What Happened?!...

...is the the title of Scott McClellan's new book(punctuation mine). The former White House Press Secretary reveals in a stunning tell-all that he (gasp!) knew he was lying when covering for the Bush Crime Syndicate.

The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

There was one problem. It was not true.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself.

The book is scheduled for release in April of 2008, with plenty of time to hand out presidential pardons before then. Great going, Scotty, you li'l ol' patriot, you.

UPDATE: November 21, 2007, 9:30pm EST

McClellan does not believe President Bush lied to him about the role of White House aides I. Lewis Scooter Libby or Karl Rove in the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, according to McClellan's publisher.

...the president told McClellan what "he thought to be the case." But... McClellan believes, "the president didn't know it was not true."

So that makes Bush incompetent instead of a liar. Either way, it's a sorry state of affairs for the Oval Office.

I just want a member of the press corps to ask one, simple question: Dana, now that this story has come out, how can we ever trust what anyone in this administration says from that podium ever again?

Barry Bonds Indicted

Who Cares?!

NY Times: Barry Bonds, baseball’s career home run leader, was indicted yesterday on five felony charges — four for perjury and one for obstruction of justice — for testifying before a federal grand jury in 2003 that he never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone.

I'm a big baseball fan. I'm upset. I'm pissed off. But the reason I'm angry is because the Federal government spent four years and millions and millions of dollars on a case against a baseball player. A FUCKING BASEBALL PLAYER!

President Bush "is very disappointed to hear this," said White House spokesman, Tony Fratto.

Well maybe Bush can commute Bond's sentence if he is convicted. After all, it's only a perjury charge against the federal grand jury for lying about steroid use. It's not nearly as important as lying about revealing the name of a CIA operative, which used to be considered treasonous, but not in this day and age.

When Michael Mukasey is confirmed as the new Attorney General after refusing to give a straight answer on waterboarding, when the former AG, Alberto "Torquemada" Gonzales is starting a defense fund even though he's an honorable man according to his former boss, when our troops are still in harm's way in Iraq with no end in sight, when hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead because of our illegal occupation, when military contractors have no accountability for their actions, when companies like Halliburton are using the occupation to loot the US Treasury coffers and then move their offices to Dubai to avoid paying taxes, I'm sooo glad they took the time and money to investigate and indict a man in a non-essential job to make an example of.

All these things taken into account, I can now sleep better knowing that Barry Bonds, if convicted, will get a pardon from President Bush. Won't he? I mean, if Scooter Libby received a pardon for lying to a grand jury, surely Barry Bonds will also.

Geiger: The Senate Silence on Libby

Please read Bob Geiger's blog regarding the lack of any public statements regarding the Libby commutation from any of the 25 remaining US Senators that voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1999.

"...it's odd that there's not one similarly scathing statement about George W. Bush deciding to effectively pardon a convicted criminal just because he's a loyal Bushie -- oh, and also to keep him from coming forward with the truth about the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.

It could be that the Senate is in recess and that all of their press secretaries are vacationing in Nepal and simply can't get to their laptops.

...But maybe it's just possible that all of these Republican Senators are a bunch of cynical, hypocritical cowards who simply don’t have the guts to speak with what little conscience they have on this issue.

I think I'll go with that one."

Fred Thompson - Another Leaker

When asked what he thought of Fred Thompson's criticism of his new movie, Michael Moore smiled and said, "Fred Thompson is one of my favorite television actors!"

Thompson was a vocal proponent of Scooter Libby's pardon and ran a defense fund for him. He thought that the perjury and obstruction of justice conviction of Libby was a ""shocking injustice . . . created and enabled by federal officials." It's no wonder that Thompson felt that way because he's been there before.

As the Boston Globe reports, back in July, 1973,"The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight -- asking an aide to President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system -- he telephoned Nixon's lawyer.

Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public. In his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, "At That Point in Time," Thompson said he acted with "no authority" in divulging the committee's knowledge of the tapes, which provided the evidence that led to Nixon's resignation. It was one of many Thompson leaks to the Nixon team, according to a former investigator for Democrats on the committee, Scott Armstrong , who remains upset at Thompson's actions.

So Fred Thompson sympathizes with Scooter Libby because he knows what it's like to be a leaker. Birds of a feather... Of course, Thompson did the ol' sidestep when asked about the matter this week, and responded via e-mail without addressing the specific charge of being a Nixon mole: "I'm glad all of this has finally caused someone to read my Watergate book, even though it's taken them over thirty years."

