Serious Implications Of President Bush's Hiring A Personal Outside Counsel

[quiet.american]

Remember this from John Dean? --

The Serious Implications Of President Bush's Hiring A Personal Outside Counsel

Friday, Jun. 04, 2004

Recently, the White House acknowledged that President Bush is talking with, and considering hiring, a non-government attorney, James E. Sharp. Sharp is being consulted, and may be retained, regarding the current grand jury investigation of the leak revealing the identity of Valerie Plame as a CIA covert operative.

(Plame is the wife of Bush critic and former ambassador Joe Wilson; I discussed the leak itself in a prior column, and then discussed further developments in the investigation in a follow-up column.)

This action by Bush is a rather stunning and extraordinary development. The President of the United States is potentially hiring a private criminal defense lawyer. Unsurprisingly, the White House is doing all it can to bury the story, providing precious little detail or context for the President's action.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bush explained his action by saying, "This is a criminal matter. It's a serious matter," but he gave no further specifics. White House officials, too, would not say exactly what prompted Bush to seek the outside advice, or whether he had been asked to appear before the grand jury.

Nonetheless, Bush's action, in itself, says a great deal. In this column, I will analyze what its implications may be....

Rest of John Dean article


Later that month, CNN reports....
Bush interviewed in CIA leak probe - President joined by Jim Sharp, his personal attorney

Thursday, June 24, 2004

This is the first time Bush has been questioned in a criminal investigation involving his administration.

Bush was not under oath for the interview, which took place in the Oval Office for about an hour and 10 minutes and was conducted by Patrick Fitzgerald and "members of his team," according to the White House.

The president was joined by Jim Sharp, a personal attorney whom he retained for this case.

The White House would not say when the president hired Sharp, saying only that it was "recently."

[Virginia Dare]

1. This is significant...

It was clear even then that something was deeply wrong. The real crime here is that they have managed to bury this until now. This really should have all come out before the elections last November.

[NYC]

2. In Bush's own words, this was a criminal matter. That means

the excuse that a pResident can declassify the classified cannot apply here. Bush, himself, considered this criminal.

(Had he declassified it, he wouldn't have considered it criminal, would he?)

[quiet.american]

3. Good point, good question. :) n/t

[Missy Vixen]

4. Does anyone else remember

that Patrick Fitzgerald visited Bush's attorney shortly before announcing indictments against Libby?

>Bush was not under oath for the interview, which took place in the Oval Office for about an hour and 10 minutes<

I wonder why there was no oath.

Julie