Comments on: No More Patrick Fitzgeralds?

By: RAL

RAL — Fri, 19 May 2006 04:18:56 +0000

Typical of the Rove supporters in the MSM. When Clinton was investigated, no amount of fuss, money and political turmoil was enough for these partisan hacks.

Take a real bunch of criminal bastards like Bush and his gang, and they want to shut down the investigation.

Well, bad luck boys, the AG recused himself from this one under potential conflict of interest.

The judge in the case dismissed libby’s recent filing that tried to challenge Fitz’s authority to try this case. So the law is clear.

What now then, BushCo? Dancing on the gibbet seems to be the only option for them.

By: Samuel Alito

Samuel Alito — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 21:57:22 +0000

There is a check on Fitzgerald, Justin. It the jury of 12 of Scooter Libby’s peers who will determine whether or not the prosecutor (Fitz or the trial prosecutor) can prove the case “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The special counsel law is open to abuse, of course, and people will always criticize reports of perjury or obstruction when no underlying charge is pled (remember that Democrats made the same argument when Kenneth Starr, investigating a land deal in Arkansas, eventually reported that someone under investigation lied about his sex life).

However, an investigation should not be closed until it is complete (when no indictments are made, a report is standard procedure, as it was in Starr, and in January 1994 Fitz could have issued no such report). To lie to the grand jury, if indeed he did lie, shows that Libby believed he had done something worth lying to a grand jury to protect. Whether or not Plame was “covert” is a complicated question, one that Fitzgerald may simply think is beyond his ability to prove to a jury, even if he believes it’s true.

In all, while the special prosecutor law may be questionable, even this conservative judge thinks that Fitzgerald acted with some degree of restraint.

Sam

By: Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 18:33:34 +0000

Oh, indeed. Thanks for the catch.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:05:05 +0000

Fitz isn’t saying she was covert, just classified.

FITZGERALD: Let me say two things. Number one, I am not speaking to whether or not Valerie Wilson was covert. And anything I say is not intended to say anything beyond this: that she was a CIA officer from January 1st, 2002, forward.

I will confirm that her association with the CIA was classified at that time through July 2003. And all I’ll say is that, look, we have not made any allegation that Mr. Libby knowingly, intentionally outed a covert agent.