Well we're reading now, Fred. I hope it makes you happy.

CLINTON DID IT TOO

On a side note, I understand the GOP wagons circled again and pulled out the reliable "Clinton did it too" excuse when it came to the commutation of Libby's sentence.

Let's get something straight: Bill Clinton issued 140 pardons and commutations on his last day in office. All of the people he pardoned had served part or all of their jail sentence. He never pardoned or commuted the sentence of anyone working in his administration during the middle of a term.

As for the pardon of Marc Rich, the international commodities trader who fled the US while being prosecuted on charges of tax evasion, let's not forget that even Rich's attorney, whom Clinton described as a "distinguished Republican lawyer", supported Rich's pardon and never wavered on his claim of innocence.

That distinguished Republican lawyer was Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

UPDATE:

Also read: Dan Froomkin's White House Watch

Bush Commutes Libby's Jail Time

I knew this was going to happen, but I am stunned it happened so soon.

George W. Bush, a pathetic sociopath of a president, has commuted the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former Chief of Staff to Vice President Cheney. And why shouldn't he? This is a clown of a man who claimed after the stolen 2004 election that had political capital: "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style."

Well, Chimpy, your wallet is empty. It's been empty for a long time. Now you are using credit from the Republican Party - credit that will have to be repaid in November of 2008. And the interest rate is a bitch.

On September 30, 2003 Bush said, "There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of." I suppose by "taken care of'" he meant since they do his dirty work for him, he'll take care of any trouble they get into with a flick of a bic.

In July of 2005 Bush said, "If somebody committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration." But Scooter Libby continued to work in the White House until he was indicted. Yet another lie in the long list of the Bush legacy. And now he plays judge, jury and excuser, reversing a decision handed down by the courts just hours after learning that Libby would not be freed on bail while pending an appeal.

Bush, July 2, 2007: "I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison."

You respect the jury's verdict? You respect the jury's verdict?! You just spat in the face of the judicial system, commuted the sentence of a man who committed perjury at the very least, something a former president was impeached for. You commuted the sentence of a man who possibly got people killed by helping to leak the name of a CIA operative, we'll never really know because he also obstructed an FBI investigation into the matter, and you dare say you "respect the jury''s verdict"? There's a special place in hell for people like you.

And let's not forget our upcoming presidential candidates' reactions to Chimp-Man's decision:

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois
“This decision to commute the sentence of a man who compromised our national security cements the legacy of an Administration characterized by a politics of cynicism and division, one that has consistently placed itself and its ideology above the law..."

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware
“...It is time for the American people to be heard — I call for all Americans to flood the White House with phone calls tomorrow expressing their outrage over this blatant disregard for the rule of law.”

Former Sen. John Edwards
“Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today ... George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York
“Today’s decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law... This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice.”

But let's not stop there. What do you think the Republican candidates have to say about Bush's decision? I think you can guess where this is headed.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
“After evaluating the facts, the President came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct.”

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
“I believe that the circumstances of this case, where the prosecutor knew that there had not been a crime committed, created a setting where a decision of this nature was reasonable.”

What part of "obstruction of justice" and "perjury" doesn't ring in Romney's head? It drives me to the brink of insanity when these jokers claim that a crime wasn't committed because the initial investigation was about finding out who leaked a CIA operative's name to the press. Am I wrong, or didn't the investigation hit a wall with Libby's lies? Hey Mitt, lying to FBI investigators and a Grand Jury ARE CRIMES!

And what does Golden Boy Fred Thompson have to say about commuting the sentence of someone who committed perjury? The same Thompson that voted for the impeachment of Bill Clinton for... wait for it... perjury!

Former GOP Sen. Fred Thompson, likely presidential
candidate
"I am very happy for Scooter Libby. I know that this is a great relief to him, his wife and children. While for a long time I have urged a pardon for Scooter, I respect the President’s decision. This will allow a good American, who has done a lot for his country, to resume his life."

Does it surprise you that a possible Republican presidential candidate who voted to impeach a Democratic president for perjury in the case of an extramarital affair would then urge for a pardon of a Republican aide to the White House for the same offense when it comes to matters of national security?

It doesn't surprise me either.

