Feb 03 2006
Fitz-Magoo Deemed Libby Innocent!
Looks like more and more information is going to come out from the Fitz-Magoo investigation into who could not remember 2003 very well, the non leak of non classified information, whatever it was Fitzgerald was supposed to investigate.
Recall that Fitz-Magoo’s entire case is based on Libby’s one comment about being surprised about Plame’s role when talking to Russert in his grand jury testimony.
If Libby agreed he discussed Valerie’s role in internal meetings prior to or in tandem with the Russert conversation – Fitzgerald’s case falls apart. Because ‘being surprised’ is not a denial of knowledge of Plame. And if there is testimony where Libby says he discussed Plame at these earlier meetings, then the ‘surprise’ cannot be used to claim he was saying the opposite of what he testified clearly to.
All it shows is a grasping prosecutor twisting words to fit wild accusations he made up in his head.
So the Washington Post is out with some new updates
Court documents released today provide new details about the testimony that Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff gave to a grand jury investigating his conversations with reporters and administration officials about a CIA operative.
The documents say I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby denied in his testimony ever mentioning CIA operative Valerie Plame to former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer or former New York Times reporter Judith Miller in separate conversations he had with them in July 2003, and further never disclosed talking to Miller about Plame in June 2003.
If he is specifically denying in his testimony things Fitz-Magoo is claiming to have ‘derived’ from other, unclear testimony, Fitz should be removed from office.
Fleischer testified that at a lunch with Libby in July 2003, Libby relayed to him “on the q.t.” that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA and sent him on the trip to Niger. Fleisher told the grand jury that he thought the lunch was “kinda weird” because Libby was normally “tight-lipped” and not so chummy that he would share such confidences with the press secretary.
The papers reveal that Libby said he never discussed Wilson’s wife with Fleischer.
More unclear memories? Is that what Fitz is trying to send someone to jail for 25 years on? More importantly, Fitz-Magoo deemed Libby innocent of leaking at the end of his invetigation
Also, Fitzgerald thought in February 2005 — about a year into his investigation of the leak of Plame’s name — that charging Libby with a leak was “off the table” without other evidence, the court record says.
So apparently he had to trump up some lame charges?
UPDATE:
Found the ruling itself finally. What this is about, briefly
Eight pages of Judge Tatel’s opinion were redacted to preserve grandjury secrecy and to protect classified information. See id. at 1002.
Now that the grand jury has returned an indictment against I. Lewis Libby for perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators, amicus curiae Dow Jones & Company moves to unseal the eight pages—or, failing that, portions thereof relating to matters that are now public.
So now we get some new information, once the actual information is posted some place.
Allow me to put my tin-foil hat on and speak a moment.
What if Fitzgerald is actually running a fake case against Libby to allow Libby’s defense to call reporters to the stand and unmask the entire scandal as a fraud?
Or even more nefarious, doing so to set a new precedent in US law, where reporters will be targeted for printing classified information?
Now I will take my tin-foil hat off, and eat some dinner. Ciao.
It appears he was on the tight track at some point.
Shortly thereafter, Cooper agreed to sit for deposition and Time agreed to produce certain documents. That deposition took place on August 23, 2004. Mot. to Quash at 4. At Cooper’s deposition, Special Counsel explicitly reserved the right to seek additional testimony from Cooper if the need arose. Government’s Response to Motion to Quash Grand Jury Subpoenas (“Gov’t Response”) at 3. After Cooper’s deposition and Time’s production of certain documents, Special Counsel made a motion to vacate the findings of contempt against Cooper and Time, which the Court granted.
On September 13, 2004, Special Counsel issued [**3] a second set of subpoenas upon Mr. Cooper and Time. These subpoenas requested testimony and documents from Mr. Cooper and documents from Time regarding conversations between Cooper and official sources prior to July 14, 2003 regarding former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, his 2002 trip to Niger, his wife Valerie Plame, and/or any affiliation between his wife Valerie Plame and the CIA. Mot. to Quash at 6. Cooper and Time currently move to quash those subpoenas based, in part, on arguments already rejected by this Court in its July 20, 2004 Memorandum Opinion in the cases Misc. Nos. 04-296 and 04-297 and the September 9, 2004 Memorandum Opinion in the case Misc. No. 04-407. The Court incorporates the rulings in those Opinions to this case by reference. Cooper and Time raise the additional argument that the second set of subpoenas should be quashed because they are unreasonable and/or oppressive under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 17(c)(2). In addition to the papers filed in opposition to the motion to quash, Mr. Fitzgerald has submitted an ex parte affidavit filed under seal.
The motion to quash was denied.
SBD
Dow Jones, parent company of The Wall Street Journal. While the Journal can sometimes be pretty liberal, their op-ed page is not. I know, I spent ten years with the WSJ. And some of thier reports are hot shots who would love to expose Fitzmaz.
Wonder if Joe Wilson has packed yet for his move to Siberia?
Quote of a famous Texas Ranger (no, not the baseball kind) to Joe Wilson.
“you can run, you can hide. But in the end, you will just die (as in your career) tired.
Joe Wilson’s lies are going to soon be singing their swan song.
SBD
Would you explain this a little? I’m slower to understanding the legal aspects.
In the initial subpoena, he requested documents and testamony for a specific source where Cooper discussed Plame.
In this apparent second subpoena, Fitz wanted conversations between Cooper and official sources prior to July 14, 2003 regarding former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, his 2002 trip to Niger, his wife Valerie Plame, and/or any affiliation between his wife Valerie Plame and the CIA.
He must have gotten some tip from other testamony that Cooper might have already known about Joe’s wife being in the CIA from earlier stories he wrote prior to July 13, 2003.
SBD
At the risk of cold water short-circuiting the tinfoil hat 🙂 — Where can Libby go to get his reputation back?
Way back when, I was hoping for some honest work from this Special Counsel, partially because he was recommended by conservative Senator Peter Fitzgerald (no relation), and partially because there were reports floating around about his prior difficulties with Judy Miller — she flat-out tipped off an Islamic charity suspected of funding terrorism, that a raid was scheduled, by calling them for “comments” prior to the raid.
All documents and other potential evidence was shredded or cleared out before the raid took place, and Fitz came up with zip.
He was reportedly not a happy camper, and it was clear that the leak to her had to have come from his own office (or from someone inside the investigation). She would not divulge her source.
If that is all true, I assume the opportunity to toss her in jail would seem like a personal fringe benefit to Fitz (it would to me, given a similar history), but I’ve become convinced that he is not immune to political Party considerations (I think he’s about as apolitical as NY prosecutor Spitzer or Spritzer, whatever, now getting ready for a gov’s mansion run), and I’m pretty certain Fitz is not on the Republican side of the aisle.
His office is in Illinois, Chicago area. Big time corruption trial now going on is against former Republican Governor George Ryan, stemming from his stint as Illinois Secretary of State.
There’s no doubt that corruption was king in the IL Sec of State office, but it was also deeply ingrained way before, and after, Ryan held that seat. None of the patronage bosses or Sec of State facility heads, more directly implicated in ongoing day-to-day corruption, have apparently been targeted.
The particular incident that was a catalyst to charges against Ryan, a highway accident involving an unqualified trucker’s license, bought & paid for, was clearly an example of corruption, but at the lower level of Sec of State facililities, usually run — then and now — as little fiefdoms by patronage workers with “clout.”
No evidence of any prosecutorial interest in that, though.
Thanks SBD. I appreciate that, it helps me.