May 06 2006
Oh My! They Played Poker!
Since when did the liberal left become such tyranical puritans?
CIA Director Porter Goss abruptly resigned yesterday amid allegations that he and a top aide may have attended Watergate poker parties where bribes and prostitutes were provided to a corrupt congressman.
…
A CIA spokeswoman said Foggo went to the lavish weekly hospitality-suite parties at the Watergate and Westin Grand hotels but “just for poker.”
Emphasis mine. There is no indication that Goss was (a) bribed or ‘tuted and (b) he was when Cunningham was there. The liberal slime machines are out raking their muck. Seems they are ‘speaking to power’ from their sewer holes. Thankfully, we now know who is in power (to be spoken to) and who is in the gutter. And nothing like having a sewer Rat admit to the whole smelly mess:
Johnson vouched for the integrity of Foggo and Goss but said, “Dusty was a big poker player, and it’s my understanding that Porter Goss was also there \[at Wilkes’ parties\] for poker. It’s going to be guilt by association.”
Trust me when I say this will kill the liberals and snuff out the remaining credibility (i.e., $$$$’s) of the news media. The American people are not at all tolerant regarding wild accusations and mud slinging. Why do you think Clinton served out his second term? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? For those suffering from advanced BDS there is no proof required. Conservative = criminal. Think about how that mindset played against the Jews in Nazi Germany.
Update: For another example of liberal media shenigans (it is beyond ‘bias’ now) check out Harold Hutchison’s take down of the media with its use of Mad Ray(gun) McGovern.
Bush: OK, Rocky. I’ll see your Goss and raise you a Hayden.
(Earlier: Pelosi!! Hell, Karl! Rocky, Durbin and Reid are OK. But this is poker. Let her go play Old Maid with Dole.)
Sorry, if this is true I’ll feel betrayed, and I’ll bet Bush and others will feel the same way. Goss had plenty enough Washington experience to know that it’s alway guilt by association in that town. Plus, he had plenty of reason to know that there were people gunning for him. In those circumstances, how dumb do you have to be to attend lavish weekly poker parties at a hospitality suite, where prostitutes and contractors–not to mention politicians–might also be present? If true, too dumb to be excused. And he won’t get any sympathy.
I would have liked to think that the Director of Central Intelligence would have been to busy, anyway. If he wanted to relax at poker in that job, he should have had parties at the homes of intimate friends. As DCI you can’t risk even the appearance of impropriety, especially when the MSM has a bullseye painted on your back.
Elendil – I am so sorry but I accidentally deleted one of your comment! Please accept my apologies. The ‘spam’ selection is right next to the ‘approve’ and my cursor hit the wrong one.
Have a good weekend
Elendil,
Don’t throw he out your bus yet. First off, there is NO evidence that he was at any of these parties. At this point, he is accused of being friends with Foggo and they both like to play poker and smoke cigars.
Second, as far as I know there is no dates on these parties. They could have been last weed or five years ago. The parties are being connected to Cong. Cunningham, who has been in prison for about a month and in trouble even longer so it doesn’t sound like they were recent.
Third, Cunningham and Goss are the only politicians with their names in the press about this. It is hard to believe that no Dem were involved/ named, so far. Dems are bribable too. That is not to say, well he did it too. It is just saying we don’t have the entire story yet. To me, this smells like a rat.
A lot depends on what is meant by “throwing someone under the bus.” For example, some might say that by resigning Goss jumped out of the way of a runaway bus. Really throwing someone under the bus would be presuming them to be guilty of a crime–which I’m not doing. But credibility has everything to do with public perception, which is why avoiding even the appearance of wrongdoing or even of impropriety is so important. Only the very highest officials can successfully fight these kinds of charges, which is why Bush was not about to go to the mat to defend Goss, presuming that were possible. He can only handle so many fires at one time, and I’m sure he felt let down by Goss. Protecting Karl Rove probably is, and should be, a higher priority, no matter how regrettable the Goss flap undoubtedly is.
If you want a flavor of what would be everyday fare if Goss had stayed, check out David Johnston in the NYT:
“The investigation has led to further official inquiries into who arranged and attended the poker parties and their connections to the military contractors who played roles in Mr. Cunningham’s bribery.”
“The inspector general of the Central Intelligence Agency, the agency says, is conducting an inquiry into Kyle Foggo, its executive director, who said this week that he attended some of the parties over the years.
Mr. Foggo, the C.I.A.’s third-ranking official, is a longtime friend of Brent R. Wilkes, one of the military contractors whose role is described in the indictment against Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Wilkes has not been charged, and his lawyer did not return calls on Friday.”
“Mr. Wilkes is a business associate of Mitchell Wade, a military contractor who pleaded guilty in February to providing more than $1 million in bribes to Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Wade’s lawyer declined Friday to discuss his client’s role in the investigation.”
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“The inquiry into the poker games has also put a spotlight on the limousine company that ferried Mr. Cunningham and others to the Watergate and Westin Grand. The company, Shirlington Limousine and Transportation, is operated by Christopher D. Baker, a man with a history of criminal convictions and financial troubles. Shirlington won a contract worth as much as $25.2 million to drive homeland security employees and officials around Washington.”
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“F.B.I. agents have talked to Shirlington employees about driving Mr. Cunningham and prostitutes to hotel poker parties, and have interviewed women who work for escort services, said a lawyer involved in the investigation.”
Bush doesn’t need that, and neither does Goss–he wants to be able to take the 5th if that is the best course. Again, that is not an aspersion. Any public figure who puts his trust in a prosecutor is a fool. Libby and Rove were forced into that position by circumstances, not because they were fools or received bad legal advice–that is part of what is so disturbing about Fitzgerald’s actions.
BTW, here’s what Reuters is attributing to Peter Hoekstra:
“The general considered the Bush administration’s likely choice to become CIA director would be the ‘wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time,’ the Republican head of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Sunday.”
My apologies–I have NO CLUE how to format text on this blog.