When it all boils down, . . . Here's what's left, . . .


Let me start with, . . . Well, let's pause just a second, to remember what Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, was supposed to investigate.

His job was to find out whether or not the identification of Valerie Plame was a violation of federal law. The answer to that question is apparently a firm, “No!”

Sure, Fitzgerald is keeping the investigation open for a time, but it's a save bet to assume that the identification of Plame was not a crime, either because she was not a covert CIA agent at the time the identification was made, or because the person making the identification was not aware of her status. The evidence seems to be that she was not covert at the time she was identified. No crime.

What crime has been charged?? Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff, has been charged with one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements. [read the indictment press release pdf]

What did he do?? Well, as best as I can figure it out it happened this way: New York Times reporter Matthew Cooper asked Libby what he had heard about the status of Valerie Plame. Libby answered that he had heard other reporters saying that Plame worked for the CIA. The investigation apparently showed that Libby told Cooper that Plame worked for the CIA without the qualification that he had heard that from other reporters. There's two of your crimes, the two counts of perjury. Libby also said that he had talked to NBC's Tim Russert about the affair, when he had not.

What wasn't Libby charged with?? Disclosing the name of a CIA covert agent, or conspiring to do so. I don't know who first coined this phrase, but essentially Libby was charged with lying about a crime that was not committed.

Now, . . . let's talk about the lying thing. Our entire system of justice relies of our ability to compel people to tell the truth and to punish them if they should fail to do so. Lying under oath is a serious matter, whether you're lying to deny a young woman you've sexually harassed her day in court, or lying to protect your political position or the position of your boss. These lies must be punished, not necessarily because of the severity of the crime involved, but because of the fact that someone swore to tell the truth, and then did not. The severity of the crime being investigated is not the issue, the fact that a lie was told is. Our system of civil and criminal justice would fall into ruin if we were to adopt some standard that outright perjury or lying to investigators can be tolerated if the crime being investigated isn't all that serious. We would then have to create some system under which we would grade civil and criminal complaints as to their degrees of seriousness so as to determine whether the people involved would have to tell the truth or not.

In the case of Scooter Libby and Valerie Plame it seems clear that no crime was committed, yet lies may have been told during the investigative process that made that determination. If so, then indictments are proper, and punishment is warranted. Remember, though, that it is not enough for a statement to be untrue for it to be categorized as a lie. The person uttering that statement has to know that the statement was not true at the time the statement was made.

Therefore, George Bush's assertions that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction was not a lie, unless it can be proven that Bush knew at the time he made the statement that it was not true. (Since such weapons have, in fact, been found ... the question of whether or not Bush lied has been put to rest.)

Now that the media circus is close to being played out, let's review:

1.) The left and the media are trying to portray this as some sort of confirmation that 'Bush lied' about weapons of mass destruction. Libby's indictment is nothing of the sort. In fact, Libby was indicted for the cover-up of a non-crime. Fitzgerald went out of his way, during the Press Conference he held on Friday, to say Libby wasn't being charged for outing Valerie Plame. Thus, the entire reason for the initial probe has been dropped.

2.) Liberals are acting like Scooter Libby is the most powerful government official to have ever lived. The fact of the matter is that most people have no idea who Scooter Libby is. For all they know, it's Phil Rizzuto's love child from his playing days and not the vice-president's chief of staff. The story will be off the radar screen by this afternoon, once Bush nominates his new Supreme Court replacement, and the media circus on that topic begins.

3.) This is not the start of some huge scandal. Fitzgerald had 2 years and millions of dollars to investigate this non-crime, and we have one person being charged. Case closed. If it was going to go any higher, it would have already.

Democrats are naturally disappointed, but that won’t keep them from kicking and screaming, . . . that’s just their nature, . . . to bleed all they can bleed, for the cameras and blog commentary postings. Poor, poor, li’l ol’ me – I’ve been wronged by the terrible, corrupt Bush administration. Flinging it against the wall, just to see if it sticks. Sorry Bob!! Sorry Tim!! Sorry Cindy!! It won’t stick.

Oh, . . . and to further enrage your liberal friends, . . . tell them that Libby's lying to the grand jury is absolutely no different than Bill Clinton's. The only valid comparison is the fact that Bill Clinton didn't serve a day in jail, and Scooter Libby almost certainly will, . . . Then say, in a whisper, . . "(Unless he’s pardoned upon arrival)"

God Bless,
Dan'L