The one person indictment is a master stroke by Fitz

[WI_DEM]

Many people have expressed disappointment that only one person was indicted, but it is worth remembering that the one person is a very big fish--the Chief of Staff to The VP of the USA. And anybody who thinks "Scooter" Libby was out there on his own, without any supervisory direction, well, I have a bridge to sell you. Fitz must have a pretty strong case against Libby and that is the important point.

Libby has a five count indictment--I think I heard if he is convicted on each count he is looking at thirty plus years in prison. How old is the guy? 50's? well, that would be a very significant amount of his remaining years spent behind bars.

The only way, at this point, Libby could get a lighter sentence, to work out a plea agreement, is to accept at least one felony count--and do some prison time--but certainly not the thirty years he would do if convicted on all five counts.

The only way Fitz would agree to accept any plea at this point would be for Libby to cooperate with his investigation and name names. Certainly, others knew what was going on and aided by either giving directions to Libby or aiding in the obstruction of justice--but Fitz can't indict, and shouldn't, unless he has an iron-clad case. He was able to get that with Libby and my feeling, is that Fitz is gambling that if "Scooter" wants to avoid years of prison service--he will eventually talk and tell more than he has about who is the real architect of "Plamegate" and who the other conspirators are.

Last night I was at a Halloween party and many people were talking about this case and how it is inconceivable that it stops with Scooter Libby and, like Sen. Kennedy and others, we believe this is just the beginning.

[Halliburton]

1. Apparently he's buying Rove's BS

which is disgraceful

[babylonsister]

3. I don't necessarily agree he's buying Rove's bs;

he's playing his cards real close to his vest, which is probably frightening and infuriating to Rove and his cronies.

[Halliburton]

5. well according to "lawyers close to the case"

Fitzgerald is buying the BS.

[Spazito]

9. LOL, 'lawyers close to the case' means Rove's lawyer

so it means less than squat, imo. Rove's lawyer released a statement on Friday stating Rove was still under investigation. Which is it? Lawyers spin on behalf of their client and for NO other reason.

[Halliburton]

11. well it's ridiculous that this email gave Fitz some second thoughts

it's a very weak and circumstantial defense if you ask me. Based on reports, this email doesn't even come close to exculpating Rove of any wrongdoing. I hope Fitzgerald isn't buying this load of bull.

[Spazito]

22. No one has any idea what Fitz is considering, it is Rove's lawyer

floating this which should give us all pause. There is a reason his lawyer is pushing this and it certainly isn't to inform the public of the facts. One should ask why they are working so hard to sell this? One could speculate that Rove gave much more than an e-mail to Fitzgerald and the intent of his lawyers could be to try and hide the fact that Rove has offered up a bigger fish. That is as plausible as what his lawyers are publicly saying, imo.

[flyarm]

27. remember fitz's gj was out of time...period the clock could not

be stopped as in football..the clock ran out..so by all regards..fitz had an obligation to not rush ..just to get over the goal line to appease people like you and me..fitz is not an appeaser...he is a fact finder..and all rove did was buy himself a little..very little time!!

and i would suggest if rove "played" fitz..he is fucking with the wrong guy!! that would just add another obstruction to his portfolio!!

[flyarm]

25. who's lawyers???????? thats the key..who's lawyers ??????

because many lawyers yesterday with no connection to this case say rove is toast and this admins is in big trouble...tying in both * and cheney!

sure roves lawyer will paint the prettiest picture....he is paid to do so!!

and fitz is paid to investigate and get to the truth!

[WI_DEM]

8. A little history might be worth looking at

In 1973 Judge Sirica delayed for up to three months sentencing the Watergate burglars--those Cubans who were caught red-handed. The reason? He knew there was more to Watergate than they were admitting and he was giving them time to think about it--were they willing to go to prison for a number of years while the people who planned and organized it got off scott free? it worked, and one of them began talking, soon all of them were talking.

[leesa]

19. He's made it very clear Rove is not off the hook and that the

investigation continues.

[flyarm]

28. if rove was off the hook fitz would not have called him "A" in this

indictment!! he would have named him...

[KittyWampus]

2. The Football Game Doesn't End After The First Half. You Lead By 20

going into half time... you still have to come out roaring in the second half.

