According to RAW STORY:
The prosecutor investigating the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson has secured at least one indictment in the case from a majority of the 23 grand jurors, lawyers and intelligence officials close to the case said Wednesday.
“At least one” doesn’t sound all that encouraging. But if you read this article carefully there is some very interesting news. It all boils down to what happened Tuesday night:
The Chicago-based prosecutor has obtained new information from officials targeted in the leak probe, who are now interested in entering into plea discussions, they added.
Fitzgerald intended to announce that he had secured indictments against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, and Karl Rove, President Bush’s deputy chief of staff, Wednesday afternoon as well as two people who work outside of the administration, those close to the case said.
But his office was contacted late Tuesday by attorneys representing figures outside the White House, lawyers said, who expressed interest in entering into plea talks with the prosecutor. Several have agreed to enter into last-minute plea negotiations with Fitzgerald in exchange for providing testimony that could result in criminal charges being brought against additional officials inside the White House, they added.
Apparently, Rove was offered a plea deal as well, and like a loyal soldier, he turned it down. After all, if Rove cops a plea, that means he has to testify against a bigger fish. And the only bigger fish are…
An eleventh-hour deal could help Fitzgerald “build a strong case against some very senior officials in the office of the vice president,” one attorney said.
“Mr. Fitzgerald is extremely thorough,” the lawyer remarked. “He had advised Judge [Thomas F.] Hogan more than two weeks ago that there was a strong possibility that some defendants may be inclined to cooperate at the last minute.”
It looks like several (former?) members of the White House staff were playing a game of chicken with Fitzgerald. When he announced that Wednesday was zero hour, some of these staffers blinked.
This cannot be good news for Darth Cheney.
According to RAW STORY:
The prosecutor investigating the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson has secured at least one indictment in the case from a majority of the 23 grand jurors, lawyers and intelligence officials close to the case said Wednesday.
“At least one” doesn’t sound all that encouraging. But if you read this article carefully there is some very interesting news. It all boils down to what happened Tuesday night:
The Chicago-based prosecutor has obtained new information from officials targeted in the leak probe, who are now interested in entering into plea discussions, they added.
Fitzgerald intended to announce that he had secured indictments against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, and Karl Rove, President Bush’s deputy chief of staff, Wednesday afternoon as well as two people who work outside of the administration, those close to the case said.
But his office was contacted late Tuesday by attorneys representing figures outside the White House, lawyers said, who expressed interest in entering into plea talks with the prosecutor. Several have agreed to enter into last-minute plea negotiations with Fitzgerald in exchange for providing testimony that could result in criminal charges being brought against additional officials inside the White House, they added.
Apparently, Rove was offered a plea deal as well, and like a loyal soldier, he turned it down. After all, if Rove cops a plea, that means he has to testify against a bigger fish. And the only bigger fish are…
An eleventh-hour deal could help Fitzgerald “build a strong case against some very senior officials in the office of the vice president,” one attorney said.
“Mr. Fitzgerald is extremely thorough,” the lawyer remarked. “He had advised Judge [Thomas F.] Hogan more than two weeks ago that there was a strong possibility that some defendants may be inclined to cooperate at the last minute.”
It looks like several (former?) members of the White House staff were playing a game of chicken with Fitzgerald. When he announced that Wednesday was zero hour, some of these staffers blinked.
This cannot be good news for Darth Cheney.
Author: BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly.
He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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