Prosecutor Opposes Libby Motion to Dismiss

[appleannie1]

WASHINGTON -- Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald on Friday disputed the claim of Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide that the prosecutor lacks legal authority to indict him in the CIA leak investigation.

Fitzgerald opposed the move of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby asking a judge to dismiss the five-count indictment against him in the Valerie Plame affair. In court papers, the prosecutor argued that being allowed to operate outside any control of the Justice Department is constitutional and in accordance with federal law.


The prosecutor, who is investigating the disclosure of Plame's CIA undercover status, is not supervised by the Justice Department and he is not required to inform anyone at the department about the investigation's progress.

In a court filing in February, Libby said that only Congress could approve such an arrangement.

"The attorney general may delegate powers but he may not abdicate responsibility," Libby's lawyers wrote.

Fitzgerald replied that the attorney general has been granted broad legal authority by Congress "to delegate any of his functions to other offices of the Department of Justice."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031701737.html

[Gman]

1. I don't see how that is relevant to lying to a Grand Jury

and obstructing justice.

He either lied and obstructed or he didn't.

Let's get real freeper-simplistic about this. They sure would.

[Peace Patriot]

2. Oh, they would dearly love to get rid of Patrick Fitzgerald, you can be

sure of that. And they will try anything to achieve that goal--just to see if they can get something to stick. I don't know much about the special prosecutor law. I believe that it was rescinded, was it not? Bush's "pod people" in Congress got rid of that fast, when the Bush junta took over. That is something of a precedent, and a bad Bushite judge might try to cling to it, as some kind of indication of Congress' intent. I don't know if Libby's lawyer argued that. But it's a thin reed--given the CONGRESSIONALLY-granted legal authority of the AG to "delegate any of his functions to other offices of the DoJ" (cited by Fitzgerald). What Libby is trying to do here to re-arrange the federal government to suit himself. He doesn't have that kind of power any more. Boo-hoo. And that's what the judge will rule, if he's honest.

:puke:

[classysassy]

3. When and if

convicted,Bush will pardon the bastard,and Fox and the rest of the GOP media will say nothing.