07-04-2007, 08:39 AM
Quote:First, I believe it has been determined that Ms. Wilson was not outed by Libby, although it turns out he made a somewhat obscure reference of her to Judith Miller. Judith Miller never wrote an article from her interview with Mr. Libby.
Correct. But nobody has maintained, AFAIK, that Scooter Libby outed Valerie Plame, but rather of perjuring himself and obstructing justice during the coverup of what was, apparently, Richard Armitage's mistake. I suspect, given how bitterly the administration resented Joe Wilson for his role in the Yellowcake scandal, that it was more than that, and thus, the widespread reluctance by anybody to say anything about it. But maybe it does stop at Armitage, and the Libby thing is just an example of an stupid man making an extremely stupid choice, and an even stupider president letting him off the hook for his years of loyal service as a crony.
Quote:What came out in the trial? Ms. Wilson's "secret" was the worst kept one in Washington.
Perhaps so. But they seem to have an awfuly small list of suspects, considering how much time was spent figuring out who leaked the information. Why would people cover their butts so thoroughly for the "worst kept secret in Washington?" Seems funny to me.
Quote:Dick Armitage admitted that he was the one who outed her to Mr. Novak. No one was ever charged with the "crime" of outing her.
And I'm not sure why not, except for the fairly feeble distinction that Armitage might not have known Plame was "covert" when revealing her as a "CIA operative". Isn't this a very serious issue? I didn't presume that when Bush said that anyone caught violating the law "would be taken care of" that he meant they'd be shielded from penalties. But I guess I was wrong about that.
Quote:No one is trampling on Novak for being the stupid journalist who published the article that destroyed her "covert" career.
Why is "covert" in quotations? She was a NOC at the time of her outing.
It's not a crime for a reporter to report, since any information they're entrusted with is supposed not to be classified. Bob Novak blabs because that's his job, sleazy though he may be, and while he was certainly pilloried on the left for reckless stupidity, I don't see how what he did was illegal. It's how he knew that was the question. And if Armitage was the source, and was eventually willing to admit as much, why did Scooter bother to perjure himself? Sheer stupidity is probably a good enough answer, but it still seems strange.
Quote:This reminds me very much of Ollie North and Iran-Contra.
Yeah, no kidding. Fall guy screws up and takes the hit, while a dundering president and corrupt, scheming administration get off with barely a scratch. It's like deja vu all over again.
Quote:I'm frankly a little tired of both sides using something as sacred as Justice as a political weapon.
Justice should be done regardless of whether it serves someone's political ends or not. I get the distinct feeling that this those who should really be punished haven't been, and that there are still things we don't know. But it appears that, for the moment, either I'm wrong, or tracks have been well enough covered. Certainly the part that smells worst about it to me, that the Bush administration consistently claims and tries to be above, beyond or outside any law, American or international, has yet to be resolved in any satisfactory way. This is just the latest outrage.
-Jester