John Dean: The Truth About Libby's Statements to the Grand Jury

[Barrett808]

The Truth About Lewis "Scooter" Libby's Statements to the Grand Jury Claiming the President Authorized a Leak of Classified Information:
The President and Vice President Are Not In the Clear Yet
By JOHN W. DEAN
Friday, Apr. 07, 2006

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has now revealed in court filings bombshell information that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby told the grand jury investigating the leak of Valerie Plame-Wilson's covert CIA identity. According to Fitzgerald's filings, Libby said that he was authorized by the President and Vice President to leak classified information to New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

This revelation has been accompanied by a number of public misstatements, which call for correction. The most blatant of these is the claim that Fitzgerald's filing indicates that the President authorized the release of Valerie Plame's covert status at the CIA. In fact, the document is conspicuously silent on this fact. The filing does indicate that the President authorized the release of classified information, but it was different information - a National Intelligence Estimate that had been classified pursuant to an executive order.

In addition, conventional wisdom - if that label fits the consensus information that is surfacing on radio and television news shows - has it that this information does not reveal that the President or Vice President did anything illegal. But that claim, too, is not necessarily accurate.

At a minimum, the filing indicates that the President and Vice President departed radically, and disturbingly, from long-set procedures with respect to classified documents - and that the Vice President, in particular, exceeded his declassification authority. And it may indicate that they, too, ought to be targets of the grand jury.

(more)

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20060407.html

[Trevelyan]

1. Sign the Petition for Bush Censure

http://www.tomharkin.com/nl/CensurePetition.htm

Dear Friend,

No American – and that must include the President – is above the law.

That's why I co-sponsored Senator Russ Feingold's resolution to censure George W. Bush for breaking the FISA law with his illegal, warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.

It is not enough for me to stand up for what's right. I am working hard to build support for this important resolution.

That's why I ask you to sign the Censure Petition today

Be sure to listen in when I take the case for censure to the airwaves. Catch me on the Bill Press show Thursday morning, and on Air America this Sunday from 2-3pm EST when I talk with David Bender, the host of Politically Direct.

Together, we can make a difference. Thank you for your support.

Best Regards,

=Petition in Support of the Resolution of Censure

Yes, Tom! Please let your colleagues in the Senate know that the American people demand accountable, law-abiding democracy here at home, not just rhetoric about democracy abroad! I want you to mobilize support for Senator Feingold's Resolution of Censure so that when the Senate returns to session after the Easter recess, a vote on the Senate floor will tell President Bush that no American can be above the law!...

[WhiteTara]

10. where's the petition for impeachment

Censure? That's for a blow job behind the copy machine in the wh. Impeachment is for taking the country into an illegal war with cooked up intelligence, ignoring (at the very least) intelligence that stated almost to the hour when the towers would be blown up. Impeachment is for answering every criticism of incompetence with "how could we have known?"
here are a few impeachment petition links
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/impeachment/impeachment.htm
http://archive.democrats.com/elandslide/petition.cfm?campaign=911
here's the address for AfterDowningOrg with lots more on the above censure petition.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
What the hell, sign them ALL. Get rid of him anyway possible. :eyes:

[Trevelyan]

2. He’s the Preznit, he can do anything he wants to.???

It would seem that the meme that the Republicrooks started will be in full blast now.

He’s the Preznit, he can do anything he wants to. That has been planted in seed beds all over the govt. of late. So far the likes of Hatch, and Sessions and the other ‘pugs on Judiciary have done their best to reinforce the meme.

Will anyone take it on?

I LOVE Fitz, but it is becoming too too clear that the fate of the Republic is resting in his legal hands.

How did we get this far?

==Two large rivers are converging One being Fitzpatrick's investigation and the other being the Administration's attempt to build a case for a Unitary Executive. The rule of law and the Constitution or the shift to complete authoritarian takeover.

For the sake of our future, may Fitzgerald prevail.

[Frustratedlady]

6. Well written, As Usual....

Re: this comment from the comments section.........

"For the sake of our future, may Fitzgerald prevail."

I must believe that Mr. Fitzgerald will prevail and will also come to realize that he has a super majority of the population behind him to the very end.

Bless his heart.

[bush_out_the_door]

3. Thank you

Thank you John Dean! It's about time people start talking about this in "was it legal/illegal" terms!

[KAT119]

8. Legalities compiled here by carolinalady:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x863042#863042

[sundancekid]

4. he continues to be THE remarkable voice of reasoned facts - thanks

[pacalo]

5. Interesting...

(...)

Many commentators are dismissing this situation as run-of-the-mill presidential/vice presidential politics. But I believe it is more serious.

From a political perspective, separate from the illegality, there is the hypocrisy: The Bush Administration has prosecuted and sent to jail officials who leaked far less serious information - as I discussed in detail in a prior column. It is actively, and currently, threatening to prosecute others who have leaked information about the president's illegal electronic surveillance of Americans.

Beyond the hypocrisy, however, is what the President, Vice President, Libby and no doubt others did to destroy the career of Valerie Plame. Maybe the administration has quietly settled with the Wilsons, who seem to have dropped out of the public eye. This would have been wise, because as the facts unravel, it increasingly appears that administration officials did indeed attack Mr. Wilson for his speaking out; the leak of his wife's identity does indeed seem to have been done in harsh retribution. Such a violation of civil rights is a crime.

(...)

There will be more devastating revelations from the Libby case, I am certain. I have written of this matter in the past, and anticipate writing more in the future. The Commander-in-Chief-can-do-no-wrong veneer is wearing off, thankfully. For a nation that cannot hold its commander-in-chief responsible is something other than a democracy.

[ginnyinWI]

7. I liked what John Dean said on Olbermann last night:

He said that a nation that loses control over having a "check" on its Commander-in-Chief is something other than a democracy.

[Octafish]

9. Thanks, Barrett808! Great read...

Dean does a nice job, don't understand the part about Wilsons "settling" as Joe's still pretty steamed.

I can only imagine what Valerie's Double-Nought Spies are feeling about things.


EXCERPT...

At a minimum, the filing indicates that the President and Vice President departed radically, and disturbingly, from long-set procedures with respect to classified documents - and that the Vice President, in particular, exceeded his declassification authority. And it may indicate that they, too, ought to be targets of the grand jury.

SNIP...

Beyond the hypocrisy, however, is what the President, Vice President, Libby and no doubt others did to destroy the career of Valerie Plame. Maybe the administration has quietly settled with the Wilsons, who seem to have dropped out of the public eye. This would have been wise, because as the facts unravel, it increasingly appears that administration officials did indeed attack Mr. Wilson for his speaking out; the leak of his wife's identity does indeed seem to have been done in harsh retribution. Such a violation of civil rights is a crime.

CONTINUED...

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20060407.html



I like the ending, too.