Libby to Cheney: "I will not be sacrificed so Karl Rove can be protected."

[sabra]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6365671,00.html

Lawyers Paint Libby As Sacrificial Lamb

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorneys for former White House aide ``Scooter'' Libby said Tuesday that Bush administration officials tried to blame him for the leak of a CIA operative's name to cover up for Bush political adviser Karl Rove's own disclosures.

Attorney Theodore Wells, in the opening statements of I. Lewis Libby's perjury trial, said Libby went to Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003 and complained that the White House was subtly blaming him for leaking Valerie Plame's identity to columnist Robert Novak.

``They're trying to set me up. They want me to be the sacrificial lamb,'' Wells said, recalling the conversation between Libby and Cheney. ``I will not be sacrificed so Karl Rove can be protected.''

:nuke:

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Uh, Libby, you were anyway.

[Kagemusha]

7. He sacrificed himself, just not for Rove.

I hardly see how that is something to boast of though.

[me b zola]

25. The Aspins, connected at their roots, turn in clumps

[bahrbearian]

64. LOL The Aspens are rolling

[wakeme2008]

2. this is getting interesting (and a nom)

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

[originalpckelly]

4. I think the lifeboats are getting full of rats.

[librechik]

3. Rove is under the bus RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE!

can't wait to see the trial AFTER this one--the one we get cuz Libby tells all!

Thank you, Fitz! and Godspeed

[originalpckelly]

5. A belated Fitzmas.

:P

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. Orthodox Fitzmas

...comes in January, you know.

[Marie26]

21. LOL! nt

[eleny]

76. LOL!

[Divine Discontent]

80. ahhhh

see, the Orthodox may be the true faith after all! LOL... I love people who know their religious holidays... you make a connection to what occurs for all of us *dummies* who don't know anything..lol

anyhow, happy fitzmas, I can't wait for the impeachment trial to start in the fall!



www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[katty]

47. better late "Fitmas" than never!

[SpiralHawk]

12. Take that you Smirking Republicon Crony, you

[Critters2]

68. LOL!!! Thanks for that! nt

[MADem]

88. Yes, but he's not on the indictment. Could he have immunity for his testimony?

Is that why the fat bastard is always smiling?

[librechik]

91. we don't know all, but Fitz had to stop prosecuting the leak and do

Libby's lie first, because Libby OBSTRUCTED his investigation of the leak. I think after this trial, there could be more indictments resulting from the testimony given here. Indictments may come from sworn statements given under subpoena here, since the WHIG gang wouldn't be straight with Fitz during the investigation phase.

[MADem]

104. If I had to bet, I would bet that Rove walks free. Totally. Free as a bird.

He's way too happy for there to be any other outcome.

[librechik]

110. If I had to bet, I'd bet with you. Still,

Libby is looking to escape too, and Rove went under the bus in the first few minutes of testimony. I now have hope that we can coax that Rove rat out of his hole and lay a shovel on him neatly.

[Contrite]

103. He probably cut a deal. That seems pretty likely to me.

But does that necessarily grant him immunity?

[MADem]

105. Come on--would YOU talk without immunity? I sure wouldn't.

But if my ass were up against the hot stove, and a way out was offered without personal consequence, I'd sing like friken Pavarotti!!!!

Karl had to look in the mirror, and figure prison would not be kind to him...

[Contrite]

106. Yes, he would have had to have been promised it.

As you said, he probably squealed like the pig he is.

[blogslut]

6. kick kick kick

This trial is delicious so far.

[JuniperLea]

8. Duh!

And "Dee dee dee"...

If I read that sentiment here on DU once, I read it a hundred times. Scapegoat... sacrificial lamb... all that.

I'm only mildly surprised to see it actually in print.

[Botany]

9. Oh my

:popcorn:

Libby v Rove v Cheney

Merry Fitzmas



Looks like Rove sang about Cheney to save his ass.

[Dinger]

10. Oh My, Just Oh My

Where in the hell will this all end up?

[NNN0LHI]

11. Old guy with a young trophy wife and young kids looking at decades in prison

I predicted this was going to happen a long time ago here.

First rat laughs last.

Don

[Patrick J Fitzgerald]

54. Moi Aussi

October 2005 - http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_patrickjfitzgerald_archive.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

13. This is getting really messy from the start

It sounds like his lawyers are trying to get him acquitted by saying they're charging the wrong guy. Perhaps they need to check what the charges are again. It's lying to federal agents, boys, not who dunnit.

