Clutching at Straws Gentlemen

Corbis Images  'Heads of Saints Hermagoras and Fortunatus'

Albeit personally bored to tears with the 'will they or won't they' in the Libby - Rove  affair, I am compelled to plough through in an attempt to give some clarity of perspective on the issue, by providing you with links that make sense. I am worn out, and as Eli Lake quite rightly points out, everything that was going to be leaked has been leaked, and now the MSM are clutching at straws to keep the hype alive, in the hope of an indictment or two. Tom Maguire, I don't know how you still hang on in there, as interesting as ever...

In the N.Y Sun today, via Glenn Reynolds @ Instapundit. Personally I think it's a must read, if you would like to get any sane perspective on the much distorted stories floated in the last few days.

"The big irony to savor at the center of the Valerie Plame case is that everything everyone thinks they know about Patrick Fitzgerald's leak investigation has been leaked. Mr. Fitzgerald has not held a press conference explaining what criminal counts, if any, he will bring. Nor has the grand jury listening to all the secret evidence issued an indictment against any of the White House officials appearing before them. But if you were to believe the newspapers and the Web logs, you'd think that Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby are about to be hauled off in handcuffs."

This prosecution has the potential to criminalize the very kind of journalism that for the past four years has served so well the very journalists who are egging on Mr. Fitzgerald. It now appears likely that the special prosecutor will argue that Messrs. Libby and Rove mishandled classified information by discussing Ms. Plame's identity with reporters. That is the same kind of charge that, under the espionage statute, a U.S. attorney, Paul McNulty, has brought against former American Israel Public Affairs Committee aides, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman. Mr. McNulty charges that the lobbyists broke the law when they passed them on to reporters and Israeli diplomats details of Iran policy developments they'd heard from a Pentagon analyst, Larry Franklin.
[ ...]
But it is turning into a tragedy. In the last five days critics of the press, bloggers and journalists have pounced on the one person, Judith Miller, who held out the longest to defend the right of the press to keep its sources confidential. Everyone now seems to have an opinion about whether Ms. Miller should have been assigned to any story at all regarding Iraq, dredging up the silly claim that she committed journalistic crimes when she wrote about weapons of mass destruction, as if she were the only person in the press or government who believed Saddam Hussein was compiling such an arsenal.
[...]
This version of events is supported by Mr. Novak himself. In October 2003, the columnist wrote that the CIA confirmed that Ms. Plame worked for the agency, but asked him not to write her name because it could cause her difficulties were she ever assigned to a foreign country, which the columnist said his CIA source said was doubtful. And if Ms. Plame's true identity was such a secret, then why did Mr. Wilson learn it, according to his book, on his second date with her? We'll have to wait for Mr. Fitzgerald to actually release his report to get a definitive answer on this. But for the time being, it's a time for those praying for indictments to take care about what they wish for, because they just might get it."

Clutching at straws gentlemen....clutching at straws.

'Cheney, CIA long at odds' @ LA Times (pdf, as url is reg. only), gives an interesting insight to the background of the alleged feud between Vice President Cheyne and the CIA. The White House staff were incensed by Wilson's public criticism, in part because they saw it as a salvo fired by the CIA at administration officials, including Cheney, who was perhaps the most outspoken advocate of the case against Iraq.

WSJ today, MSNBC's Newsweek site, and WaPo (who have absolutely nothing new to say)

Update from The New York Times October 21st:

"Among the charges that Mr. Fitzgerald is considering are perjury, obstruction of justice and false statement - counts that suggest the prosecutor may believe the evidence presented in a 22-month grand jury inquiry shows that the two White House aides sought to cover up their actions, the lawyers said.

Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have been advised that they may be in serious legal jeopardy, the lawyers said, but only this week has Mr. Fitzgerald begun to narrow the possible charges. The prosecutor has said he will not make up his mind about any charges until next week, government officials say."

Read my 'Martyr St.Judith's Smoking Gun', 'St. Judith The Martyr' and 'Place your Bets on the Libby Rove MSM Spin'.

Comments

[North by Northwest]

Not so sure whether Rove and Libby are exactly Saints - I am of course assuming that that is the idea behind the wonderful painting.

I however love the calm expressions in the faces, gently cradling the two severed heads. So, in the event that any mud sticks, I can just imagine how both Rove and Libby are being told in the most civil of tones that their careers are over. Pleasant atmosphere, soft spoken words, lots of praise, "let me know if I can do anything for you, anything really...";

And then of course there will be the public statements by both: Again calmly read and stressing that it really was their own choice to step aside; that they had both been urged to stay on with the full support of both the President and Vice President... But, nah, we had to give this our utmost attention to fight the charges and thus our own decision to depart...

There is so much atmosphere in this painting. None outwardly visible, yet full of symbolism; there is a great undercurrent of tension amidst the calm.

In short, great choice for your pictorial representation of the status-quo.