Justice kicked ass last week and is getting ready for the second half
even as we type.

[ewagner]

4. You could be right

it will be interesting to see if, in the court proceedings, Fitz and his attorneys try to imply that "Scooter" was the master-mind, the kingpin, the "brains" behind the smear campaign. That would indicate that Fitz was going for broke with the jury and asking for a conviction on all counts. That might be the move that triggers Libby's attorneys to ask for a plea deal.

On the other hand, what are the odds that Libby will remain tough and cover for everybody else, knowing that there has been a wink and a nod from Dubya that a pardon is in the wings?

[Skink]

6. And Abu Graib was a couple of bad apples..

The American public has had enough. I agree that focusing on Libby is key. If he had brought down Rove there'd be a wave of pardons already in the works.
I hope this gets dragged out for the rest of the term.

[WinkyDink]

7. Pardon me.

Seriously though, folks.
No jail AY-tall.
Did not Poppy show the way?

[HereSince1628]

12. Well, maybe a teeny tiny amount.

With Bush flat out of political capital the pardon might not come until the end of Bushit's term (which we are trying to pre-empt).

[still_one]

10. he will be pardoned perhaps before it gets to trail

[malaise]

15. Huh?

Not sure there is precedent for this but if W tries this, it means that contrary to what he said re innocent until proven guilty, he is dead sure Libby is guilty. That would open up another whole can of Libby's worms

[still_one]

17. nixon was pardoned, and he wasn't even charged with anything

yes there is a precident, and my bet is it won't happen immediately, but only after the wonderful mainstream media diverts the news to some missing white girl

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. Ford pardoned Nixon

Ford had not been a member of the Nixon administration when the crimes were committed, nor was Ford ever part of Nixon's inner circle.

If Bush attempts to pardon anyone involved in a scandal of this magnitude from his own administration, he might as well commit suicide.

[still_one]

23. look at this possibility

a year goes by and * decides to pardon Libby. Unless we take back Congress in 2006 there is nothing that can touch this administration, and I am NOT that confident that the people in this country will learn. We have a special election in California this November, and it will be interesting to see if the trend goes against Arnold, but I would be more interested in what the South does

[DoYouEverWonder]

24. Even just one year in jail

is a long time for a man like Scooter Libby. Besides by the end of one year, Bush will not be in a position to pardon the local winos, no less anyone else involved in this conspiracy.

[still_one]

29. No matter what happens now, this is a huge victory for us

I know I sound cynical, but look at the environment. They control all branches of government, still the Senate majority leader, the house leader, the VPs cheif of staff, and others are all being implicated in criminal activity

This is a victory no matter whether they get pardoned or not. The truth is finally coming out, in spite of the lack of reporting from the main stream media

At one time it looked like nothing could stop the rethugs in 2006, that is no longer the case

People's eyes are starting to open up, and like in the Matrix, welcome to the REAL WORLD

[Zen Democrat]

34. Nixon was charged as an "unindicted co-conspirator" which means

that he could have been prosecuted for a felony after leaving the presidency. That's why he was pardoned by Ford. And why almost everyone at the time believed that there was a prior arrangement between Nixon and Ford when Nixon selected Ford as the VP. Ford performed according to their arrangement. Which was the main reason Ford wasn't reelected in 1976.

[malaise]

35. You have a point

but the precedent is Bush pardoning Reagan's men, particularly Weinberger.

[flyarm]

30. since * and cheney are named as giving the info to rove and libby

and since it is known and has been known that libby and rove gave out classified info..it is a law that they be fired immediately...well that law has been overlooked...by * and cheney...so if i was * i wouldn't pardon anyone until he is shown the door...

[sadiesworld]

13. Er, we don't think Libby was "out there on his own"...

that's why some of us aren't ecstatic over the single indictment.

Look, on a somewhat superficial level I'm pretty happy just to see "whitehouse" and "indictment" used in the same headline on the front page of the local rag. It IS something.

OTOH, I had hoped for more in the area of deep politics. Weren't DUers saying only a couple of weeks ago that the reason the investigation was taking so long was that Fitzgerald was branching out into all kinds of juicy areas? Apparently, he wasn't. So he spent two years on a pretty narrow question and STILL couldn't even get Rove?