[tbyg52]

92. Shhhh.....! They'll hear you! Leave them their delusions... nt

[Hav]

15. .

Oh, Rove+Cheney cell-mates in prison? Priceless.

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. Then he should have sang like a Canary if he knew what they were doing!

Maybe he IS? Behind closed doors...he's takin' down Cheney? This is so sweet!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

23. Instead, he kicked dirt in the umpire's eyes with his excuses and evasions

and kept Fitzgerald from getting at the truth.

[tridim]

17. I hope everyone has their "Sorry Jason Leopold" posts queued up..

You're going to need them soon. :)

[CatWoman]

18. *snort*!!!

:hi:

[MoonRiver]

19. Since I kept my powder dry,

I don't need one. :D

[sakabatou]

22. Excuse me...

but I don't get it.

[in_cog_ni_to]

26. Jason Leopold did a huge article about Rove being indicted. Rove made a deal with Fitz and the

indictment never happened. Many here made Leopold out to be a farce...liar. I think that's how the Leopold thing went down.

[sakabatou]

33. Aah ok.

[gasperc]

58. Will Leopold be vindicated?

we'll shall see, I did a I believe post back, got laughed at. so we'll see

[LanternWaste]

78. 'Liar' is one of the nicer things that was being said

'Liar' is one of the nicer things that was being said about him at the time.

A few choice morsels that stand out in my mind are, "discredited journalist", "hack wannabe", and "agitator" among others.

I read the threads, but stayed out of the discussion as my gut was telling me: "There's no reason Jason would stick to his guns on this one unless he was absolutely sure of something we don't know about yet..."

But since I don't argue from my gut very much, I simply read, digested and waited for what I thought would be eventual vindication. Seems like that time may be appearing.

[peacetalksforall]

96. I stayed out - but I sure was upset about how some castigated

Truthout. I felt like some were ready hot to pounce on them, not just Leopold, after supporting them for so long. It depressed me.

[Tin Man]

28. I guess some people still believe Fitz is sitting on a "sealed indictment" for Rove?

It's been the longest 24 hours in history...

[MADem]

89. Remember, though....

Those were "business" hours....! :rofl:

Hmmm...no wonder commerce in America is in such dire straits!

[in_cog_ni_to]

24. hehehe...I agree.

:hi:

[mmonk]

27. bwahah

:D

[BuyingThyme]

32. Sorry Jason!

I hope.

[Bunny]

40. Well, I read the article and I don't see how this exonerates Leopold, yet.

Libby is casting blame on Rove, but the article does not state that Rove was either indicted, or about to be indicted but saved by a last-minute plea deal. This may all change as the trial progresses, but why are apologies due to Leopold right now? :shrug:

[Tin Man]

45. You're right, it doesn't exhonerate Leopold at all.

Leopold wrote that Rove had been indicted.

Rove has not been indicted in association with the Plame investigation, nor will he ever be. The investigation has been concluded.

Fitz is prosecuting Libby. Rove skated. How and why won't be known for a while yet. But rest assured, Rove skated.

Leopold and TruthOut have yet to retract their story about Rove's indictment, and they remain in the wrong.

[Ladyhawk]

81. Correct. Leopold wrote some very specific things that were not true.

He wrote that Rove HAD ALREADY been indicted and that he had "24 hours" to get his affairs in order. Then he changed it to "24 business hours"--whatever the hell that means. It's way, WAY too late for him to be vindicated. Since that shoddy piece of reporting, I haven't trusted the online rag he works for, either...or the guy who got drunk, came on DU and called people a bunch of names. What was the name of that guy? What was the name of the online rag? Oh yeah. Truthout. More like Truthoutthedoor. When someone is THAT wrong and is backed up by the people he works for, trust is lost. That's the way it should work no matter which way the news organization slants.

IMO, there was a huge "Cult of Personality" driving the support for Leopold and there still is. Silly DUers...personality cults are for freepers.

[Leopolds Ghost]

93. If Rove "will never be" indicted and the "investigation is over", why do you care about Libby trial?

Enough to post on threads and say "ha ha! It'll never happen."

You see, the crime Libby's accused of is meaningless to the public interest in the absence of a crime by Rove and Cheney.

In the absence of further indictments, it is a private matter
that has no bearing on affairs of state.

