Valerie Plame Wilson Watch

What could ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson -- who was outed as a spy by the traitorous Bush-Cheney cabal -- have to say on the eve of her book release, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House"?

Maybe details about how she was involved in preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon and the classified mission, Operation Merlin?

Nah, as an honorable, stalwart defender of America's national security and former CIA NOC, she can't say all that much. Too bad the Bush WH doesn't measure up to her standards.

But some of what Valerie would say is this:

PLAME: I can tell you all the intelligence services in the world were running my name through their databases to see did anyone by this name come in the country? When? Do we know anything about it? Where did she stay? Who did she see?

COURIC: And what would be the ramifications of that?

PLAME: Well, it was very serious. It puts in danger, if not shuts down, the operations that I had worked on.

You can hear and watch more tonight when CBS 60 Minutes will air an interview with Valerie (Check your local listings). Preview here. I've already set my timer as I count the days until the arrival of her book pre-ordered at Amazon.

Monday night, Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson will appear on CNN's Larry King's show.

Also of special note on Monday, Sidney Blumenthal will host Valerie at FireDogLake for a special FDL Book Salon... at 10:30am -12:30pm PT/ 1:30-3:30pm ET.

And, of extra, extra special note, a trip down memory lane...

Remember when the Left Blogosphere cried out for the public release of the Libby letters that were written by Scooter's supporters (for example, GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson) appealing to the judge to go easy on sentencing the Cheney aide? Didn't we want to see who defended the convicted felon for his part in the CIA leak case and what they could possibly write about Libby?

Only a couple of liberal bloggers had the guts to go to the mattresses. Hat tip to Blue Girl and...(with emphasis added)

...Bill Moore, a lawyer who contributes to the blog Watching Those We Chose (proctoringcongress.blogspot.com)...

The principle was more important, said Mr. Moore, who personally wrote a brief to the court asking that the letters be made public. “If the powerful in our government are asking for someone to be spared, we ought to know,” he said. “The purpose of the letters is to influence the judge on sentencing, and if there is influence that ought to be transparent.”

Applause, applause!

UPDATE: In acknowledging Blue Girl and bmaz for going to "the mattresses," for taking a stand, writing the legal brief, and coordinating the footwork to get the Libby letters released to the public, I failed to recognize Pale Rider. He delivered the brief to Judge Walton's chambers. Thanks to one and all.

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Taking Stock: the day after

I spent 24 hours enraged. That is my MO. Then I pull myself together and I get downright calculating and methodical. That was the part that scared my kids the worst when they were growing up and ran afoul of the Rule of Mom, which was the equivalent of the rule of law in our household. (Military Moms tend to run a tight ship, no matter what branch of service they are married to. I was no exception. You spend too much time alone with the kids farther into the career and you can’t lose control of your charges.)

So – I have had 24 hours to assess the situation. There is still some 'there' there, if you know what I mean.

Did aWol commit an impeachable offense when he commuted the treasonous Libby’s jail term? No processes were observed, no recommendations considered, no briefs were filed and no procedures were followed. So...perhaps. (Note: It is the opinion of this blogger that the entire Bush Presidency has been an impeachable offense.)

The way this played out, it smacks of a cover-up. It looks like the resident was scared shitless that Scooter might spill when he found himself looking into that cell.

Remember, from the very outset, Libby’s attorneys played it like he was a fall guy, a patsy, a chump taking the rap for others – specifically the vice president. Fitz repeatedly and sharply stated that the details that surrounded the case cast doubt and suspicion over Dick Cheney.

Take the fact that the defense claimed he was a fall guy, add the shadow over vice, and it is a short step to come to the conclusion that Libby was made Cheney’s bitch.

It is within the scope of powers afforded the office of the President to commute sentences, of course. However, it is not within the scope of those powers for him to commute a sentence in an effort to derail a criminal investigation. If the sentence was commuted for the purpose of covering up criminal activity, be those activities ongoing or previous, that in and of itself is a crime that merits the impeachment of this feckless president.

What underlies the decision by the resident to offer this commutation, without a single day served, must be investigated thoroughly.

Both Judiciary Committees and Representative Waxman’s Oversight Committee must open investigations and get to the bottom of this. Including calling Patrick Fitzgerald to testify.

