Fitzgerald is not playing a game

[Stevendsmith]

He's not pursuing a secret strategy to bring down the White House. He doesn't have Cheney in his crosshairs. This isn't a movie.

He's the prosecutor in a perjury and obstruction of justice case against Scooter Libby.

[JuniperLea]

1. And whatever path that leads him to is fair game

And in fact, he is duty and honor bound to prosecute any who are found implicated during this period of discovery.


Seems the damn is FINALLY bursting. Amen!

[Stevendsmith]

3. Well, I'll drink to your first line.

But I'll believe the dam has burst when the White House is under water.

[Spazito]

2. Not quite correct...

He is still charged with investigating the outing of a covert agent, that investigation has not been shut down. His official site is still on-line and active.

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/index.html

The Libby trial is merely one of his duties as Special Counsel in the matter of the Plame outing. One has only to have followed Mr. Fitzgerald's investigation and subsequent prosecutions regarding the former Governor of Illinois and all those involved with the specific wrongdoing to realize how Mr. Fitzgerald works a case.

"The investigation initially focused on bribes exchanged for licenses for unqualified truck drivers but was later expanded to a range of alleged bribery and other corruption in the Ryan era.

snip

"The charged conduct by former Gov. Ryan reflects a disturbing violation of trust," U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement. "Ryan is charged with betraying the citizens of Illinois for over a decade on state business, both large and small."

Ryan became the 66th person charged in the investigation; 59 people and his campaign committee have been convicted so far.


http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/17/ryan.ap/

[madrchsod]

13. yes it was a grand thing to watch here in illinois

as a long suffering democrat that watched several democratic governors get sent to jail it was nice to finally see a republican to suffer the same fate...fitzgerald has the democrats in his site now both the governor and the mayor of chicago..

[Spazito]

16. Yes, with Fitzgerald it is the law that counts not the party....

his integrity is without question, imo, he goes after those who have broken the law, full stop.

[catnhatnh]

4. But there are undisclosed facts....

...Libby's lawyer started his defense by outing both Cheney AND Rove! Our speculation was that Fitz was trying to get Scooter to rat on them and that since he didn't give Scooter a plea bargain, he would not implicate them. So this is the conundrum of this WTF moment-since Scooter is perfectly willing to do just what we speculated he was refusing to do, what MUCH larger thing was Fitz asking in exchange for a plea??? How big did it have to be to have Scooter stand up for multiple felonies??? Enquiring minds want to know...

[asjr]

10. If Libby was not offered a plea

bargain it would seem to me he would "tell all." If I am not mistaken there would be a prison sentence and loads of money for a fine for Libby if he is convicted. I would think his wife and children might have something to say about that. Of course he could always write more novels while incarcerated, but to give up his freedom and family for crooks is not my idea of loyalty. There has to be a pardon there somewhere if he sticks to his story. And the WH could pull a fast one on him by not pardoning him. I have seen too many movies and my tinfoil hat is beginning to cramp me.

[stonecoldsober]

5. Naive

[Stevendsmith]

6. Excuse me?

Care to spell out that charge?

[stonecoldsober]

8. I was responding the the OP

[Stevendsmith]

12. Okay, just wasn't sure. (n/t)

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. How did this get swept under the rug?

Lawyer falls to death at hotel
Seaside: Police suspect Paul Sanford committed suicide
By JULIA REYNOLDS
Herald Staff Writer

Almost immediately, he caused a stir after he joined the White House Press Corps in 2005, making waves as the first reporter to ask then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan whether the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name might be considered an act of treason.

"There has been a lot of speculation concerning the meaning of the underlying statute and the grand jury investigation concerning Mr. Rove," Sanford asked. "The question is, have the legal counsel to the White House or White House staff reviewed the statute in sufficient specificity to determine whether a violation of that statute would, in effect, constitute treason?"

McClellan was apparently flustered by the question and replied that "those are matters for those overseeing the investigation to decide."
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/16326502.htm

Lawyer Ends Up Dead After Taking On Rove
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=701

[madrchsod]

9. nobody in illinois thought he`d get ryan but he did

he started with one conviction and ended up with the fall of the republican party in illinois

[Catherine Vincent]

11. No one said he was playing a game.

He prosecuted Lewis Libby for lying under oath etc. and if he happens to catch Rove, Cheney in the process then so be it.

[Stevendsmith]

15. Well, of course, I hope that happens.

My post was in response to the folks that see some ominous cat-and-mouse game being played out, with the mysterious and heroic Fitzgerald having multiple cards up his sleeve that he's going to spring on the unsuspecting White House villains.

(And, of course, they are villains, but hopefully you catch my drift)

[Rex]

14. GOOD! I, for one, am getting SICK and fucking TIRED of people

talking in sports jargon when talking about LIFE AND DEATH! OBL doesn't have a batting average! There are no 'players' and this is not a GAME!

Bout fucking time we had someone who was ADULT about this and treated it as real life and not some boring sporting event!

rant/off

[Raster]

17. "...HERE'S JOHNNY!"

[AnnInLa]

18. Libby's Defense is playing a game, tho

And, I am wondering if it is a coordinated game. Karl Rove has already announced his retirement from politics after bush leaves, and he knows he is vilified in this country right now, by the left and by the right. So, coordinated with Wells/Libby, Karl allows himself to be the big, bad boogie man to the jury....the jury, who thinks, "that poor, hard-working Libby, being scapegoated by that horrible Karl Rove, let's vote not-guilty. Libby is as much a victim of Rove as the rest of us are, therefore, not-guilty!"

Karl takes the hit, just like Libby took the hit. Coordinated?

Tin-foil time for me!