RSSFitzgerald Tries To Have Scotter Libby Sentenced For Crime He Was Not Accused Of?
J.J. Jackson | June 3, 2007
Reports the Wall Street Journal:
I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby is due to be sentenced next week, and — just in time — Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has decided this was a leak case after all. Last week he filed a brief with the court arguing that Mr. Libby should receive a prison sentence in line with crimes that neither he nor anyone else was ever accused of committing. If the court accepts Mr. Fitzgerald’s logic, the sentence meted out in this fantastic case would at least double, to a minimum of 30 months. So it goes in a case brought by an unaccountable prosecutor now requesting an unreasonable penalty based on evidence he never introduced at trial. This is America?Throughout Mr. Libby’s prosecution, Mr. Fitzgerald insisted it made no difference to the case whether CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson was undercover. At one pre-trial hearing, he went so far as to argue it would make no difference to the case “if [Ms. Wilson] turned out to be a postal driver mistaken for a CIA employee.” He also objected to defense requests for documents concerning her status, insisting this was a perjury trial, not a trial about leaking classified information.
His stonewalling on this point before the trial led the defense to seek an instruction from the judge barring the prosecution from discussing the nature of Ms. Wilson’s job at the CIA. But now that the time for sentencing has come, Mr. Fitzgerald has decided that Ms. Wilson’s role is relevant after all.
A flip flop worthy of a John Kerry presidential campaign. And why the change of heart?
Mr. Fitzgerald’s filing does purport to answer one long-lingering question in this saga. Exhibit A in Mr. Fitzgerald’s filing is a memo from the CIA, asserting that in October 2005 (which is to say, 15 months before the trial began), the CIA declassified her employment status and acknowledged that, in the agency’s view, she had been a covert agent during the 18 months prior to her exposure in Robert Novak’s July 2003 column about her husband. This same CIA summary was nearly the only document Mr. Fitzgerald was willing to produce before the trial concerning Ms. Wilson’s former job status. This lack of supporting detail led Judge Reggie Walton at trial to deny knowing himself whether she was covert.
So the tap dance continues. Still no one is charged with leaking the name of a covert CIA agent even though Fitzgerald claims that she was covert and he knows who was the original source: Richard Armitage.
Again the question must be asked - if everyone knows that Armitage was the source of the “leak” and Valerie Plame REALLY was a covert agent covered under the act that made it a crime to reveal her identity why on Earth is Armitage not in jail?
Often the simplest answers really are the best and most complete. There was no crime and the whole show is about which scalp closest to the President can be gotten. You can spin it any way you want. But like I said, if there really was a crime and we know the source of the leak why isn’t the person that committed the leak in jail? Much less not even charged?
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4 Responses to “Fitzgerald Tries To Have Scotter Libby Sentenced For Crime He Was Not Accused Of?”
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“Again the question must be asked – if everyone knows that Armitage was the source of the “leak” and Valerie Plame REALLY was a covert agent covered under the act that made it a crime to reveal her identity why on Earth is Armitage not in jail?” – J.J.
This is the question all sane people are asking as well.
This is outrageous! Yes, Libby obstructed justice and made false statements under oath, but where is the crime?! As far as I can see all Libby did was lie under oath about something meaningless! Bush is right, this is nothing but political theater! Ok, so he helped Cheney out a covert CIA agent during war time, but BIG FRIGGIN’ DEAL! Call me old-fashioned, but no one should go to jail for that! Bush should do the honorable thing and pardon him at once! Let’s put country before party!!
“Ok, so he helped Cheney out a covert CIA agent during war time, but BIG FRIGGIN’ DEAL!” – Chuck
Huh? Maybe you missed it but the source of the leak was not Libby. It was Armitage and Armitage addmitted to it and Fitzy boy has admitted that he knew this as well.
Also, even the woman who helped construct the law concerning the “outting” of covert agents has testified before Congress that Plame was not of a status that would qualify her for protection under that law … nor was she “covert”. The only people perpetuating that myth are the same people that think Bush had something to do with 9/11 at this point. It is well documented that her cover was blown years before by the Russian.
In the end all I see this as is an attempt (lame as it is) to try and be funny while confusing the facts of the case. And the facts are that Libby was never even accused of (you can read the indictment) anything of the sort.
You can correct me if I am wrong however.
Chuck, your post makes absolutely no sense.