Still Under Investigation
Official A, also known as Karl Rove, has to be worried. He should probably be very, very nice to everyone involved, especially Scooter. Very nice.
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"what digby sez..."
Still Under Investigation
Official A, also known as Karl Rove, has to be worried. He should probably be very, very nice to everyone involved, especially Scooter. Very nice.
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Libby Indicted
This is the first time in 130 years that a sitting White House official has been indicted. The last time was in the Grant administration.
Honesty. Integrity. Honor. Dignity.
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Shiverin’ In Our Boots
Joe DiGenova just pulled a Mark Levin on CNN threatening everybody that the movement conservatives (which he says he isn’t) will unleash hell if this issue of lying about intelligence becomes a part of the discussion because the CIA was scheming against the president and they just won’t stand for it.
This is the old, “better behave or I’ll tell your father” bullshit. Fuck them.
The neocons and and the movement conservatives, remember, have been at war with the CIA for decades. The CIA hasn’t always been right, but the Neocons have always, always been wrong about everything.
The answer to this crap is — show us the WMD, bitches.
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Pure As The Driven Snow
Karl Rove’s animus toward Wilson was so intense that curiosity arose within the White House about it. When asked about this, Rove reportedly said, “He’s a Democrat.”
Rove insisted, he had only circulated information about Plame after it had appeared in Novak’s column. He also told the FBI, the same sources said, that circulating the information was a legitimate means to counter what he claimed was politically motivated criticism of the Bush administration by Plame’s husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.
Rove and other White House officials described to the FBI what sources characterized as an aggressive campaign to discredit Wilson through the leaking and disseminating of derogatory information regarding him and his wife to the press, utilizing proxies such as conservative interest groups and the Republican National Committee to achieve those ends, and distributing talking points to allies of the administration on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. Rove is said to have named at least six other administration officials who were involved in the effort to discredit Wilson.
In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal, but also what is right – not just what the lawyers allow, but what the public deserves.
In my administration we will make it clear there is the controlling authority of conscience. We will make people proud again – so that Americans who love their country can once again respect their government.
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Rove Roll
Jeralyn at Talk Left has been right over and over again on Plamegate. This makes sense, since she is a criminal defense lawyer and knows how to read between the lines of these things.
She has been convinced for some time that Karl Rove cut a deal. She still thinks so:
As I noted earlier, the news reports on Rove are conflicting. But this statement by one “non-legal” member of his team, who I assume is the P.R. specialist Mark Carballo who signed on to Rove’s team the other day, leads me to believe Rove took a deal and Fitzgerald has agreed not to announce it immediately
It would be prefectly in keeping with Rove’s PR style to have portrayed himself these last few days as fighting the charges with everything he’s got while he’s actually rolling on Libby.
Everything Rove does from now on must be seen through the prism of spin.
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Memorandum
January 20, 2001MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Standards of Official Conduct
Everyone who enters into public service for the United States has a duty to the American people to maintain the highest standards of integrity in Government. I ask you to ensure that all personnel within your departments and agencies are familiar with, and faithfully observe, applicable ethics laws and regulations, including the following general principles from the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch:
(1) Public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above private gain.
(7) Employees shall not use public office for private gain.
(11) Employees shall disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption to appropriate authorities.
(12) Employees shall satisfy in good faith their obligations as citizens, including all just financial obligations, especially those — such as Federal, State, or local taxes — that are imposed by law.
(14) Employees shall endeavor to avoid any actions creating the appearance that they are violating applicable law or the ethical standards in applicable regulations.
Please thank the personnel of your departments and agencies for their commitment to maintain the highest standards of integrity in Government as we serve the American people.
GEORGE W. BUSH
Via Mike Liddell
More Fearsome than Al Qaeda
Ok, we’ll just have to be patient and wait until two o’clock, it seems. Meanwhile, I learned something very, very disturbing.
