Aftermath

Some random thoughts on the verdict follow...

Here's Jane Hamsher:

It was cold as hell outside the Prettyman Courthouse when Patrick Fitzgerald was giving his statement and answering questions, and as I was shifting back and forth from one foot to the other I saw the courthouse's Sheldon Snook talking with Dennis Colins(sic), the juror who had formerly worked with Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.

Jiminy H. Christmas, can this get any more bizarre and one-sided? An ex-WaPo journalist connected to Hollywood Bob on the jury? This simply can't be real. Mac's already on the attack, but maybe we'll find out more if Mr. Collins writes another book.

Ms. Hamsher echoed Howard Dean others by insisting Bush take a vow to not pardon Libby. Seems she forgot to mention Mr. Collins' comment where he said it wouldn't bother him to see Libby pardoned, which is quoted in the post below.

Tom Maguire was entertained by Fitzgerald's Elliot Ness-like press explanation of how Libby had to go down for perjury to maintain the rule of law. It's basically what I said in the other post--however let me qualify. Once the case got to the point that allowed Mr. Libby to shade the truth there were grounds for plowing ahead, like it or not. But the case should have never reached that point, which was made clear by Fitz's announcement that it's over--no further indictments. We can now be confident the initial criminal referral contained 'no there'--the libs' double fantasies are over.

Fitzgerald should have caught a flight back to Chicago after Armitage's confession, but that would mean explaining it to all those involved journalists, Chuck Schumer and his own Senator Durbin, I reckon. He chose to stay the course.

Maguire repeated his points about the journalists the jury never saw, like Andrea Mitchell and David Gregory, who could have impeached Russert, or John Dickerson, who could have impeached Ari Fleischer, just as Pincus did. Wonder if these people can remain duct-taped through the appeal?

I disagree with National Review Online that Bush should pardon Libby immediately. He simply cannot do that, politically speaking. It should be allowed to go through the appeals process as normal and it will probably be overtuned based on errors, possible prosecutorial misconduct or the judge's refusal to allow Russert and Fleischer to be impeached. If it's not then Bush should pardon. Based on the original referral and the case as we know it, Scooter Libby should spend the exact same amount of time behind bars that President Clinton did.

Finally, one has to wonder if we'll ever find out whether any connection existed between Joe Wilson and the Democrat Party. Wonder if we'll ever know whether this entire thing was some kind of trap, a CYA move, or just an innocent prank that went awry? And what about those Aspen trees?

THE LIBBY TAPES 3/7/07

Not tapes, notes to be exact. Notes from our resident journalist, Dennis. Already in the Huffington Post, as if they'd previously agreed or something. Very interesting in many ways. Mr. Dennis was apparently neighbors with Tim Russert (kids played basketball together) and is chummy with Maureen Dowd.

In reading his narrative one of the keys to this whole affair dawned on me. This was really a battle of wits amongst players who consider themselves top of the line. It's Washington, DC. The big leagues. The impression comes through as he describes anecdotes, dress and mannerisms, and in how he drops names. It's not the talk of the common man. Perhaps that's the way it is in DC, and always has been.

My impression is that Dennis the journalist juror has been following this case closely all along, as have others, maybe via blogs (not this one). Just a guess.

MORE 3/7/07

More questions.

What does this verdict suggest as to future leaking between government and press?

How will this affect decision 2008? How about the Vice President? Did Well's opening strategy suggest a real rift between OVP and the Prez?

John Dickerson, formerly of Time and now with Slate, editorializes about taking falls:

The jury has convicted Libby, but Collins has convicted the administration. Libby was being a good soldier, lying and obstructing justice to protect himself, the vice president, and the administration from political embarrassment or legal jeopardy.

It was more like a banana peel. This is the same guy who was never investigated by Fitzgerald nor used as a defense witness to counter Ari Fleischer's lunchroom contentions, which helped to establish victory for Fitzgerald.

The WaPo, employers of novelists Collins and Woodward, had this to say in editorial:

Mr. Wilson's case has besmirched nearly everyone it touched. The former ambassador will be remembered as a blowhard. Mr. Cheney and Mr. Libby were overbearing in their zeal to rebut Mr. Wilson and careless in their handling of classified information. Mr. Libby's subsequent false statements were reprehensible. And Mr. Fitzgerald has shown again why handing a Washington political case to a federal special prosecutor is a prescription for excess.

Mr. Fitzgerald was, at least, right about one thing: The Wilson-Plame case, and Mr. Libby's conviction, tell us nothing about the war in Iraq.

Despite the fact such a fair and balanced assessment will land the WaPo on the same nutroot dartboard as Hume and Hannity, they stand correct. The trial told us nothing about a few key things--

> whether Niger or other African countries were clandestinely prepared to ship yellowcake to Saddam or other terror-supporting states

> the real purpose of both Zawahie's trip to Niger in 1999 and the Nigeran diplomat's trip to Baghdad in 2001

> why AQ Khan made a circuit through Africa in 1999

> what the Khartoum government knows about any of this, specifically Hassan al-Turabi

In a big picture view this could be seen as a huge win for the White House. Wilson's political stunt didn't give Kerry the presidency; Plame was forced to retire; light has been shined on NBC News; intelligence information was spilled at trial suggesting the nature of the threats we face; the sloppiness of some high-profile reporters has been exposed along with their sometimes tenuous grasp of facts; Russert and friends will have some splainin' to do; and the case is now closed with no further prosecutions.