After think a bit more during some wee free time today, I must say that I am getting rather pissed off at the whole affair.
Captain Ed wrote yesterday:
Addendum: The more I think about this, the angrier I get — and not just at Patrick Fitzgerald. Richard Armitage confessed to the DoJ in October 2003, and then sat on his ass for the next three years as the media and the Left play this into a paranoid fantasy of conspiracies and revenge. I know Armitage dislikes Rove, Libby, Cheney, and Bush, but what kind of man sits around while the world accuses people of a "crime" that he himself committed? Armitage did nothing while the nation spent years and millions of dollars chasing a series of red herrings, never speaking out to remove the mystery and end the witch hunt. Even three years later, Armitage hasn't mustered the testicular fortitude to publicly admit that he leaked Plame's identity and status; he has Isikoff and Corn do it for him.
I certainly echo that sentiment, but, I have to say I am really pissed of at Patrick Fitzgerald. Have you noticed that after all this time knowing what Fitz knows, namely that Armitage was the primary source for the release of Plame's name and place of employment, Fitzgerald has not seen fit to charge Armitage with a crime! 2+ years of investigation, and no indictment. So Fitzpatrick apparently knew that Plame was not covered by the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act shortly after he started his investigation, and chose not to indict. Which, as the saying goes, a prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich. Apparently, the case was so weak that Armitage wasn't even taken out of the mud at the time.
But, Fitz spent two years investigating people, besmirtching their names, and throwing people in jail for contempt. Except for Bob Woodward, who kept quiet even to his own editor. Rove, Cheney, Bush, Novak, Libby, etc, had their names slapped up in bold print on front pages for supposedly leaking Plame's name, yet their were all innocent. Just victims of a Left wing hatchet job.
And all the time he knew that no law had been broken, and who the original leaker was. Tha should play very well in court, if Libby's case is not dismissed and actually ends up in front of a jury. Fitzpatrick will be ripped apart by any competent defense lawyer. And deserves to be.
But will that give Libby his good name back?
Now, how about what the wonkaf*ckadoodles at the Huff Puff think feel? David Corn, one of the writers of the book that exposes Armitage, posted over at the Huff Puff, and the wonkers go loony normal. Let's start here:
It doesn't make sense. Why didn't the Bush admin serve up Armitage as the guilty party in all of this when the story broke?
Armitage was Powell's man, and an easy target. Positioning the leak as just reckless gossip would have taken the wind out of the story early. Bush could have used this to look strong and decisive. At the same time it would have made Powell look weak and incompetent. A win-win for Bush.
Why did Bush stonewall this?
You see, it was all Bush's fault. Add some conspiracy in, some neocon and rethug talk, some discussion that the Isikoff and Corn are protecting Rove/Bush/Cheney and/or trying to save them, etc, etc, yada yada loon, lots of deflections, Bush lied about Iraq, yammer yammer.
Liberal World, where 2+2=Roswell aliens at Area 51 stealing our oil.
