White House Will Never Run Out of Reasons Not to Talk About Libby

On December 10, 2007, White House Press Sec. Dana Perino was asked about Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The White House previously said couldn't comment on Libby while the courts were reviewing his case. Libby dropped his appeal that day and the press corp asked Perino about President Bush's saying he would fire anyone involved in leaking Valerie Plame identity. The grand jury investigation proved that Karl Rove and Libby leaked to the media. Bush fired neither.

The White House was not officially out of excuses to not discuss the Libby matter.

Q Okay. Well, now that the appeal -- there is no longer any appeal, can you speak to what the President thinks about Scooter Libby disclosing the name of a CIA official?

MS. PERINO: I did not have a chance to talk to -- chance to speak to the President after this announcement was made this morning, and so I don't have his immediate reaction. He gave a lengthy statement in July in regards to the commutation and so I'll have to refer you to that for now.

Q But he didn't talk about what Scooter Libby had actually done in that --

MS. PERINO: And as I said, I haven't spoken to the President about it, so I'm not able to provide you anything else at this moment.

Watch the video. It is one of the lamest performances I have ever seen by a Press secretary.



Perino now had a whole day to ask Bush how he feels about Libby. What is the new excuse.

Q Have you had a chance yet to speak with the President about Scooter Libby since he dropped his appeal?

MS. PERINO: Well, you might have missed the gaggle, but I'll refer you to those comments I made in the gaggle.

Q Okay. And yesterday you said that you weren't allowed to characterize the President's reaction to the CIA tape destruction story. Who stopped you from characterizing the President's reaction?

MS. PERINO: As I said before, the Counsel's Office has requested that we not make any further comment beyond what I've already said; so that's where it came from.

The grand jury investigation has ended. Special Counsel Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has said he will not attempt to bring new indictments. What possible legal reason is there for Bush not answering why he didn't fire Rove and Libby like he promised.

That is all a smoke screen of gotta journalism. Rationale people have learned long ago that Bush doesn't give a shit about the law. What the press should hammer Bush on is Libby telling the grand jury the President "specifically had authorized" the leak.



Former White House pinata Scott McClellan states that Bush had him say vouch that Libby and Rove were not involved in the leak.

So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

There was one problem. It was not true.

Very cool, right?

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself.

Bush doesn't want to talk about Libby because he is responsible for the Plame leak.

Update: Bill O'Reilly sends Fox News goons to McClellan's house. My favorite part of the video is O'Reily saying, unlike CNN and MSNBC, Foc News actually does reporting.

Valerie Plame on Daily Show

The new Daily Show website is buggy as hell. I have to watch the video on the blog because the Comedy Central website sucks.

Karl Rove Resigns

Karl Rove is official resigning.

"I just think it's time," Mr Rove said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, adding that he was quitting for the sake of his family.

Rove has been subpoenaed for his alleged involvement in the U.S. purge scandal. Litbrit pointing to an under-oath statement by Kyle Sampson that Alberto Gonzales confirmed.

Gonzales confirmed statements by Sampson that presidential adviser Karl Rove passed along GOP complaints to Gonzales last fall about the alleged lack of aggressiveness by Iglesias and two other U.S. attorneys in prosecuting voter fraud. Gonzales said he passed on the complaints to Sampson, who at some point in the same time period placed Iglesias on the firing list.

White House official don't resign unless they are in trouble (Michael Brown, Lewis Libby) or out of favor with the Bushies (Richard Clarke.) It's hard for me to believe that a political junkie like Rove would want out before the 2008 elections. He is aware how vulnerable the GOP is right now. Resigning after being subpoenaed gives reason for skepticism.

Joe Wilson points out that Rove was suppose to be forced out after President Bush promised to fire anyone caught leaking Valerie Plame's identity to the media.

"Karl Rove's resignation signals the final chapter in the Bush administration's betrayal of the identity of a covert CIA officer. When this breach of national security occurred, the President promised the American people that anybody in his administration responsible for the leak would be removed. Rove, identified by the prosecutors as one of the leakers, not only was not summarily dismissed, but has been allowed to leave on his own terms, to praise from the President. This sordid tale of compromising national security to cover-up and distract from the false rationale for the invasion of Iraq will forever remain in history a black mark on the Bush presidency."

The Bush administration: words mean more than actions.

Update: video of Bush/Rove press conference.

No Prison Time For Libby

George W. Bush has commutted Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence. This is not a pardon. Libby will not serve his jail term. He still has a criminal record and will have to pay a $250,000 fine. Personally, I was starting to think that Bush would let Libby rot.

President Bush explains why he commutted Libby's sentence.

This case has generated significant commentary and debate. Critics of the investigation have argued that a special counsel should not have been appointed, nor should the investigation have been pursued after the Justice Department learned who leaked Ms. Plame’s name to columnist Robert Novak. Furthermore, the critics point out that neither Mr. Libby nor anyone else has been charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act, which were the original subjects of the investigation. Finally, critics say the punishment does not fit the crime: Mr. Libby was a first-time offender with years of exceptional public service and was handed a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.

Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable. They say that had Mr. Libby only told the truth, he would have never been indicted in the first place.

Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.
Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

Short answer: Cheney bugged Bush to help Libby.

Power Line's John Hindraker calls Bush's decision "excellent." This is the same man who wrote this hysterical post in praise of Bush.

It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.

Yes, Bush's plan to go to the Moon was something no previous POTUS ever thought of. Very visionary stuff.

Back on the planet Earth, Josh Marshall is amazed by Bush's rationale.

This is being treated in the press as splitting the difference, an elegant compromise. But it is the least justifiable approach. The President has decided that the sentencing guidelines and the opinion of the judge don't cut it.

The only basis for this decision is that Libby is the vice president's friend, the vice president rules the president and this was the minimum necessary to keep the man silent.

Andrew Sullivan comes down harder.

Perjury in defense of wartime deception is now okay, as far as the president is concerned. I'm surprised by Bush's chutzpah. I retained some minimal respect. No longer. We now know full well what his beliefs are: the law is for other people, not himself, his friends or his apparatchiks.

Isn't this the 874 time that Sullivan has finally lost all respect for Bush?

The saddest thing is we are bound to hear, in the next few weeks, Bush say he will punish anyone who broke the law in the attorney purge scandal. The President has poor approval ratings because he never does what he promises he will do. Be it Iraq or how he would maintain the surplus. He is like a ball player that talks a good game in the locker room, but plays like shit come game time.

Update: Bshort made a fantastic comment at Metafilter.

So Bush is aiming for a 1% approval rating, right?

A 1 percent approval rating is impossible. No matter what inexcusable deed Bush does; there will always be people who will support him because he keeps them safe from gay-loving Mexican terrorists.

Bush Statement on Accountability Laughable

George W. Bush was asked what he would do if there is proof that Alberto Gonzales unethically fired U.S. Attorneys.

"If there's wrongdoing, it will be taken care of," The President told the White House Press Corp.

Bush should be challenged on that statement. His credibility on holding his own official accountable is in tatters. The President was asked what he would do if any members of his administration leaked Valerie Plame's name to the media.

"If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is," said the President. "And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of."

Lewis Scotter Libby resigned and was convicted of perjury. Karl Rove leaked to Bob Novak. No administration official involved in the Plame investigation lost their security clearance. Bush has since refused to answer questions about the leakers.



Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

:: loose nukes & true patriots ::

This is so on target, it's hard to believe it's set up as comedic satire...damned sad, but nonetheless true.

tag: bush, rove, plame, fitzgerald, patriot, patriotism, cowardice, traitor, loose nukes, cia, covert, agent, intelligence, iraq, wmd

Valerie Plame Testimony

Valerie Plame testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Plame testified to the committee she was covert. The memo that Bush administration officials found out Plame's identity was classified. The CIA has confirmed that Plame's identity was classified.

Harlow said that after Novak's call, he checked Plame's status and confirmed that she was an undercover operative. He said he called Novak back to repeat that the story Novak had related to him was wrong and that Plame's name should not be used. But he did not tell Novak directly that she was undercover because that was classified.

In Bizarro World: Glenn Reynolds maintains Plame was not a covert operative. He really shouldn't blog about the Plame story. His track record for predictions is less than stellar.

OKAY, I'M OFFICIALLY PRONOUNCING THE PLAME SCANDAL BOGUS:

Unfortunately, Lewis "Scooter" Libby jury doesn't read Instapundit.

Dick's Disappointed

It is wise for Dick Cheney to say little about Lewis Libby's conviction.

I am very disappointed with the verdict. I am saddened for Scooter and his family. As I have said before, Scooter has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction through many years of public service.

Since his legal team has announced that he is seeking a new trial and, if necessary, pursuing an appeal, I plan to have no further comment on the merits of this matter until these proceedings are concluded.

The pardon countdown officially begins.

Mister Roberts

Here is some good news.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge ordered the Bush administration Thursday to release documents about its warrantless surveillance program or spell out what it is withholding, a setback to efforts to keep the program under wraps.

The bad news is it looks like Senator Pat Roberts is going to provide cover for the anministration. I give some examples.

Roberts on the Valerie Plame leak.

ROBERTS: There's a five-year period, OK? And whether or not that five-year period had been reached or not is still questionable. And I must say from a common sense standpoint, driving back and forth to work to the CIA headquarters, I don't know if that really qualifies as being, you know, covert.

That is quite a statement from the Senate Intelligence Chairman. Is Roberts saying that people who work undercover for the CIA should never report to the CIA offices? Using an automobile to go "back and forth" from the same office disqualifies an operative of covert status. How?

Raw Story has a long list of instances where Roberts carried water for the administration.

Roberts statements about a Senate investigation on warrantless wiretaps.

"I believe that such an investigation at this point ... would be detrimental to this highly classified program and efforts to reach some accommodation with the administration," Roberts said.

I can't say I'm surprised.

Update: Spokewoman Sarah Little on Pat Roberts views of the legality of the NSA program.

The Bush administration found a key ally on Capitol Hill Monday as it broadened its aggressive defense of a recently revealed domestic spying program that used warrantless surveillance.

Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, “believes the program is consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution,” Sarah Little, Roberts’ spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.