This is not over. Not by a long shot. Unless, that is, those we chose fold like a bunch of cheap suits.

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An open letter to my congressman

I just sent this email to my Congressman, the Honorable Emmanuel Cleaver:

Impeachment. Now. The Libby commutation of sentence was the last straw. This craven administration has shown nothing but contempt for the rule of law. Political opponents are not the "loyal opposition" but instead we are "enemies." Well, this "enemy" fights back, and respectfully urges her Congressman to do the same.

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BREAKING: No Stay of Sentence for Scooter

A glimmer of Justice was seen flickering in the sunlight today when the three-judge appeals panel unanimously rejected the plea by Scooter “Treason” Libby to remain free on bond while appealing his sentence. Instead, he will have to report to prison in just a few weeks to start serving his much-to-short sentence.

Look for the apparatchiks who place Party over country and the rule of law to turn up the volume on their bleating about dedicated public servants. (Who happen to commit treason and successfully obstruct justice!)

And when they start in, call them on it. Mock them, ridicule them, and question their patriotism. At least with them and their ilk it’s justified, because they do excuse treason. (Fred Thompson, I'm calling you out right now.)

Scooter, one word of advice. Don’t drop the soap, lest what happened to our country with your mendacious assist could very well happen to you.

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Mitt flip-flops on justice

Once again, Mitt Romney reveals his talent as a flip-flopper:

CHICAGO (AP) -- Republican president candidate Mitt Romney, who denied every pardon or commutation during his term as Massachusetts governor, said Thursday a pardon for former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby deserves a close examination.

"I took a careful review during my term as governor of the people that were brought forward. That doesn't mean I pardoned them, but I took a careful review. I think this deserves a very careful review," Romney told The Associated Press in a brief interview....

..."I think the prosecutor may well have abused prosecutorial discretion by pursuing the investigation after he had learned that the source of the leak was Richard Armitage," Romney said. "He knew that there was, therefore, not a crime committed and yet, he proceeded with the investigation knowing that there was no crime to pursue.

What utter nonsense. Just because Armitage leaked first doesn't exonerate Libby from leaking a CIA operative identity, too, and then lying about it under oath. The jury convicted Libby of perjury and obstruction of justice. Logic or law and order doesn't have a thing to do with Mitt's position. He's pandering for conservative voters who hold a double standard when the case involves one of their own.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera contends Romney is dodging a fundamental question.

"Defending Scooter Libby may be a good applause line for right wing Republicans, but the American people are looking for a strong and decisive leader who can say one way or another whether he would pardon a man who obstructed a national security investigation in a time of war," LaVera said.

On the campaign trail, Romney often cites his record as governor in denying pardons or commutations. During his four years in office, 100 requests for commutations and 172 requests for pardons were filed in the state. All were denied.

Romney has said he refused pardons because he didn't want to overturn a jury.

His record doesn't square with Mitt's current position on Libby to potentially overturn a jury's decision with a pardon. But give him time. He could flip-flop again.

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I think we have arrived

We get a kind mention in the New York Times on Monday. Our very own bmaz is directly quoted.

Here is the article:

Libby’s Supporters Who Wrote to Judge Learn That Letters Take on New Life on the Web

By NOAM COHEN

In what may be a sign of things to come, the lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr. last month invoked the rarely used courtroom tactic: the “bloggers can be mean” defense.

The issue was whether to release the more than 150 letters written to Judge Reggie B. Walton of Federal District Court in Washington, nearly all in support of Mr. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Mr. Libby was convicted in March of lying in investigations into the leak of the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative, Valerie Plame Wilson. Last week, Judge Walton sentenced Mr. Libby to 30 months in prison.

As the judge considered the appropriate punishment, he received testimonials to Mr. Libby’s character from luminaries like former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and Paul D. Wolfowitz, who was pressured to resign the Word Bank presidency amid charges that he engaged in favoritism in the employment of his girlfriend.

When representatives of the news media asked that the letters be released, Mr. Libby’s lawyers argued against that, saying it “needlessly risks undermining the fair administration of justice.”

Then, alluding to the sometimes combative world of online media, they added there was “the real possibility that these letters, once released, would be published on the Internet and their authors discussed, even mocked, by bloggers.”