There is a group operating freely in the United States that strikes so much terror in the hearts of Americans, they fear them more than al Qaeda. Who could they be? Saddamists? A coalition of renegades from Peru’s Shining Path and the Tamil Tigers? And my God, what are they planning?!??! Will they attack tomorrow and blow up Mt. Rushmore or Las Vegas or Boca Raton? Is anyone safe from these Mega-Terrorists????
Learn the facts here, if you can stand the truth. We must all be forewarned against them.
Death By A Thousand Cuts
To anyone who thinks either Bush or the GOP are wounded and no longer able to concentrate on their agenda to wreck the government – oh, I’m sorry, I meant reduce the role of government – think again:
House Republicans voted to cut student loan subsidies, child support enforcement and aid to firms hurt by unfair trade practices as various committees scrambled to piece together $50 billion in budget cuts.
More politically difficult votes [!!!!!!] — to cut Medicaid, food stamps and farm subsidies — are on tap Thursday as more panels weigh in on the bill.
It was originally intended to cut $35 billion in spending over five years, but after pressure from conservatives, GOP leaders directed committees to cut another $15 billion to help pay the cost of hurricane recovery.
President Bush met with House and Senate GOP leaders and said he was pleased with the progress.
No doubt.
The Clinton Defense
I just heard a Republican mouthpiece on Matthews’ show pull out the old “how dare you compare these silly charges to the reprehensible behavior of Bill Clinton!” He went on to defend Rove and Libby by exclaiming that Clinton “wasn’t indicted!” as if the second impeachment in history was a trivial matter and nothing compared to the persecution of poor powerless Karl and Scooter.
Matthews and the Dem on the panel dropped their jaws in disbelief, but I think we should expect more of this. They will drag out their old talking points because they want to make this appear to be the same as the Lewinsky scandal — only this time they are the victims, their favorite role. Poor Karl is being tormented by an out of control jack booted thug for doing things that anyone can understand. Karl was just forgetful, he’s a busy man and he’s being strung up for just doing what any man might do in his position — he misspoke. How dare they torture this fine public servant this way?
To that end, it appears that they have been lining up some help from those who have experience in Republican witchhunts:
The presidential aide’s legal team has made contingency plans to defend him in both court and in public. They’ve consulted with former Justice Department official Mark Corallo and G-O-P strategist Ed Gillespie.
Marc Corallo is a very interesting person for the Rovians to consult on these matters. He was a major player in the impeachment:
Via Mithras
In a surprising disclosure, Baker says that shortly before the impeachment drive went to the House floor in December 1998, Republican House Speaker-elect Bob Livingston wanted to call the whole thing off.
Livingston, who would soon be forced to resign over his own marital infidelities, told an aide, Mark Corallo, “We’ve got to stop this. This is crazy. We’re about to impeach the president of the United States.”
Corallo convinced Livingston to reconsider. “Boss, we have a rapist in the White House,” he said, a reference to allegations against Mr. Clinton by a woman named Juanita Broaddrick about a 1978 incident. Broaddrick’s calims were not included in the House impeachment findings.
He went on to become Ashcroft’s spokesman at Justice. He’s a professional partisan flak with very relevant experience in scandal management. But here’s an interesting little post from The American Spectator Blog that we should all tuck into a folder for later use if he becomes a member of the team:
Attacking the Prosecutor? Bad Idea – Tuesday, October 25, 2005 @ 9:39:12 AM
Message to Republicans: Whoever is generating the “Attack Pat Fitzgerald” talking points needs to cease and desist. This veteran (and some might say “victim”) of the Impeachment in ’98, finds it highly hypocritical to hear the same attacks that the left leveled at Ken Starr now being floated by the right to discredit Pat Fitzgerald — Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison called perjury a “technicality.” What has separated US from THEM is our adherence to intellectual honesty and principle even when it costs us politically. The Ds made excuse after excuse for Slick Willie while demonizing Ken Starr. If Fitzgerald indicts anyone, not for violating any of the statutes governing the handling of classified information, but for obstruction or perjury, Republicans must refrain from trivializing the charges or defending the indicted.
