Judge Won't Dismiss Case Against Libby

[proud2BlibKansan]

Judge Won't Dismiss Case Against Libby

By TONI LOCY, Associated Press Writer
34 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - A federal judge refused Thursday to dismiss charges against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former top White House aide who was indicted on perjury and obstruction charges last year in the CIA leak scandal.

In a 31-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton turned down a motion by lawyers for Vice President Dick Cheney's onetime top assistant, who challenged the authority of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to handle the case.

Libby's lawyers had argued that Fitzgerald was given too much power — more than the attorney general — and that the appointment should have been made by the president with the Senate's approval.

Walton said Thursday he did not need to "look far" in the law to reject the claim by Libby's defense team. The judge said there is no question the attorney general can delegate any of his functions.

Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft had recused himself from the investigation because of his White House contacts. James Comey, who was deputy attorney general at the time, appointed Fitzgerald, giving him wide berth to conduct the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters in 2003.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060427/ap_on_go_ot/cia_leak

[stepnw1f]

1. Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaa... Fucker!

Boohoo hoo.... you are lucky the court decides your future mr. Fibby.

[leveymg]

2. I wonder how much Cline (or is it Wells) billed for that BS motion?

What a time-waster and sure loser that one was.

Hope he's billing top $$$$$$, and this garbage defense costs Libby's backers a fortune.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Must have taken a lot of nerve

to challenge Fitz's authority.

[leveymg]

10. Couldn't they do better than that?

Hey, they could have learned from the AIPAC spy case lawyer, Abbe Lowell.

He's come up with a potentially effective defense. Lowell subpoenaed Condi Rice in order to make the point that leaking classified documents was condoned at the highest levels of this Administration, so it's unfair to blame the functionaries for carrying out orders.

Now, if only someone comes forward and admits that lying to the FBI and the GJ was also encouraged . . .

[napi21]

3. Oops! One more shot in the dark by Libbys atty's destroyed!

Got to keep filin' them mothions though...justify your Million Dollar bill!!!!

[louis-t]

4. SOP. Defense always files motion to dismiss.

Snowballs chance in Hell, but sometimes it works. Attorney would be remiss if he didn't ask for it.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Most defense attornies use something plausible on which to....

...base their motion to dismiss. Libby's lawyer, and/or Libby, and/or Libby's backers must be getting increasingly more fearful of the eventual end result.

[louis-t]

9. Good point.

On what did they base their motion to dismiss? "It's not fair."?

[Beetwasher]

13. They Had NOTHING Else!!

Because Fitz is good, he dot's his eyes and crosses the t's. He's careful, they had nothing else to file a motion to dismiss, so they grasped at straws. Libby's in deep and Fitz has him by the balls.

[cascadiance]

11. Not a snowball's chance in hell with Walton on the bench!

Just ask Sibel Edmonds!

[TacticalPeek]

6. K&R

Walton, like Sirica before him, reminds the powerful that they, too, are expected to obey the laws.


:patriot:

[American liberal]

8. neener, neener, nee-ner. Let the Show begin. Who's bringing the popcorn?

[Tellurian]

12. New Soap Opera: "AS THE ROPE TIGHTENS"

Theme and mission of this unresolved conflict:

"SUICIDE is not an option."

[Demeter]

14. I Should HOPE Not!

There must be some accountability in this culture of crime.

[Peace Patriot]

15. Anybody know if the judge's action on this motion is appealable to the

Bush-owned Supreme Court?

If it is, and it gets reversed there, then we would KNOW--if we didn't know before--that we are suffering a fascist coup. There is really no more accurate description of the 2004 election, conducted by Bushite corporations, using "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls, to "count" all the votes--a fascist coup. But removing Fitzgerald would be a confirmation of it. I'm not sure what's appealable, and what isn't, in federal court--or what could be used to ultimately overturn a conviction (by taking it to the Supreme Court). But the Supreme Court is their ace in the hole, it seems to me, especially if Bush has no political capital left for pardons. On the other hand, we could be witness to a charade of justice, whereby Cheney and his aide (Libby) are "sacrificed" for the greater good of perpetuating war, tax cuts for the rich, looting of the federal budget, and massive deregulation (the Bush junta agenda), by "preserving" Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice and the other Republican Bushites from a treason scandal. The Supreme Court would bend over for whatever the powers behind this junta decide to do.

In any case, the appealability of the motion may be important--and may be the reason they filed it in the first place (--besides padding their billable hours).

[Jim__]

16. That's the appeal that scared me.

If they won on that, Fitz' investigation was over. Now I hope he puts them all in jail.

[gratuitous]

17. A 31-page opinion?

Wow, sounds like Judge Walton really crossed the t's and dotted the i's. That's the opinion of a judge who wants his order to withstand appellate scrutiny.

Although I have to wonder at the brazenness of the basis for the motion: Nobody in the Libby camp seemed to think that Ken Starr had too much authority.

Perhaps now Fitzgerald will feel free to get on with the indictments, now that the preliminaries are dispensed with.