Two years of investigating an alleged crime and what does prosecutor Fitzpatrick come up with? The answer is that the original referral for investigation was not a crime however activities involved in the investigation are. Those activities apparently are inconsistencies in answers to questions about a non-criminal event that happened over two years ago.
I didn't get the whole Plamegate issue when it happened and I don't get it now. The facts seem to be that some brain surgeon in the CIA decided that it was appropriate to send Joe Wilson, a known Clinton partisan to Africa to investigate the yellow cake claims. It has now been verified, that despite Joe's denials, his wife recomended him for the job and apparently was at the debriefing when Joe came back with his "findings".
Joe also briefed the whole country about his opinions on the subject by writing an Op Ed piece in the New York Times disputing President Bush's statement that Iraq may have tried to acquire yellow cake in Africa. This is a new policy for CIA contractors from what I understand. You now get a contract for a secret mission from the CIA and when you come home you get to put your findings in a national newspaper and write a book about the fall out. Nice work if you can get it. Joe is now likely to be a favorite on the speaking circuit.
So a known opposition figure makes a statement calling the Republican president a liar and no one should take notice in the opposing camp? If Rove has the reputation the Democrats give him credit for he should have had the FBI investigate Wilson. Instead he and Libby and the Republican political apparatus put out the story that Joe is a little loose with the truth and his wife who works at the CIA put him up to the caper at the behest of some Langley types with their noses out of joint over Bush's effort to clean up the place. That is hardly what I call bare knuckle politics and the retribution Rove and the Bush family is supposed to be famous for. Actually it sounds a lot like the absolute truth.
The Wilson's and apparently the CIA is outraged over the "outing" of "covert" operative Flame and the CIA ends up referring the matter to the Justice Department. This is the same woman who Aaron Brown on CNN last night called under cover and then showed a full page spread of her and Joe in Vanity Fair. Now thats what I call undercover! Plame has been a desk jockey for over six years for the CIA and hardly could be considered covert.
Can you remember the last time the CIA made a referral to the justice department over a leak? If every leak in Washington were investigated there would be no one working on anything else. Is there a place in the world more famous for anonymous comments either for retribution or partisanship than Washington D.C.?
So no crime was committed yet Libby faces charges that have 30 years of prison as a possible result. Fortunately no jury in the land will convict him of this but it will make good copy for the Bush haters for the next two or three years. President Bush ought to put the whole thing to rest right now and pardon Libby. While he is at it he should pardon Sandy Berger who was caught red handed stealing secret documents out of the natonal archive. The partisans in the media would have a hard time complaining about that outcome.