Vituperative Leopold critics on this and similar threads seem to get a perverse thrill out of that.

They seem to have a Javert-like interest in proving Rove innocent in order to prove that a journalist lied.

Hmmm...

[deadparrot]

63. I agree.

Fitzgerald isn't going to whip out a magic Rove indictment. If he does, I would be ecstatic, but it ain't gonna happen. At least, not in the original context of the Plame case.

[DancingBear]

77. Why??

Please, please, please tell us ANYTHING that Leopold said that was true.

ANYTHING.

Was Rove indicted?

Did the docments have May 12th stamped on them?

Was there an all day meeting on the 5th floor?

Were the Secret Service there?

How about that "sealed indictment"?

Please, just show us ONE THING he said that was true.

It is unbelievable that because Libby is spilling his guts out (and who didn't think he wouldn't to avoid an orange jumpsuit) that somehow Jason Leopold is vindicated for making shit up. :rofl:

You guys crack me up sometimes...

[MADem]

90. Are you saying that the 24 business hours nonsense should be forgotten?

The guy lied. Or he passed on untrue information unknowingly. And then, he refused to explain himself, even when faced with questions from multiple quarters.

Sorry??? He should be saying he's sorry. And, sorry, I just can't and don't see it any other way. People aren't supposed to be mindreaders or tea leaf diviners when they read the work of someone who calls himself a journalist. Journalists are supposed to report the facts...and twenty four hours, of the business variety, or not, passed, and what he averred did NOT come to pass.

I think he's the one who needs to do a little 'splainin' and sorry-ing. For the life of me I can't fathom where or how you think he deserves an apology. Because we didn't "believe?" Or am I missing something?

I do wish you'd elucidate, because I am sincerely interested about how you come to that conclusion.

[Marie26]

20. Divide & conquer, Fitz. nt

[ktlyon]

86. that is right

the rats are eating each other:bounce:

[Stinky The Clown]

29. Hahahahaha HHHAAAAAA hahahahahahaha ....

I love watching rats scramble.

[IWantAChange]

30. A House of Cards + a Big Wind = Disaster

I ask again - why in the world did anyone expect anything less from former Nixonites like Cheney and Rumsfeld and a dolt like Dubyha???

[Auggie]

31. I'm hoping this guy spills the beans the way Dean did during Watergate

[Morgana LaFey]

60. He'll never be the man Dean was, but maybe he's got enough

fear for his own future that he'll come clean. One can hope.

As far as his bravado, that's a good way to end up mysteriously and prematurely dead. These people are known to get even later, even if it doesn't help them at all after the fact.

[happydreams]

83. Interesting comparison.

Somehow I think that Dean was didn't take the illegal aspects as far as Libby.

[Auggie]

97. No, but it was Dean's testimony that opened the can of worms

[ewagner]

34. Ooohhhhhh, this is better than I thought!

:popcorn:


wait a minute, I need a BIGGER one!

[JanusAscending]

35. Fitz couldn't have had better timing than this!!

I can't wait to see Cheney and Shrubs faces tonight!! Maybe this will wipe some of the smugness off of their evil faces!! ( I know, things don't happen as they should "down the rabbit hole"!) I was so overjoyed to hear this news today, I jumped up and shouted "see ya! Bye,bye, and don't let the door hit ya in the asses on the way out!! I have a gut feeling that we are NOT going to see these two finish their terms, one way or the other!!(resignation, or impeachment) :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :applause: :applause: :applause: :popcorn: :rofl: :popcorn: :rofl: :kick: and REC!!

[Roland99]

36. Hey, Scooter!!

Cry me a river.
Build a bridge.
Get over it.



You're going DOWN!

[JanusAscending]

42. So is the whole

EVIL EMPIRE !!! Alleluia !!!!!

[wiggs]

37. I wonder how the loss of GOP power in 2006 affected Libby's willingness

to take one for the team. Maybe he's thinking the neocons are done anyway (for now)....

[Quixote1818]

38. Good point! nt

[leftofthedial]

39. does anybody else, besides me, picture the inner workings of this cabal

as the Three Stooges acting out an episode of The Sopranos?

[GreenPartyVoter]

41. Now, there's an image. I bet Cheney is Moe.

[brentblack]

46. Nah....

...I think they all summon the spirit of Curly.

