The funny thing about this choice piece of Libby grand jury testimony is that is all part of an elaborate lie to cover up the fact that Libby asked or tasked Marc Grossman with creating the June 10, 2003 INR Memo that revealed that Valerie Plame worked at the CIA.
Libby’s being sworn in for his second grand jury appearance, a week or two after his first one in March 2004.
Fitzgerald: You said you had some items in your earlier testimony you wanted to clarify or amend.
Libby: You had asked me about Marc Grossman, and I couldn’t remember any conversations about Wilson’s wife. But one of your questions was whether I asked if State Dept. had sent Wilson, which was so far from what I believed that it stuck in my head, and so I kept thinking why you might have asked that, and I now recall joking with Grossman about it.F: Tell me about that.
L: (long story about Bush seeking UN resolution against Saddam in Fall 2002, whether and how to let inspectors back in to Iraq) We had meetings about this, and I was told Grossman wouldn’t participate. He felt it was just an effort to prevent inspectors from going, and would end up in a newspaper leak embarrassing Colin Powell. Six months later, we were in a deputies’ meeting, and to fill time I ribbed Grossman by saying “this guy who went to Niger was one of yours,” and he said, “No he was one of theirs,” pointing at a CIA official. I said, “But he was an ambassador, it’s a sad state of affairs when the CIA has to get their own ambassadors to find things out,” again just joking.
So, Libby is saying that there was a period of time during which the administration was ostensibly trying to get an UN resolution to let the inspectors back into Iraq when the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs refused to meet with the Vice-President’s people because he thought they were plotting to prevent inspections from working so they could start a war.
Mother of God, no wonder Powell, Armitage, and Wilkerson think Cheney and Rumsfeld created a cabal. They SHOULD HAVE FUCKING RESIGNED, the bastards. It is to their everlasting shame that they did not resign and beg the country to elect John Kerry.
Just more evidence of the criminally bloodthirsty mindset of the neo-conservatives.
In the Matter of The United States v. George W. Bush
and
In the Matter of The United States v. Richard B. Cheney
Summary of the Articles of Impeachment for the Trial
Hear ye, hear ye. We being all assembled, let the charges be read and proceedings commence.
But it’s still shocking to read it. They never wanted to allow anything to work, because this war was plotted along with W’s election. It was always in their plans.
How convenient that those Saudis created the cause celebre’ to enable them to get people behind them. If that had not happened, I wonder what other tack they would have taken to send us to war?
There are those who still respect Powell. I believe he is lower than dirt, because he knew better.
really, does anyone else notice Fitz has Cheney in his cross-hairs as he picks off Scooter?
Good grief says Andrew Sullivan
“I hope he succeeds in exposing the most dangerous and incompetent vice-president in American history.”
Is there a standing grand jury to look at it? Is he ready to refer the Cheney situation to them? That’s a fascinating dream I have…hope I’m not putting Fitz on too high a pedestal. But “the last honest men” in the United States is a pretty short list. There’s Feingold, and maybe Fitzgerald…and a few others.
You’re right about Powell resigning. It would have saved a little of his reputation.