Also read: Jeralyn Merritt: Hyposcrisy, Thy Name is Bush

Libby Sentenced to 30 Months

New York Times:

WASHINGTON, June 5 - I. Lewis Libby Jr., once one of the most powerful men in government as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for lying to a grand jury and F.B.I. agents who were investigating the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative during a fierce debate over the war in Iraq.

...Judge Walton did not set a date for Mr. Libby to report to prison. The judge said at first that he saw no reason for the defendant to remain free pending appeal, but he later agreed to accept briefs on that issue and rule later.

How soon before the pardon? My guess is that it will take a good long while before Libby is to report to prison... just long enough for the house of cards to fall and Chimpy to sign the pardon.

Am I being too cynical?

Off For The Weekend

Well, I have to tell you, I have thoroughly been enjoying my blogging for the past few months and it seems I've had less and less time to do it. It gives me an outlet to vent my frustrations and also gets the creative juices flowing.

There's been so much to write about this week! The Walter Reed scandal and the Scooter Libby verdict alone is enough for any "full-time, I get paid to blog" writers to develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. And let's not forget the hearings on the fired Federal Prosecutors and the daily FOX News distortions. The possibilities are endless and make my head swim.

But shlubs like me who do this as a hobby don't have the time to be able to put it all down, let alone develop informed opinions while making it entertaining to read. So, as my fiancee would kill me if I brought my laptop on our weekend getaway, I'll be walking away from my desk and leaving the bitter cold of New York for sunny Las Vegas for three fun-filled days. (I'll keep a note pad handy and scour the local papers in search of my next topic.)

In the meantime, those who read my blog (all three of you), continue to search for the truth on any of the sites listed on the right, search for new blogs and support the writers who post fervently by leaving them a comment. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world when you realize someone might actually be interested in reading what you write. Let them know you're tuned in - leave your own opinion. If a blog is never read, does it still rant?

I'll be back soon enough and ready to pounce on the next insane story. I most likely won't write about my weekend, because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Have a great weekend!

The Libby Verdict Spin Begins

No sooner is Scooter Libby found guilty of 4 counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI that the conservative spin begins on the verdict.

John Gibson, FOX: "So the vice president and Libby wanted the press to know because they were getting pointed questions about why did you send this guy if you weren't going to pay attention to his report. And they found out that his wife had sent him. They wanted people to know. Problem was, she was a covert spook, at least technically.

So if you are the vice president or his assistant, can you out the spook if the spook is pulling strings behind your back to make you look bad? Evidently not.

Personally, I'm glad they did. There was a cabal inside the CIA working against the president's policy and they wanted to hide behind their secret status while they did what was essentially an anti-war political hitjob.

...So why would Cheney send an anti-war activist to investigate a key fact in the decision to go to war? Answer: He wouldn't. And the person who did was trying to sabotage the president."

Sure, that's it John. They were just trying to protect themselves against a vast left-wing conspiracy. A "cabal inside the CIA"? What are you smoking, Gibson? You're right on one count. Cheney didn't personally send Wilson. He asked the CIA to investigate to try and give credence to the ridiculous 'yellowcake-from-Niger' story. Plame, a non-official cover CIA Agent (NOC) sent Wilson, the most qualified person with the most knowledge of the region to assess, and he found nothing.
When his findings were ignored and he saw that we were being lied into a war, he spoke out. That's when Cheney went psycho and became obsessed with punishing Wilson by outing Plame. As SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars says, Gibson manages to rewrite history in three minutes.

But that's only the tip of the iceberg. The Washington Post Editorial of March 7th calling the Libby trial a "pointless Washington scandal" was a ridiculous tirade of misinformation and revisionist history, so much so that of the 36 pages of posts I scanned through, I couldn't find one that was in agreement with the editorial. Most posts gave vague little pieces of advice like, "You should retire", "I'll be expecting a retraction" , "You should read the paper you write for" and "This is the worst piece of editorial drivel that the Post has published in a very long time."

Of course, this gave more ammo to the right-wingers.

DNR Online, Harrisonburg, VA: "The verdict of guilty in the case of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney is one more step in a "pointless Washington scandal."
Those last three words are not those of rightwing extremists, but the headline of an editorial in The Washington Post."
Oooh! That radical left-wing rag, The Washington Post! It must be true, unless we disagree with it, of course. Then it's all lies from that radical left-wing rag!

