Fred Thompson and Scooter Libby: Ooops! (by Mark Kleinman at HuffPost)

[marmar]

Mark Kleiman
Fred Thompson and Scooter Libby: Ooops!
38 Comments | Posted May 30, 2007 | 02:47 AM (EST)

Fred Thompson hasn't been a real prosecutor for 35 years, but he plays one on TV. You might think he'd be careful about slandering a real prosecutors' prosecutor on behalf of a convicted perjurer. But you'd be wrong.

Ol' Fred may yet regret allowing his name to be used as a member of the Advisory Board of the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Trust. I'm not sure, but to ordinary folks that may look like "Arthur Branch" is just a mite too cozy inside the Beltway.

But Thompson's real vulnerability is going to come from his speech to the Council for National Policy , which Fitzgerald's sentencing memorandum in the Libby case shows to be a mostly a pack of lies.

Thompson said:

As you may recall, for some inexplicable reason, the CIA sent the husband of one of its employees to Niger on a sensitive mission. She had suggested it. He came back to the U.S. and proceeded to publicly blast the administration. Naturally, everyone wanted to know "who is this guy?" and "why was he sent to Niger?" Just as naturally, the fact that he was married to Valerie Plame at the CIA was leaked.

Having virtually guaranteed that Ms. Plame's identity would be ultimately disclosed by using her, shall we say, "politically active" husband, the CIA then demanded that this leak of her name be investigated by the Justice Department for a possible violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

The Justice Department, bowing to political and media pressure, appointed a Special Counsel to investigate the leak and promised that the Justice Department would exercise no supervision over him whatsoever -- a status even the Attorney General does not have.

The only problem with this little scenario was that there was no violation of the law, by anyone, and everybody -- the CIA, the Justice Department and the Special Counsel knew it. Ms. Plame was not a "covered person" under the statute and it was obvious from the outset.

Furthermore, Justice and the Special Counsel knew who leaked Plames's name and it wasn't Scooter Libby. But the Beltway machinery was well oiled and geared up so the Special Counsel spent the next two years moving heaven and earth to come up with something, anything. Finally he came up with some inconsistent recollections by Scooter Libby, who had been up to his ears studying National Intelligence Estimates. But he worked for Dick Cheney, so that apparently was enough for the special counsel.

I didn't know Scooter Libby, but I did know something about this intersection of law, politics, special counsels and intelligence. And it was obvious to me that what was happening was not right. So I called him to see what I could do to help, and along the way we became friends. You know the rest of the story: a D.C. jury convicted him. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-kleiman/fred-thompson-and-scooter_b_49926.html

[Fridays Child]

1. He takes himself way too seriously and that makes him a buffoon.

[speedoo]

2. This idiot is toast before he even declares his candidacy.

That speech will doom him. Assuming, that is, he is called on it enough.

[tularetom]

3. I dunno - tweety already has a man crush on him

Last time I heard him he was orgazzing over Thompson's accent, his fatherly (?) appearance, and his air of authority and comparing him to St Ronnie.

He seemed to think all amurkins were clamoring for a "stern father figure" as president. Somebody who will tell us what is good for us, punish us when we get out a line, and above all protect us from monsters and terrists.

If that were any fuckin where near true, this goofy looking Thompson asswipe would be the last "father figure" I'd choose. He always looks like he has gas, he's married to a chick younger than my granddaughters (and I'm guessing he's pretty close to my own age) and I've read some of the shit he's said and he appears to be a lightweight.

But the other candidates have turned out to be such a sorry lot they are desperately hoping this loser can excite the "base".

[EST]

4. Every single paragraph has at least one lie.

What a maroon buffoon!
There is one special bright spot in all this-
I happen to like Law & Order and now it will no longer be afflicted with this idiot.
Seems to me I read somewhere Thompson, in his lobbying role, was a registered foreign agent and was guilty of trading with an entity with whom the US was in conflict at the time.
In normal times, this fact ought to preclude his holding any sort of public office, but in this case I guess it confirms his chops to hold at least the office of vp, ala the malignant buffoon-Dirty Deadeye Dick.

[marmar]

6. "I happen to like Law & Order and now it will no longer be afflicted with this idiot. "

Agreed.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Poor Scooter Libby! So busy poring over those National Intelligence

Estimates, tirelessly working to secure our nation and advance democracy, and someone had the nerve to investigate him! You can't see it, but I am weeping openly. Fred keeps saying he didn't know Libby personally--er, then why get so involved, Freddie? Because you were so "moved" by the "injustice" perpetrated on Mr. Rich White Powerful you just HAD to take action? Or, to suck up to Cheney and the Neocons for a "hand up" when you run for prez? Such a corrupt, sleazy, phony fucker. I hope he fucking gets the hot gas knocked out of him by somebody, anybody.

[HardWorkingDem]

7. What STILL PISSES me off about the Plame story...

Is that NOTHING Wilson discovered turned out to be wrong. If he had came back, spun some tale that was untrue and shown to be influences by his Kerry relationship, then that would have been wrong.

Who CARES who went as long as the TRUTH was reported!