The judge rejected these arguments on May 31, though, saying that “the court must strive to be as transparent as possible without compromising the fairness of the system or the ability of the court to acquire information relevant and helpful to the sentencing process.”

The letters were released Tuesday — with some personal details covered in black ink — and were readily available online. The Washington Post organized them alphabetically by letter writer, and the Smoking Gun, a Web site, quickly had 30 pages ready for easy perusal.

As Mr. Libby’s lawyers feared, the bloggers came to mock. The Libby trial has been a favorite of liberal blogs. One, Firedoglake, committed to “live blogging” the trial.

One blogger, Rick Perlstein, writing at commonsense.ourfuture.org, belittled Mr. Bolton’s letter in support of Mr. Libby: “So there it is: yes, maybe he perjured himself. But only because he was so busy protecting us ... Don’t you, dear judge, want us protected from Armageddon?”

Kagro X, writing at the site the Next Hurrah, took on Kenneth L. Adelman’s letter by recalling his prediction about the war in Iraq being a “cakewalk.” As Mr. Adelman, Kagro wrote: “I’m a great judge of character, Your Honor. Trust me! Sentencing is gonna be a cakewalk!”

Asked about the amount of mocking he had seen online, Bill Moore, a lawyer who contributes to the blog Watching Those We Chose (proctoringcongress.blogspot.com), said: “There is some, sure — not an undue amount. Some of the stuff that goes on needs to be mocked.”

The principle was more important, said Mr. Moore, who personally wrote a brief to the court asking that the letters be made public. “If the powerful in our government are asking for someone to be spared, we ought to know,” he said. “The purpose of the letters is to influence the judge on sentencing, and if there is influence that ought to be transparent.”

Marcy Wheeler, one of the bloggers who helped cover the trial for Firedoglake, said the argument concerning mockery indicated that the Libby legal team “may be frustrated by the amount of attention paid on this trial that otherwise wouldn’t have been paid.”

“If you want to dismiss transparency,” she said, “just talk about bloggers.”

Phone messages left with Mr. Libby’s lawyers on Friday were not returned.

Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, agreed that the letters had to be made public because of the serious issues involved, but said that the legal system must address the rapid spread of information online that, in the past, would be available only “in the dusty courthouse file.”

“The act of writing a letter in a much lower-profile case will be on the ‘permanent record’ of the Internet,” he said. “That is a difference, and it is totally sensible to think about if this is what we want.”

There's more: "I think we have arrived" >>

A Soldier By Any Other Name

Some things just make your blood boil. There have been many things like that recently for me. But none so much as the op-ed article wrtitten by Fouad Ajami for Friday's Wall Street Journal. I will let Mr. Ajami's words speak for themselves:


"In "The Soldier's Creed," there is a particularly compelling principle: "I will never leave a fallen comrade." This is a cherished belief, and it has been so since soldiers and chroniclers and philosophers thought about wars and great, common endeavors. Across time and space, cultures, each in its own way, have given voice to this most basic of beliefs. They have done it, we know, to give heart to those who embark on a common mission, to give them confidence that they will not be given up under duress. A process that yields up Scooter Libby to a zealous prosecutor is justice gone awry.
Mr. President, the one defining mark of your own moral outlook is the distinction between friend and foe, a refusal to be lulled into moral and political compromises. Your critics have made much of this and have seen it as self-righteousness and moral absolutism, but this has guided you through the great, divisive issues faced by our country over these last, searing years. Scooter Libby was a soldier in your--our--war in Iraq, he was chief of staff to a vice president who had become a lightning rod to the war's critics. He didn't sit around the councils of power only to make the rounds in Georgetown's salons insinuating that this was not his war all along. He didn't claim this war when it promised an easy victory only to desert it when it stalled in the alleyways of Fallujah and Baghdad and in the twilight world of Arab politics.
.....snip......
He can't be left behind as a casualty of a war our country had once proudly claimed as its own."


