It Was All A Fix - Libby Scapegoated - Even Jurors Knew

[zengrifter]

Jurors wonder why others weren't also on trial

By Richard Willing, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A question occupied the jurors in the trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby as they sat through 14 days of testimony and deliberated for 10 more days: Why is Libby the only person on trial?

"There was a tremendous amount of sympathy for Mr. Libby on the jury. It was said a number of times: 'What are we doing with this guy here? Where's (White House adviser Karl) Rove? Where are these other guys?' " juror Denis Collins said Tuesday.

...more - http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...bby-jury_N.htm

[Brutus]

I was wondering what kind of offer the prosecution offered him to testify against the others.

There was former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who told reporters that Plame worked for the agency. So did Rove, President Bush's top political adviser. And so did Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

All were part of Bush administration efforts to defend the White House against Wilson's criticisms. Starting in May 2003 and culminating two months later, Wilson claimed the administration trumped up reports that Iraq had sought uranium from the African nation of Niger.

Wilson was sent by the CIA to Niger in February 2002 to investigate the reports. He concluded that they were likely baseless.

Cheney, jurors were told throughout the trial, was angered by Wilson's claims that Cheney himself had dispatched Wilson and then disregarded his report. Wilson claimed Libby and others disclosed his wife's CIA job as a way of discrediting Wilson.

omg.

Because so many of the jurors believed Libby was the fall guy, Collins said, he would have "no problem" if Bush decided to pardon Libby.

if libby is not pardoned, and he expects to be, he may lash out.
if he is pardoned, it could be seen as cronyism.

[zengrifter]

Libby set to win pardon and escape jail term

By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 10:39am GMT 08/03/2007

A White House official said last night that there was a "strong expectation" that President George W Bush would pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the disgraced aide.

...more - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...8/wlibby08.xml

[Brutus]

What's your opinion about this Zen?

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by Brutus

What's your opinion about this Zen?

Fitzgerald's succesful prosecution of the Lie'n Libby is an indictment of the Bush White House, and Cheney in particular. Below is a story that hasn't gotten much airplay yet. zg

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Waxman Asks Fitzgerald to Testify Before Congress

By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report Thursday 08 March 2007

Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Thursday he wants Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to testify before his committee about his investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame-Wilson's identity. Plame-Wilson, Waxman's office said, has agreed to testify before Congress on March 16.

EXCERPT -
At the time of Waxman's comments, it was unknown how involved Cheney was in the matter. But two weeks ago, during closing arguments, Cheney was implicated in the leak. It was the first time Fitzgerald acknowledged that Cheney was intimately involved in the scandal and may have told Libby to leak Plame's status to the media. Fitzgerald told jurors that his investigation into the true nature of the vice president's involvement was impeded because Libby obstructed justice.
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Rebutting the defense's assertion that Cheney was not behind the leak, Fitzgerald told jurors: "You know what? [Wells] said something here that we're trying to put a cloud on the vice president. We'll talk straight. There is a cloud over the vice president. He sent Libby off to [meet with former New York Times reporter] Judith Miller at the St. Regis Hotel. At that meeting - the two hour meeting - the defendant talked about the wife [Plame]. We didn't put that cloud there. That cloud remains because the defendant obstructed justice and lied about what happened."
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Moreover, copies of handwritten notes by Vice President Dick Cheney - first reported by Truthout - introduced during Libby's trial also appeared to implicate George W. Bush in the leak case.
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Bush has long maintained that he was unaware of attacks by any member of his administration against [former ambassador Joseph] Wilson. The ex-envoy's stinging rebukes of the administration's use of pre-war Iraq intelligence led Libby and other White House officials to leak Wilson's wife's covert CIA status to reporters in July 2003 in an act of retaliation.
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But Cheney's notes, which were introduced into evidence during Libby's trial, called into question the truthfulness of President Bush's vehement denials about his prior knowledge of the attacks against Wilson. The revelation that Bush may have known all along that there was an effort by members of his office to discredit the former ambassador raises the question: Was the president also aware that senior members of his administration compromised Valerie Plame's undercover role with the CIA?
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Further, the highly explicit nature of Cheney's comments not only hints at a rift between Cheney and Bush over what Cheney felt was the scapegoating of Libby, but also raises serious questions about potentially criminal actions by Bush. If Bush did indeed play an active role in encouraging Libby to take the fall to protect Karl Rove, as Libby's lawyers articulated in their opening statements, then that could be viewed as criminal involvement by Bush.
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...complete story here - http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030807Z.shtml

[mdlbj]

As usual the presss makes this out to look like a drama. IF you dime out a CIA agent, you should be arrested and thrown in prison or, hung for treason.