All should be thoroughly mindful of the FACT that Pat Fitzgerald is arguably the best prosecutor in the country. Nobody knows more about Al Qaeda, their methods and the way they finance their operations. America is safer from terrorism because of him.
The many recent profiles extolling his blue-collar upbringing, his brilliance, his record and his unrivaled work ethic neglect one of his core character traits: he is also eminently reasonable. This is not Javert, bent on getting his man no matter the consequences or the “triviality” of the crime. This is a servant of the law who has, to his credit, a thick vein of common sense and an understanding of what motivates usually law abiding people to violate the law. He is not out to get anyone.
I know Pat. Simply put, he is a really good guy.
If we are honest about the impeachment of Mr. Clinton, then we are acutely aware that he alone, by simply telling the truth from day one (or even day 20) could have saved the country from 2 years of insanity. While the Plame imbroglio does not rise to that level of seriousness, the same can be said (assuming there are charges for perjury or obstruction) of the indicted in this case. Pat Fitzgerald, like Ken Starr, was simply doing his job with honor, integrity and from the look of it, an inordinate amount of patience.
Posted By: Mark Corallo
If anyone thinks that’s what Rove heard from Carollo yesterday, I’ve got a nice bridge to nowhere to sell you.
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“Very Serious” Indeed
To add a couple of observations to Digby’s last post…
Please recall that recently Bush described the Fitzgerald investigation as “very serious.” I took this originally to mean that Bush thought the charges were substantive and needed a “very serious” investigation, but a little bit of reflection makes it clear that’s not what he meant at all.
Bush was issuing a threat. He deems Fitzgerald’s probe to be a “very serious” danger to his presidency. We can expect him and his attack ghouls to act accordingly. They will treat the indictments as attacks on the United States, as a kind of terrorism. It is imperative, as Digby notes, for anyone who goes up against the Bush administration to be prepared for the worst. They have both the will and the power to destroy careers and lives. And they will surely do so if they believe their power is threatened. Proof? Valerie Plame Wilson.
Also, let us not forget the proximate causes for the Fitzgerald investigation, a serious suspicion which is now a terrible certainty. There existed a conspiracy at the highest levels of the Bush administration to expose the identity of an undercover CIA agent. That is a crime. That crime was covered-up. The ongoing cover-up entailed more crimes. But all these actions are more than crimes.
These people betrayed their country. Regardless of whether the evidence rises to the level of legal proof, the people who participated in this conspiracy cannot be permitted to stay. As difficult as it might be to unseat some of the worst of them, they must go. Will they? Put it this way: your physical safety may depend on it.
These sleazebags hindered and subverted the covert gathering of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction. If the damage of Plame’s outing is minimal, that is a lucky accident- not for them, but for the country. That in no way diminishes the “very serious” havoc these scoundrels were prepared to accept if Plame’s work was vital, danger far worse than that of 9/11. Had Plame’s undercover status not been transitional but still deep, there is no public evidence that any of these people would have hesitated one nano-second in their efforts to expose and destroy her, out of retribution for her husband’s actions.
Digby is right. This is going to be an ugly fight. But it is a fight that is entirely the fault of those who betrayed their country, not those who refuse to be their victims. We should make sure that it is crystal clear that this is not Fitzgerald’s fault, not the CIA’s fault, not the Democrats’ fault. It is their fault – Rove’s, Libby’s, and all who aided and abetted their multiple betrayals. They failed us and they can no longer be entrusted with our safety and governance.
We should never let the media get away with spinning this as anything trivial. Even if you haven’t done so before, after Fitzgerald’s report comes out, please consider taking a few valuable moments of your time to write letters to papers and electronic media, to your representatives both local and national, and let them know how important it is to you that these people go.