What the fuck? Are you kidding me? Wow, this Fouad Ajami guy must be some kind of dedicated American soldier, with a heroic record of bravery, to have the cojones to make this statement right? Eh, not so much. Fouad Ajami is a native of Lebanon who has lived in the United States since 1963. Never so much as been a bugle boy in a ROTC squad. He's got zip for military service; but he is very fond of war, as long as it is not him, his friends, or their families fighting in it. Who are his friends? You need not have asked. They are, of course, Wolfowitz (a mentor of sorts), Cheney, Candiliar Rice, Kristol, the fine citizens at the Council of Foreign Relations, and every other leading neocon in sight. There is not a freaking one of them that has ever been in a uniform or seen a drop of blood shed for their follies. This sick little prick needs to be sent back home to Lebanon immediately. There, he should be able to view first hand the war ravaged handiwork of minds like his.

Numerous other writers have already noted the absurdity of Ajami's incendiary comments about Libby when juxtaposed against the real American soldiers dying and being maimed by the thousands for this charlatan's frivolity, and that is so true. But there is another soldier that has fallen casualty to the neocon's war of belligerent choice. The soldier taken out of service to her country by Libby, and the treasonous conduct which he ended up in the dock for in the first place. Valerie Plame Wilson, a woman who spent over twenty years serving her country in the clandestine division of the CIA, nearly a third of which was overseas and undercover. A woman who was the leader of the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction anti-proliferation group in the CIA at the time she was heinously outed by cowards like Libby, Cheney and Ajami. If my thin blood is boiling, Valerie Plame Wilson's must be running like double habernero hot sauce.

The real soldiers lost as a result of the Iraq war don't mean a tinker's damn to the neocon cowards, nor do their death and destruction, but the thought of poor pasty little Scooter serving a couple of years in Club Fed before returning to his life of leisure and wealth, now that gets their panties all twisted. I am going to end this article with the dead on accurate thoughts of of a fellow commenter at The Next Hurrah, JGabriel, because I could not possibly say it better:

"Well, if Libby is a 'soldier' in the war (in Iraq? on Terror? against Liberals?), then so was Valerie Wilson.

Which means Libby isn't so much the 'fallen' soldier as he is the one who stabbed a fellow soldier in the back, left her bleeding on the ground, and posted a sign next to her saying 'Desecrate This U.S. Corpse'.

With that reasoning in mind, Libby should be court-martialed, at the very least."

There's more: "A Soldier By Any Other Name" >>

Thirty Months for Scooter

And a $250,000 fine.

"Evidence in this case overwhelmingly indicated Mr. Libby's culpability," U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said moments before he handed out the sentence. The judge said he was sentencing Libby "with a sense of sadness. I have the highest respect for people who take positions in our government and appreciate tremendously efforts they bring to bear to protect this country."

At the same time, Walton said, "I also think it is important we expect and demand a lot from people who put themselves in those positions. Mr. Libby failed to meet the bar. For whatever reason, he got off course."

Just before Walton pronounced the sentence, Libby briefly appealed to the judge. After thanking Walton for the court's courtesy and kindness during the lengthy proceedings, Libby said: "It is respectfully my hope that the court will consider along with the jury verdict my whole life. Thank you your honor."

As you know, I was pulling for an application of the gallows, but I’ll take what I can get. As far as I am concerned, I don’t care if you are Mother-freakin’-Theresa – if you commit treason – or the obstruction of justice that prevents a charge of treason from being brought – then you deserve to feel the floor give way beneath you.

Libby spat in the face of the Constitution, and I have made it very clear in the past that the Constitution is the one thing, outside my family, that I would fight and die for with not a moment of hesitation.

[cross posted from Blue Girl, Red State]

There's more: "Thirty Months for Scooter" >>

Sneak peaks of Scooter Libby friends letters

To the readership:

Judge Reggie Walton has announced that more than 150 letters pertaining to the sentencing of Scooter Libby, both in support of him and in support of his hoosegow key being tossed away, will be released after his sentencing June 5.

Well, there’s no need to wait that long.

Let me tell you, my inside sources have obtained leaked pre-release copies. Here’s one:

Dear Judgie-Wudgie:

Please don't put Scooter-Pooter in the sandbox too long. Judie-Wwudie lubbes him so very much.

Judith Miller

And another:

Hey, Reggerino:

I’m the Decider, see? And, I decide that you should be replaced by … Tim Griffin.

