GOP Congress Will Try To Muddy the Waters For Fiztgerald with "Hearings"

[McCamy Taylor]

You Know What Im Talking About. It is a favorite strategy of Congressman Dan Burton, one he used to protect his good buddy Louis Freeh when a nasty civil suit about Waco was looming over him. Congress holds public hearings, subpoenas all the witnesses that the prosecutor could possibly hope to speak to and gets them on record, in public saying what the Republicans in Congress want them to say.

Witnesses who may speak the truth when they are assured privacy may say something entirely different when they have to tell the whole world. KNowing that they will have to tell Congress and the whole world in September may well alter what they tell Fitzgerald now.

PLUS, Congress has the power to offer anyone immunity if they will tell Congress (i.e. the GOP and the WH) the story which they want to hear.

Do not be fooled. Congress is doing this for one reason and one reason only. To muddy the waters for Fitzgerald so that he can not mount a successful prosecutiojn of Rove, Libby and anyone else who is found to have participated in the crime and the cover up. And to muddy the media waters by portraying the CIA and the Wilson/PLames as villians.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2005/07/25/congress_plans_to_scrutinize_plame_related_issues/

[rox63]

1. I hope this will be too late to make a difference to Fitzgerald's probe

The grand jury has to be finished by October. So hopefully, these 'hearings' will happen only after Fitzgerald is close to finished. Let's hope the idictments come from Fitzgerald before the recess is over.

Indictments in August!!!

[Ysolde]

2. I hope so!

Because, if not, and the OP was correct, then these bast#@ds will get away with it!

[Stinky The Clown]

3. WAIT! ..... hear that .... ? Is it ....... ?

Maybe ..... the sound of keyboards on legal computers ....... in Fitzgerald's office ...... typing up indictments?

[McCamy Taylor]

4. So mad! Sensennbrenner pulled the plug on Conyers! Now, we are

supposed to believe that the GOP dominated Congress suddenly wants to hold hearings to investigate the administration that they will not dare to criticize aloud?

Thank God for the August recess.

[freeplessinseattle]

5. gee, sounds like they're a little worried

wonder why?

[DemsUnited]

6. Yeah, they'll craft a law that will make Joe Wilson guilty of leaking

for revealing "classified information" in his NYT Op-Ed piece. That way, they can get anyone who disagrees with the administration and backs it up with fact as "leakers of classified information".

A**holes.

[Imagevision]

7. Bush will just order Gonzalez to fire Fitzgerald as the heat turns up

Senate committee would also review the probe of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who has been investigating the Plame case for nearly two years. So, how many redacted pages will there be on this
Senate review"??

[hang a left]

16. Gonzales is recused from the case...he said so himself on MTP yesterday

So they will have to have #2 fire him, the same guy that hired him. (I can't remember his name right now)

[gulfcoastliberal]

8. I hope Fitzgerald has the ball rolling by Labor Day...

Its been 2+ years already - how much more time does he require?! He has the the reporters' testimony and notes (at least Novak, Cooper, and who knows else?) so he should be able to move forward. I heard on NPR the pukes won't be able to start the sham hearings until they get back from summer vacation - after Labor Day.

[progressoid]

9. Ha - and people called me a pessimist when I dared to speculate that

Rove could get away with it. With all of the dirty tricks the GOP has gotten away with in the last 5 years, this is no surprise. I hope no one expected these skunks to just give in.

[roguevalley]

10. let Roberts know what you think of his investigation:

https://ssl.capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/gateway/s1122339115/

[smoogatz]

11. Good call.

Expect the usual circling of the wagons. The moment indictments are announced, look for a wave of personal attacks on Fitzgerald that makes the Swift Boat Liars look like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

[RagAss]

12. The indictments will be ignored...

Laughed off by the RW like a statement from Ted Kennedy. By the time this is over, Fitzgerald will be lucky if they don't lock him up.

[Independent_Liberal]

13. Personally, I think the GOP is starting to cave...

The whole thing is getting too big for them to ignore. More Republicans are starting to abandon ship. I knew it wouldn't be long.

[Disturbed]

14. The GOP are Traitors to America.

The GOP adenda is to turn America into Amerika.

The do not believe in Democracy, The Constitution or The Bill of Rights.

[Gman]

15. It's called obstruction of justice

plain and simple. This is absolutely shameful.

[AtomicKitten]

17. Your are so right.

[AtomicKitten]

18. You are so right.

If Fitzpatrick ever voted for or donated money to a Democrat, all hell will break loose, even though the WH appointed him. They won't look at the leak, but what they will do is try to downplay Ms. Plame's covert status. What they will do is fool the Faux News audience into thinking they are taking action, which they are not. They always play the game better than we do. Bastards. We need the Big Dawg.

[Binka]

20. Wrong

WE have a Big Dawg and his name is Fitzgerald. And no they don't play the game better than WE do, they cheat. And now they are going to pay.

[AtomicKitten]

23. Actually ....

I was talking about the infamous strategery of Bill Clinton. He would know how to maneuver these waters and come out on top. He knew how to beat these bastards at their own game.

We don't know enough about Fitzpatrick to be sure he's going to do the right thing. I don't trust anyone having anything to do with this administration, and it wouldn't surprise me if this was just a dog and pony show to distract the Dems but not actually punish Rove and gang.

Thanks for the welcome.

[Binka]

21. BTW It's Fitzgerald Not Fitzpatrick

Welcome to DU BTW enjoy your stay.

[Kahuna]

19. This move will likely backfire on them big time. I hope they do it..

I hope Fitzgerald retaliates with multiple indictments.

[salin]

22. They are floundering

This is a backdoor attempt to create conditions for a contemporary version of Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre. But it won't work. And in the process they (GOP) will lose even more support - this only plays for the biggest bushbots/rw echo chamber fans - who would believe anything out of Rush's mouth.

A few months ago I voiced my hope that the congresional gop would keep trying to play "political death match" (think mtv's claymation celebrity death match) politics and not realize that the public conditions have changed. They have gotten away with these types of antics for years... have gotten more and more powerful and no longer have any constraints that signal to them that they are (again) going too far. Why do I hope that the congressional GOP keep doing this? Because then, at the end of this admin it isn't just bushco that is discredited (and replaced with new figureheads) but the whole party... 1974 congressional elections and all.

This is TOO blatant. Only works for their die hards - and pushes more folks who pay scant attention to grow uncomfortable with the GOP. It works as part of a whole tableau that since Schaivo has started to change the overall public psyche in how bushco is viewed - and some in congress as well. More stupid power plays by more high profile GOPers in congress - then the larger the taint grows in the public psyche.