“Plamegate” – the case against Scooter Libby derails;
It is a common maxim that sometimes those who most loudly decry a sin are in fact the most guilty of it. The trial of Scooter Libby has become a troubling affirmation of that maxim, at least from my vantage point in the media room at the Prettyman Courthouse.
The Washington press has been giddy since the name Joe Wilson was first thrust into the limelight by the tag-team of the New York Times opinion page and NBC’s Meet the Press. This week’s court proceedings reminded us how invested Big Media has been in the prosecution of White House staff over Wilson’s now-debunked claims.
[…]
The contradictory logic evidenced in Russert’s testimony is, somewhat ironically, the keystone of the media’s case against Libby. The criticisms that his memory lapses are selective could easily be levied against both Russert and Mitchell as well. The media has attempted to convict Libby in the minds of its audience by detailing the absurdity of someone forgetting such obviously important facts and conversations. Yet the very people who have beat this drum for months are now exposed as either equally forgetful, or equally deceitful. The glaring omission of these parts of the testimony from NBC’s coverage of the trial makes deceit the increasingly more plausible of the two.
And that’s why a “Bush administration scandal” that once featured prominently in Canadian newscasts has been quietly shelved.
The real scandal is how Wilson attempted to deceive the world about what he found in Niger(and verbally reported to the CIA) and how the MSM peddled his deception and then failed to report it when he was unmasked by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
I would be surprised if the CBC has even once reported the full story.
And as an addendum to Terry Gain’s comment, it’s also part of the scandal how the MSM of both Canada and the US failed to report the final report of the British Govt independent commission on the matter.
Naturally, they wouldn’t report it because it vindicates the Bush Administration. Clearly, Saddam was attempting to obtain uranium in Niger and that Bush’s remarks on that in his State of the Union address were absolutely correct and truthful.
This whole Plame affair illustrates why I’ve come to have nothing but contempt for much of America’s, Canada’s and much of the West’s MSM. They’re bigoted, agenda-driven leftist liars, plain and simple.
Waiting for a vindication of the Bush administration re: the Plame affair would be like waiting for a clear and balanced approach to the hysteria surrounding global warming. The msm will continue to spout the same lie in spite of the evidence.
One of the many fascinating things about this case is how everyone (lawyers, investigators, reporters, politicians, government officials) are all connected to each other in some ways.
Just one small example, the prosecuter Fitzgerald lost a big case to Scooter Libby, the defendent when Libby was a defence lawyer. Since all the witnesses in this trial have been shown to have misremembered at least as bad Libby while giving testimony, many speculate Fitzgerald charged only Libby because of this prior encounter.
Judith Miller, the only reporter who was jailed by Fitzgerald for not revealing her sources, was also involved in another case of Fitzgerald where she allegedly tipped off the defendents prior to a police raid.
Fitzgerald’s reputation has taken a huge hit in this case. He is also the prosecuter who has charged Conrad Black. If his evidence against Black is anywhere as weak as it is in this case, I predict Black will get off.
It’s naked and personal politics…nothing to do whatsoever with truth or justice.
My understanding is that the “Leaker” is self admitted Richard Armitage and the persecution of Libby remains a vendetta on the part of Fitzgerald>
link-http://ussneverdock.blogspot.com/2006/08/us-why-is-fitzgerald-lying.html
OMMAG — you are correct. Deputy Secretary Armitage was Robert Novak’s source. He presumably escaped prosecution because the relevant statute speaks of “knowingly” and “willfully” revealing the name of an agent. So either Armitage’s leak was not willful (a valid defense, as Armitage would surely not have wanted to expose an agent to the enemy) and/or she was not technically an “agent” at the time (something I’ve always wondered about). For those seriously interested in the case, I recommend Byron York’s articles on National Review Online. Fans of US television will also appreciate that Fred Thompson of “Law and Order” (and former Watergate investigator and US Senator) delivered a blistering attack on Fitzgerald yesterday.