George W. Decider, judge-commander-in-chief
Cc: Alberto Gonzales, head flunky and judge-hirer/firer

And this one:

Dear Judge Walton:

I. Lewis Libby has been defending the United States valiantly through his official work, so that we can fight liberal judges over in Iraq rather than fighting them here.

You, sir, are a traitor to our country.

Richard B. Cheney
Vice President of the United States

And one more:

Dear Judge Walton:

You remember that phone call you made three weeks ago???

I do.

Gen. Michael Hayden
Director of Central Intelligence
Former director, National Security Agency

Cross-posted atSocraticGadfly and Out of Iraq Bloggers Caucus.

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WTWC takes a stand for all bloggers in the Scooter Libby criminal case

11:12 am 30 May 2007

(This post was picked up and temporarily occupied the top spot. Newer content from other contributors below this post. --BG)

Just a few minutes ago, an amicus brief was filed in Federal District Court in Washington D.C. petitioning for the public release of the pre-sentencing letters that were submitted to the court for consideration in the sentencing of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. For once, the blogs are pushing back after being singled out by Libby's attorney for scorn and ridicule. Two of the principals from right here at Watching Those We Chose are proud and honored to be the named parties in this formal legal brief filed with the court, not just on behalf of ourselves, but more importantly, for all of the blogosphere.

Bloggers across the spectrum did an incredible job covering and analyzing the Libby trial. Led by the groundbreaking work of FireDogLake, with Marcy Wheeler and Jane Hamsher live blogging the trial in real time from the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, bloggers provided a level of coverage, opinion commentary and legal analysis that simply was not available anywhere else in the media, mainstream or otherwise.

Bloggers clearly provided something the public craved as well, because the traffic at sites working the Libby trial was off the charts during the trial. The efforts of bloggers were widely praised nearly everywhere, but are still clearly feared by the power brokers like Libby and his enablers. It was important to fight back against the slurs of Libby and his ilk, and we have.

Bloggers are here to stay, and we here at Watching Those We Chose are excited to be a part of this important effort.

Always knew I would be a party to a Federal Case before I shuffled off this mortal coil – but I was thoroughly convinced I would be a defendant…

Update: Here is a link to the brief. Sorry for the delay. (Adobe difficulties...h/t to No Quarter for posting that link as part of their post.)

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Sure would be nice to have Valerie Plame on the job about now

MOSCOW - Russia test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile Tuesday capable of carrying multiple independent warheads, the Russian Space Forces said.

The missile, called the RS-24, had not yet reached its designated target, a space forces spokesman said, declining to give further information.

Russian news reports said the missile is seen as eventually replacing the aging RS-18s and RS-20s that are the backbone of the country's missile forces.

Yes – You read that right. This morning the Russians tested a new MRV. For the uninitiated a MRV is a Multiple Reentry Vehicle. In layman's terms, one missile goes up, and multiple guided warheads fall back to earth. MRV’s are prominent players in my cold-war-steeped nightmares. Remember this bit about MRV's: some warheads can be set to “air burst” and kill a lot of people, and others can be set to “ground burst” for the purpose of destroying infrastructure. With a MRV, you don’t have to choose! Do both!

So much for that view of Pooty-Poot’s soul that the Useless Tool™ famously took a gander at.

Seriously – this is really bad, people. Bad to the point that my husband, upon hearing the news, poured a shot of whiskey in his coffee this morning, and he doesn’t drink. The country that could actually represent a clear and present danger to the American way of life is now in the catbirds seat, and we are suckin’ hind tit.

We are buried under a mountain of Chinese debt, accrued to finance a vanity war that was launched on lies. And a real threat looms, reemerging from the nooks and crannies of the Kremlin, and brings with it more danger than we need have faced.

In a week, Scooter Libby will be sentenced.

Scooter Libby committed a treason against this nation when he “outed” Valerie Plame Wilson, our number one intelligence asset on the issue of nuclear proliferation.

I do hope that at his sentencing, this action on the part of the Russians is taken into consideration by the judge, because the actions of Libby damaged irreparably the intelligence program that confronted issues like the advent of entire new Russian MRV IBCM systems.

[Cross-posted from Blue Girl, Red State]

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