They are coming after Fitzgerald – with everything they’ve got!
It is no surprise, we have already seen the White House spin machine at work. Kay Bailey Hutchison assures us that “..some perjury technicality..” is nothing to worry about. And pathetic Nicholas Kristoff chimes in in support and expresses “repulsion by the glee” that ‘silly us’ may feel for being vindicated.
This is just the beginning.
More below:
I have recently, somehow ended up on a Newsmax mailing list. Have not yet bothered to unsubscribe and sometimes read their headlines for humoristic value (though high blood pressure may also ensue). Some of them caught my eye tonight and I think they represent the beginning of an onslaught of messages that will come at us and the American public with increasing intensity.
“Patrick Fitzgerald Appointed by Longtime Crony”
Now that the press is convinced that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is about to bring indictments in the Leakgate case, reporters are praising him as an unbiased, objective and independent-minded prosecutor.
But it turns out – independence had nothing to do with the way Fitzgerald won his appointment as Leakgate special counsel.
According to a May 2003 profile in American Lawyer magazine, Fitzgerald had been “best friends” for 14 years with the man who tapped him – then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey.
In fact, Fitzgerald and Comey were so chummy that the magazine headlined its piece – “The Pat and Jim Show.”
Fitz, we all know by now – what about James Comey? Here’s how the White House describes him:
On October 3, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Jim Comey to serve as Deputy Attorney General, he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 2003, and the President signed his commission on December 11, 2003. Prior to becoming Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Comey served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from January 2002 to the time of his confirmation. From 1996 through 2001, Mr. Comey served as Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Richmond Division of the United States Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
(snip)
As United States Attorney, Mr. Comey oversaw numerous terrorism cases and supervised prosecutions of executives of WorldCom, Adelphia, and Imclone on fraud and securities-related charges. Mr. Comey also created a specialized unit devoted to prosecuting international drug cartels.
It seems that Bush – in a brief burst of inspiration – got his act together for Comey’s nomination. He actually seems very competent. But we are soon to learn otherwise. It is only a matter of a few days before we and the entire population are perfectly aware of the sad truth that these two “cronies” have actually conspired to investigate hearsay in the WH.
Next is “Patrick Fitzgerald Defended Martha Stewart Prosecution” (which also reinforces the ‘crony’ allegation)
Before he was appointed special counsel in the Leakgate case, Patrick Fitzgerald defended the prosecution of Martha Stewart against criticism that the Justice Department indicted her only after it couldn’t prove the underlying crime she was accused of – insider trading.
The Stewart prosecution was run by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, the same person who tapped Fitzgerald to run the Leakgate probe in Dec. 2003.
A June 2003 “Today Show” transcript unearthed on Monday by ABC Radio host Sean Hannity shows Fitzgerald defending Comey for throwing the book at the domestic diva.
NBC’s Anne Thompson introduced Fitzgerald as Comey’s “close friend,” before asking him why Comey pushed the envelope against Stewart.
How naive are we, who believe that crimes should be prosecuted even when committed by ‘white collar’ rich and influential people.
Let me throw in one more – simply because of how ridiculous it is.
“Judith Miller Upset by NYT Rebuke”
NEW YORK — New York Times reporter Judith Miller is defending herself against her own paper’s criticism of her role in the CIA leak controversy, saying she was proud to serve time in jail to protect a confidential source, “even if he happened to work for the Bush White House.”Miller’s response came in a lengthy e-mail to public editor Byron Calame, who recommended in a Sunday column that the Times review Miller’s journalistic practices for conduct that raised “clear issues of trust and credibility.”
Miller’s response came in a lengthy e-mail to public editor Byron Calame, who recommended in a Sunday column that the Times review Miller’s journalistic practices for conduct that raised “clear issues of trust and credibility.”
Come on – let’s all leave poor Judith alone. It’s not as if she deceived her employer and the public, acted as a willing tool for a criminal administration or may have been the most influential media person to sell the case for WMDs in Iraq.