I have to wonder if DUers haven't been a bit too eager to jump on the Fitzgerald bandwagon. He WAS appointed by * and assigned this case by the * justice dept. The terror cases he has prosecuted give me pause.

I desperately hope that most DUers are right and this is just the beginning, but I've had an increasingly bad feeling about all this.

[WI_DEM]

14. Most people know he wasn't out on his own, but you can't indict

someone without enough evidence to convict them. By indicting one person and holding that one person responsible for what may be a large conspiracy, Fitz is putting a lot of pressure on the person indicted to work out a deal and the only deal he can work out at this point is to implicate others.

[sadiesworld]

21. According to a number of media outlets

Fitzgerald was prepared to indict Rove until the very last minute when he (Fitz) did an about-face. Some even allude to the Levine (?) e-mail story. Is this tale true? If not, who floated it and why? And did the original grand jurors believe that they were going to indict Rove up until Fitz told them that some "new" info would preclude same?

I realize that these questions are largely unanswerable, but aren't they interesting?

As to the pressure on Libby, I would think the greatest pressure point was prior to the indictment. It looks like Libby has decided to take the fall and wait for his pardon.

Again, I hope that I am wrong.

[flyarm]

31. libby decided to take the fall long before this week..he decided

to take the fall a long time ago..so * could get re-elected..or more precisely..re-stolen....remember fitz said libby threw sand in his eyes..and if that had not been so he would have been able to bring the end of this oct 2004...right before the election..libby threw his body in front of the bus from the get go..to keep the electorate in this country from knowing much about this case!!

[sadiesworld]

32. True.

I think Libby engaged in the evidentiary equivalent of jumping up and down while painted bright red holding a sign saying "ME, ME, IT'S ME!".

[Lancer]

16. Remember the words of Deep Throat!

He said, "shoot too high and miss and everyone feels safer."

Nailing only Scooter was brilliant. Going for Rove or Cheney without "ironclad proof," as WI_DEM says, risked blowing the whole case and jeopardized bringing down the whole cabal.

Mr. Fizgerald is not buying time IMO, he is making the most powerful men in the land squirm, secure in the knowledge that one of them will break down. May take a few months, but it will happen.

Yes, this was a master stroke by Fitz.

[lonestarnot]

18. Strong case? Bwaaaaahahahaha HIS SCOOTIES VERY OWN NOTES

[Mr_Spock]

26. Let's see how this plays out...

Clearly there is spin happening on both sides - it'll take time to unfold - which may be a good thing. Just when the Bushco cabal thinks their back on their feet...

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Rose Siding]

36. Walton is a Bush appointee. If Libby rejects a jury trial,

we have to hope that Fitz is able to draw out all the damning evidence publicly.

Otherwise Scooter could skate :(

[LunaC]

37. It's a classic formula from a TV crime drama

I've posted this elsewhere but it bears repeating...

In TV-land, a crime has been committed. The perps have been identified and separated from one another. Each is told that The Other Guy is pointing the finger at THEM! (cue Sam Waterston saying "You better level with me or you're taking the Fall all by yourself...") Trickle, trickle, trickle.

The prosecutor goes back and forth, playing one perp against the other, and with each new tidbit of info they volunteer, the Big Picture starts to emerge with greater clarity until the crime is solved. Cue closing credits. Dissolve into commercial.

Fitz has effectively cornered the perps - Rove and Libby can't strategize with one another any more and it's every man for himself. Rove has taken the bait, is fishing for a plea bargain and is cooperating, hence no indictments for right now. Rove is playing the part of Big Pussy in the Soprano’s!

Libby, on the other hand, is playing hard-ass so he’s been treated to “the squeeze”….tell the truth or face hard jail time. While he professes his innocence and demands his day in court, a public trial is the Cabal’s worst nightmare…no one can risk having their dirty little secrets revealed under oath and WH hierarchy refusing to testify “on the grounds that it may incriminate me” will be damning testimony in and of itself.

Libby. Rock. Hard place. He wonders about the witness protection program but realizes his days are numbered. There is no good ending to this story for him. And Rove isn't entirely off the hook yet either.

This is just the first few minutes into the drama and we've gone into a commercial break. There's more to come.