In other news....listen to the band moe.. If you like jam music and have a history of hard rock - these guys (especially the live jams) will blow you away.


That is all.

[CoffeeCat]

53. That's it!!!!

You are so spot on!

That is just perfect.

They're bungling clowns, trying to be ruthless thugs.

Bravo---you said it perfectly!

:yourock:

[Critters2]

69. Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!

Why I oughta....

[Patrick J Fitzgerald]

43. He who laughs last...

I will bring Dick Cheney to his knees!







New England by 7.

http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com

[Catherine Vincent]

74. I never thought I'd say this...

I may put you on my ignore list!

[Cass]

44. So, isn't this an admission that something improper did indeed occur

relative to disclosing Valerie Plame's name/position? Wingers had been pushing the idea that no crimes occurred in this case, remember?

But this argument from the defense sounds like an admission that a law was indeed broken. Interesting development, considering the source of that statement.

[jbonkowski]

51. Improper? Yes. Crime? Still deny-able.

It's only technically a crime to reveal an identity if you know the agent is covert. They can argue all day about who revealed the identity, and still claim it was an accident.

This does take the last breath out of the argument that Plame wasn't covert, so nothing actually happened there. Libby's own lawyers are saying it, for crissakes.

jim

[citygal]

48. And these are only the Opening Statements.

Wait until the actual questioning and cross examination starts. I think the * Administration is in far more trouble than originally thought. Wait until Cheney has to take the stand and answer questions under oath for the first time! (No more closed door questioning without taking an oath!)

[RonHack]

49. Sing along with me, everyone!

They're just
like a Republican
to me. :D

[shain from kane]

50. Libby, the bear sneaked up on you from behind, and screwed you.

(Reference to Libby's novel)

[cmd]

52. The Aspen are exploding! n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

84. Spring is early this year

n/t

[Hobarticus]

55. Too little, too late for mea culpas....go directly to jail, do not pass GO

Shoulda thought about that before you lied to protect those asshats, Libby.

[Stuckinthebush]

56. Oh you sweet little fool

Swim with the sharks and you will get a chunk taken out of your ass eventually. There is no honor among thieves.

[gasperc]

57. Damn, who did Karl Rove have to fuck?

to get Libby to take the fall, but I guess it's all bets are off since the Republicans lost congress

[NewJeffCT]

59. This is very surprising to me

Not that Cheney or Rove did what they did, but I thought Libby would be tight-lipped and wait out a pardon for being a good soldier.

It seems I was wrong.

[Catherine Vincent]

62. Maybe he was waiting for a while and it never came.

So now he's talking and taking no prisoners. He wants to stay out of the federal pen.

[Bluestar]

65. That's what I think

He thought they would pardon him (and maybe they promised to) and then when they lost the election, all bets are off. Maybe Scooter knows that so much crap is going to come out in congressional investigations that Bushco will be impeached or forced to resign--therefore any pardons they might have promised are irrelevant.

[Patrick J Fitzgerald]

61. Jason Leopold..!

Some say, "Revenge is best served cold..."

Sixteen Words and the Trial of Scooter Libby
By Jason Leopold

Four years ago this month, President Bush, in his State of the Union address, said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

The intelligence those sixteen words were based upon turned out to be crude forgeries. Evidence collected by journalists and various legislative committees over the years suggests that a cabal of White House officials were fully aware that the intelligence was suspect, but allowed its inclusion in the State of the Union address because it would help the administration win support for the war.

Not long after the president's State of the Union address, an unknown former US ambassador named Joseph Wilson began to privately question the veracity of the sixteen words. In doing so, he became a target of the White House officials who were responsible for peddling the phony intelligence and driving the US to war.

This week, one of those officials, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, goes on trial, charged with five felonies related to the unmasking of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, a covert CIA officer, to a handful of reporters and then lying to a grand jury and the FBI about it. These events - the Plame leak, the attack on Wilson, and the pre-war intelligence (as complicated as it has become to try to unravel and make sense of) - were spearheaded by senior members of the Bush administration in an effort to protect the individuals responsible for planting the 16 words in Bush's speech. <more>

Nice job, Jason. You win a bag of cookies!

[Marie26]

71. Hi, Jason. nt

[happydreams]

85. Leopold will be vindicated. I've always thought he was set up

but how that little operation was performed is still in question.

