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.