Post subject: |
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| Some Chick wrote: | What? Libby's guilty?? But... but, fox news said he isn't
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classic
wtf i can not believe they do this shit and no one has sued for their news license over it. |
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jusdeadphunky
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Joined: 05 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| so there is talk that libby will delay going to prison, long enough to reach that classic post election period when lame duck presidents pardon people, and he will be spared any punishment. |
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cornopean
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Joined: 20 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| jusdeadphunky wrote: | | so there is talk that libby will delay going to prison, long enough to reach that classic post election period when lame duck presidents pardon people, and he will be spared any punishment. |
I dont get how Armitage and Fleisher got off completely scot free when they DID disclose Plame's identity while Libby did NOT disclose her identity is going to jail. this whole deal stinks. the wrong people are getting in trouble. |
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JohnnyLee5
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Joined: 06 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:28 am Post subject: |
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| jusdeadphunky wrote: | | Some Chick wrote: | What? Libby's guilty?? But... but, fox news said he isn't
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classic
wtf i can not believe they do this shit and no one has sued for their news license over it. |
This is just another example of the widespread ignorance of the facts in this investigation. It's quite obvious that Fox News was showing each of the 5 counts separately across the bottom of the screen. Libby was found innocent of lying to FBI investigators about his statements to Matt Cooper - which is the frame that the photo represents.
So now Libby has been convicted of providing conflicting info to the FBI and grand jury - the same behavior that was implemented by at least half a dozen reporters to the same sources (Cooper, Miller, Russert etc.) , as well as Ari Fleischer (who was granted immunity). All this pre- indictment questioning taking place at a time when it was already realized that no crime was committed and after it was already known that Richard Armitage ( by his own omission) had leaked Valerie Plames name - this known even before Fitzgerald took over the investigation. Armitage never charged- because Plame was not covert- Armitage told to keep quite because of his partisan status. The Libby conviction judged by a jury from a city that is 5 to 1 Democrat and in part by a juror that himself was a reporter who wrote about 100 pieces for the Washington Post, knew Bob Woodward, went to school with Maureen Dowd, and was a neighbor of Tim Russert. All this prosecuted by a man (Fitzgerald) chosen due to pressure from Democrats such as Chuck Schumer to remove Ashcroft from the case- A special prosecutor who was Godfather to a child of and friend to the man that selected him - Deputy Attorney General Comey. Comey , a stark adversary of the Bush administration. Sure- sounds like a real fair and objective trial.
Observations of trial -
- Information on Plame's status could not be revealed to court.
Although, Fitzgerald was allowed to mention the diclosure of a covert CIA agent in his closing statement.
- Richard Armitage's identity kept from jury.
- Reporters are permitted to have memory lapses but not Libby.
Russert lead FBI investigators to believe that he was not sure if he mentioned Plame's name to Libby or not. But on the witness stand he was quite sure that he didn't. Russert also signed an affidavit stating that he could not reveal sources- Unfortunately, he had already revealed sources to the FBI. Where's his indictment for signing a false affidavit.
Judith Miller while on the witness stand told the court that she first heard about the Wilson info from Libby on June 23rd 2003. But she failed to mention this to the grand jury prior. Her defense was that she has a poor memory and only realized the meeting when reviewing old notes. Although, Libby's testimony that he had a faulty memory and couldn't remember where he first heard Plame's name was dismissed.
- Why was Fitzgerald given unprecedented powers in the investigation, violating long standing Department of Justice protocol.
- Why was Tim Russert not allowed to be cross-examined by the defense. He was obviously a deciding factor in the decision to convict according to juror Denis Collins.
- Why did the judge refuse to let memory experts testify. This also seemed to be a main point of inportance in the trial.
In addition here's what we now know about Joe Wilson -
- On his trip to Niger, Wilson found no evidence that contradicted the famous "16 words" in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address, contrary to his New York Times op-ed claim.
- Plame, his wife, who worked for the CIA, did recommend him for the Niger junket, contrary to Wilson's denials.
- Plame was not a covert agent under the definition of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, contrary to Wilson's insinuations, which many of his backers, including in the press, presented as fact.
- No one from the White House "leaked" Plame's identity as a CIA functionary to Robert Novak, who received the information from Richard Armitage at the State Department.
- Dick Cheney did not send Wilson on his trip to Niger- as Wilson had claimed.
It's amazing how many see conspiracy at the drop of a hat until the shoe is on the other foot. There are more details,( if anyone if interested in details as opposed to simple comments reflecting partisan hatred) on the previous Libby thread. |
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JesusLopezViejo
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Joined: 05 Dec 2006
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Location: Tri-State
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| Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| Some Chick wrote: | What? Libby's guilty?? But... but, fox news said he isn't
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Isn't that amazing?
I was watching fox news the other day just flipping through channels when the verdict was read...
I saw that line there and I just laughed to myself and said "there they go again!".
I can just see a die hard fox news watcher start up a debate with his friends..."so did ya hear, Libby was found not guilty.."
hah...its sickening. |
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exton
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Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 4218
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| Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:33 am Post subject: |
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| Some Chick wrote: | What? Libby's guilty?? But... but, fox news said he isn't
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This is a perfect example of fox's brand of bullshit.
That headline is actually true. He was acquitted.
....of 1 out of 5 charges. He was convicted of the other 4. |
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Anym
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Posts: 2562
Location: Jersey
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| Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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| "I dreamed that my family was a cartoon that help start a propaganda network called fox news"- Bart Simpson |
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