Here are some other quotes I came across in the OCRegister's Opinion Page:
"Anyone should get a pass when you can’t remember specifically what you said, especially considering numerous daily contacts that Libby made over the span of months."

"This farcical verdict should be summarily overturned and the rogue “special” prosecutor should get a taste of his own medicine. Better yet, he should be disbarred. What a disgrace."

Reading posts on conservative blogs and websites, it is amazing to me how the GOP has convinced the kool-aid drinkers and FOX News have convinced their viewers that:

1) Libby did nothing wrong: "Scooter Libby is going to jail for not remembering who he told what. He didn't lie, evidently. He didn't remember right, and that is a federal crime, of course, if you happen to be speaking to a FBI agent when your memory fails."

2) Valerie Plame was not covert, therefore no crime was committed.

Once again sheeple, the trial was not about the Plame leak. It was about Scooter Libby perjuring himself in front of a Grand Jury, the FBI and hindering an investigation.

Verdict: Guilty.

I don't think Libby could have gotten as far as he did professionally if he had a "forgetful memory". C'mon John, "he didn't lie, evidently"? This kind of classified information isn't what you might tend to forget, especially when your boss is obsessed with the Plame/Wilson affair. It's not as if he couldn't remember where he'd left his keys. It isn't that trivial. Besides the fact that people who know Libby are crediting him with an excellent memory and being incredibly sharp. Oh and by the way, Mr. Gibson, if you're "personally glad they did" leak the name of a CIA covert operative, then you should be investigated for treasonable offenses as well. A man in your position in agreement with treason? Par for the course for FOX News.

Of course no one has been charged with leaking Plame's name - the investigation into that matter was OBSTRUCTED BY LIBBY! And let's not start discrediting Patrick Fitzgerald in all this. Remember, this "rogue 'special' prosecutor" was appointed for this job by the WHITE HOUSE! But he didn't play their game. How soon before he gets fired? Anyone starting a pool?
Everyone is also acting as if this thing is over because it isn't as big as Watergate. It is not over. This can of worms has just opened. There will be plenty more to spill out of this administration before it's all over.

Do a little research yourself today. Google "Libby verdict" and you'll get a pack of editorials all trying to suggest that this was a non-crime, Libby was a scapegoat, Patrick Fitzgerald should be disbarred, Libby didn't leak the name, blah, blah, blah.

It's amazing what people still won't believe when it is staring them right in the face.

Libby Found Guilty

On 4 of 5 Counts

NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted today of lying to F.B.I. agents and grand jurors investigating the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative amid a burning dispute over the war in Iraq.

The question remains if there will be further investigations including Cheney's involvement and obsession with discrediting Joe Wilson and triggering the Plame leak. Initial reaction from prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicates that as of now, "the investigation is inactive."

In an unrelated(?) note, the Dow is up over 80 points today and climbing since the verdict.

UPDATE: (5:04pm EST)

VP CHENEY: "I am very disappointed with the verdict. I am saddened for Scooter and his family. As I have said before, Scooter has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction through many years of public service. Since his legal team is seeking a new trial, persuing an appeal, I plan to have no further comment on the merits of this matter until these proceeding are concluded."

How convenient. Oh, and the Dow closed up 157 points.

Answer The Question!

It's amazing... why does George the Liar continue to have press conferences if he's not going to answer questions asked of him? He gives you nothing but the latest fear mongering in a desparate attempt to increase support for the failed war in Iraq, and now starts laying the foundation for Iran. How many times did he use the phrase "QUDS Force" in his conference yesterday?
And when asked, "What assurances can you give the American people that the intelligence this time will be accurate?" he avoids the question with the same rhetoric he began the conference with. This man is shameless.

I hope there are more journalists out there like Ed Henry who will continue to badger George the Liar. He will eventually blow a gasket and say something other than what he's scripted to say.

Click here for the link and video on intelligence contradiction and accuracy question.


He was also asked questions regarding the Libby trial, which of course he wouldn't comment on.

That's a far cry from what he had to say on September 30th, 2003.
BUSH: "If there's a leak out of my Administration, I want to know who it is. And if that person has violated law, that person will be taken care of."

Cheney Involved In CIA Leak

What a surprise! More information is coming out on the first day of Scooter Libby's trial. It seems Dick the Devil is possibly much more deeply involved than originally thought.