[Reader Rabbit]

66. Think they'll have the balls to call Joe Wilson to the stand?

If I remember correctly, he said something about wanting to see the Rove-ster frog-marched out out of the White House.

[Supersedeas]

67. Turdblossom exposed and it ain't pretty.

[Critters2]

70. The Aspens are turning late this year. nt

[Wizard777]

72. Set up like a bowling pin. Knocked down. Ain't that just how it is with the Bush's

Looks like Scooter got ridden down Shakedown Street.

[madrchsod]

73. fitzgerald took apart the ryan republican machine in illinois

so just sit back --you have`t seen anything yet.

[Critters2]

79. And is now aiming at Blago. Ethics before politics. What a novel idea. nt nt

[Major Hogwash]

75. So, does that justify committing perjury?

I can't believe that Libby would use such a passive-aggressive defense -
"oh, they're picking on me in order to save Karl."

[happydreams]

82. BOOM! This is hot in so many ways.

and it shows most importantly the utter moral depravity of the Bush Adminstration. "The Price of Loyalty" was too high for Libby as well. :rofl:

[Demeter]

87. Well, Well, Well

Who'da thunk it? Let the circular firing squad and the circling sharks begin!

[Jackpine Radical]

99. Circular firing squad--What happened? They get hold of the

Top-Secret Strategy Manual of the Democratic Party?

[Initech]

94. Check. Mate. The jig is most definitely up.

Buh bye, Rove! Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!

[freethought]

95. OK, "Scooter". If you don't want to the the

sacrificial lamb, then become a star witness. It's pretty simple actually. You may even enjoy it.

I am actually a little skeptical here. I don't think he would be saying this at all unless it was part of some tactics. If Libby is so serious about not being hung out to dry, or at the very least not wanting to loose every penny he has and all other assets to legal fees, then his choice is simple. Start singing like a f_____g bird.

[Cha]

98. Thank the lords of Karma

that little scooter is not the martyrtype!

I hope they have this in US papers, too.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

100. Libby Gets to the Root of the Problem

Karl Rove with Dick Cheney adding fertilizer.

[Imagevision]

101. Why doesn't Scooter just take the fall -- Doesn't he think that bush will pardon him?

[Contrite]

102. Because he won't be able to practice law?

And he's "owed" a lot for getting Marc Rich off the hook. Check out Marc Rich's connections to the mob and to Mossad.

Yet, from 1985 to 2000, the now-indicted Scooter Libby represented Marc Rich, one of the most notorious organized crime figures in the world, a man who, while on the lam from the U.S., systematically looted post-Soviet Russia and mentored many of the "oligarchs" in corrupt practices. When Libby's 15 years of work paid off with a pardon for Rich in the last hours of the Clinton Administration, after frantic entreaties for Rich by high figures in the Israeli government, opprobrium rightfully rained down on Bill Clinton's head. And yet, Libby immediately moved into the crucial position of chief-of-staff to Vice-President Cheney.

If Libby had spent the previous 15 years representing John Gotti, he couldn't have attained such a high position in the government. What is it about working for Marc Rich that made Libby largely immune to criticism?

http://gorillaintheroom.blogspot.com/2005/10/scooter-libby-mob-lawyer.html

[eridani]

107. Wish I had bookmarked more of those Fitzmas carols--

--a composite of 3 different versions and some original stuff that I hope will be relevant.

Rove's nuts roasting on an open fire
John Law snapping at his toes
Federal indictments being read by the hour
And perps dressed up in prison clothes.

Everybody knows those turkeys in a prison cell
Would help to make the season bright
Fiendish plots had their eyes all aglow
They'll find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know Fitzgerald's on his way
With big indictments in his attache
And every one of us will crack a smile
To see Dick Cheney put away for awhile.

And so I'm offering these simple words
To all those neocons who choose
Not the truth but to lie through their teeth--
Merry Fitzmas, you lose!

[connecticut yankee]

108. The sharks are circling

[lonestarnot]

109. Hehh

[flying_wahini]

111. all I can say is may Budda bless Fitzi

he has worked his cute little ass off and I believe that he has all his ducks in a row.
Now all he has to do is shoot em down arcade style.........
My prediction is Cheney resigns, GWB does the pardon and puts in McCain as the new VP to ensure
a follow up Repug presidency. Turdblossom stays in the White House to keep things running smoothly.
That's their plan. But the people are waking up, ohhhh noooooo...............:evilgrin: