HUMBLING OF THE D.C. HIERARCHY

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/30/MNG4QFGE3L1.DTL

Washington -- In an incestuous town renowned for grinding up outsiders, few will forget a boyish-looking prosecutor from Chicago staring down two of the city's most venerable institutions.

Circumstance, evidence and lawyers will determine what role the prosecution of Lewis "Scooter'' Libby will play in history. The damage has already cost the vice president his chief of staff and humbled the nation's most esteemed newspaper.

As Patrick Fitzgerald, the 44-year-old federal prosecutor, stood before a bank of cameras Friday to announce the conclusion of his 22-month investigation, he made it plain that no institution, not the White House, not the New York Times, not any of the revered establishments that in fact or fancy run this town, would stand in the way of his dogged pursuit of justice.

"The truth is the engine of our judicial system, and if you compromise the truth, the whole process is lost,'' Fitzgerald said.

For a moment, it was as if all the partisan trickery, the spin, the half-truths, the exercises of privilege, and journalistic shortcuts so taken for granted in Washington had been suspended.

[Skidmore]

1. Patrick Fitzgerald is a son of the people, not born of

privilege or a political dynasty. He's close to the earth in the same way the son of the farmer down the lane is. He knows when the soil is good and when it's polluted and is not afraid to expose the rot to the disinfecting rays of the sun. The sons of privilege and politics and their jaded sycophants and hangers-on are light years removed from the simple truths of justice, honor, and fairness.

[MuseRider]

2. Nicely said Skidmore.

I like that. :applause:

[Spazito]

3. His analysis is wrong on one point, at least

"...announce the conclusion of his 22-month investigation,..."

That is completely opposite to what Fitzgerald actually said, which is:

"I will not end the investigation until I can look anyone in the eye and tell them that we have carried out our responsibility sufficiently to be sure that we've done what we could to make intelligent decisions about when to end the investigation. We hope to do that as soon as possible. I just hope that people will take a deep breath and just allow us to continue to do what we have to do."