Looks like Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney charged with investigating
the leak of that identified Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA officer, has hit a
real nerve and is on the verge of dropping a new legal bomb on the Bush
Administration. How else to explain the sudden surge of criticism directed
against Mr. Fitzgerald? A story in today’s New York Times by David Johnston is the latest salvo in what
looks like a coordinated assault on the steely-eyed prosecutor.
Plameologist EmptyWheel has a terrific post at The Next Hurrah dissecting
Johnston’s shoddy attempt at journalism. His piece, at best, is
speculative analysis. Unfortunately, it is uninformed analysis.
Now, I’m up front about my bias in this case. Valerie Wilson is an old
friend and colleague who was an excellent case officer until Robert Novak,
citing Bush Administration sources, flagged her as a CIA employee. Until
that day in July 2003, her husband and her friends (who were witting of her true
employment status) protected her cover. She was in the process of
shifting from “non-official cover” status to “official cover”. Both types
of cover are protected under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.
It was the Bush Administration–Richard Armitage, Scooter Libby, and Karl
Rove–who spread the lie that Valerie sent her husband, Joe Wilson, to Africa as
part of an elaborate conspiracy to damage the credibility of the Bush
Administration. In 2003 there was publicly speculation that the Bush
Administration lied to the American people about the case for going to war in
Iraq. Today, the evidence of the lies is overwhelming. The question
about Iraq’s alleged efforts to buy uranium from Niger was one of the critical
foundations of the Administration’s effort to rally public support for the
war. When Joe Wilson started contacting Journalists in early 2003, after
the President lied in the State of the Union Address about Iraq’s efforts, Dick
Cheney and his minions began collecting ammunition to attack Wilson and try to
destroy his credibility.
Which brings me to Patrick Fitzgerald.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald came to this case with no bias. He is
a man above repute and unafraid to take on politically sensitive cases. On
the eve of the indictment of Scooter Libby last October (2005) there was a weak
attempt by Republican operatives to smear Fitzgerald. They encountered
several obstacles:
Unlike Kenneth Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton, Fitzgerald
has not played politics with his investigation, by leaking stories to buddies
in the media;
Unlike Starr, who spent millions of dollars in the pursuit of Clinton,
Fitzgerald is a tightwad.
It is tought to tar a prosecutor who is frugal, focused, and aplotical.
Nonetheless, the Bush/Cheney defenders and their media buddies are ramping up a
campaign to smear Fitzgerald. The Johnston NY Times piece is prima facie
evidence. Johnston notes that in the wake of a report that Richard
Armitage was one of Novak sources that:
the question of whether Mr. Fitzgerald properly exercised his prosecutorial
discretion in continuing to pursue possible wrongdoing in the case has become
the subject of rich debate on editorial pages and in legal and political
circles.
So, attention to detail, a refusal to try the case in the news media, and
insistence on bringing charges based on evidence suggest improper “prosecutorial
discretion”? Nope. I don’t buy that. The facts show that
Fitzgerald is keeping his cards close to his vest, which certainly has Dick
Cheney and Stephen Hadley crapping their pants. Their role, particularly
Cheney’s, in directing the campaign to discredit Ambassador Wilson, has become
clearer in the last year thanks to court filings in the case against Scooter
Libby. For example, we now have Cheney’s notes that became the basis for
RNC talking points in attacking Ambassador Wilson.
I am not privy to Fitgerald’s plans or thinking; but, given the nature of the
offensive now directed against the Wilsons and Fitzgerald, it appears that Mr.
Fitzgerald may be on the verge of asking the Grand Jury to indict Dick Cheney
and Stephen Hadley. Karl Rove is no dummy and would be derelict and
incompetent to not prepare for this contingency. He know that if Fitz
drops a new legal bomb before the November elections on someone in the
Administration that the Republican ship of state will sunder. When
it comes to hanging on to power in Washington all is fair, regardless of job
performance and competence. And, when it comes to poltical survival for
the discredited Bush Administration, trashing a courageous, honest prosecutor is
okay.
……………………………………………………..
Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder
of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm
that helps corporations and governments manage threats posed by
terrorism and money laundering. Mr. Johnson, who worked previously
with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s
Office of Counter Terrorism (as a Deputy Director), is a recognized
expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, crisis and risk
management. Mr. Johnson has analyzed terrorist incidents for a variety
of media including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio,
ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s Today Show, the New York Times, CNN, Fox News,
and the BBC. Mr. Johnson has authored several articles for
publications, including Security Management Magazine, the New York
Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has lectured on terrorism and
aviation security around the world. Further bio
details.
