Friday, October 28, 2005
Libby resigns -- Charged with five counts in the CIA/Valerie Plame leak investigation
Shed no tears for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
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A report in The Washington Post reads: "Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted today by a federal grand jury after a nearly two-year investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity." "Scooter" Libby and his boss, VP Cheney, were driven by their obsession. If Karl Rove took pleasure in being a master strategist in exploiting the phobias and anger in the heartlands, Libby and the VP were true belivers; they had been working on the neocon agenda (PNAC) for a long time (letter to President Clinton). When they found themselves in positions to act they went at it with all the ferocity that was bottled up. They worked hard to bring about the war against Iraq. It was Darth Vader land and they were the masters. When they found their scenario crumbling they went ballistic. Mr. Libby will be spending a lot of time in conferences with attorneys. He has been charged with five counts in the CIA/Valerie Plame leak investigation. Win some, lose some.
A Steve Bell cartoon from The Guardian,UK.
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Mr. Libby escaped being charged with the more serious issue of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. Reports leave very little doubt that many members of the Bush administration lied during the investigation but they were not under oath when they did so and,thereforce, cannot be charged. ("PL97-200, 50 U.S. Code Secs. 421–426 is a United States law which makes it a federal crime to knowingly reveal the identity of a covert CIA agent." Source: Wikipedia.org)
Patrick Fitzgerald, the intrepid special prosecutor was appointed by Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey. Earlier chain of events had lead to force AG John Ashcroft to recuse himself from the investigation because of his close association with Karl Rove. If Ashcroft had a hand in it then things would not be where they are today. Mr. Fitzgerald deserves the nation's gratitude for restoring faith in the justice system.
Karl Rove is not completely off the hook. Patrick Fitzgerald could decide to convene another grand jury to continue investigation of Rove and, possibly, others. But Rove and the president must have breathed a sigh of relief that his name was not on the indictment today. He is sometimes described as the "evil genius". But if Karl Rove is evil what does that make of his boss ? We know that he is no genius. For the president, self-described "compassionate conservative", who became a champion of bigotry and divisive policies, Karl Rove is a tool to be used and Rove has very ably served the president. It would be unfair to blame Rove for all the ills of the Bush administration. For that one must look at Bush and those who put him in the White House. He is their tool just as Karl Rove is his. And, like Karl Rove, he is serving them well.
A Steve Bell cartoon from The Guardian,UK.
Edited 5:15 PM Oct.28, 2005
