The Forgotten Trial of Scooter Libby

Now that the Scooter Libby trial is over, I think it might be time to reflect upon what the impact of the proceedings have had and will have in the future, assuming that there is indeed a future for America. As most of you know, the Real Deal began as a venture covering the outing of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame. This was an event that I incorrectly thought would lead to the downfall of Booshco. I fully expected to cover that event, have a few people look at it and then have the Real Deal disappear forever. As we now know, that is not exactly how it worked out. So, let’s do it.

Libby trial over? What is wrong with you, Cyclone? The jury is just getting the case today and you say it’s over? Well, yes, I do say it is over. Later I will tell you what I believe will happen after the jury completes its deliberations. But first, let’s review what occurred during the trial, and perhaps more importantly, what did not occur.

The Trial

I do not intend to re-hash what every witness testified to, but to paint a brief overall impression of what happened at the star studded trial. If you want to read exactly what happened, every word of the testimony of every witness is available on the “internets.” I would not suggest wasting your time; it is not terribly interesting. Patrick Fitzgerald presented his case in a thorough, professional manner. He brought many witnesses who spoke of learning from Libby that Plame was a CIA operative, all before the actual outing occurred. Perhaps most damaging was the testimony of Cathie Martin, a Libby/Cheney assistant who stated that she told Libby of Plames’ identity and employment status prior to it becoming public knowledge. Mrs. Martin also testified about the White House strategy of allowing “strategic leaks” under the direction of Vice President Cheney. Other White House employees were called, including one who said that Cheney had circles drawn around certain phrases from Wilson’s Op-Ed piece that appeared in the Washington Post and began this fiasco. He said that Cheney was clearly concerned and frequently talked to Libby about how to control the damage that was done by Wilson’s article. Fitzgerald called Tim Russert, from whom Libby claimed to have learned of Plame’s covert position. Russert testified that this wasn’t true, that actually he had never heard of her until he read it in the Robert Novak column where her identity was first publicly revealed. He called Ari Fleischer, who had requested and received immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony. Fleischer said that he was “stunned and scared to death” once he learned of Plame’s status, and that he was concerned that he might be in legal jeopardy because, as the President’s press secretary, he had spoken about it many times from the White House podium. This was done during the routine course of his duties before he realized who Ms. Plame actually was. Judith Miller reluctantly testified that she learned of Plame’s identity from Libby. It is surprising that she was so reluctant with this information since she spent over 80 days in jail and lost her job and what little credibility she had trying to protect what Fitzgerald knew all along. But, someone has to play the role of the martyr, I guess.

Fitzgerald put his case on very convincingly, bringing in just the proper amount of witnesses to weave a web around Libby that he could not possibly escape from. Before he was finished, it became obvious that it would be more difficult to find out who had NOT leaked this information rather than who had. But, that is not what this case is about. It is about Libby’s propensity for not being truthful with the grand jury, and then attempting to cover it up with more lies. Now to the case presented by the defense.



They called very few witnesses. Robert Novak, the person who actually wrote the article revealing Plame’s identity, testified that he learned of her identity from Karl Rove and Richard Armitage, but “couldn’t remember” if he had heard it from Libby or not. Nothing he said was surprising, consider the fact that he has turned into nothing but a shill for the current administration and should not even be honored with the title “journalist.” They called Walter Pincus, an editor at the Washington Post, who said that he learned the information from Fleischer, something that Fleischer had already denied under oath. They also called Bob Woodward, who testified that his source was not Libby but instead Armitage. None of this was new information, but stuff that had been common knowledge for months. So, in simple terms, the defense did not really put up a defense. They did call one person, whose name escapes me at the moment, to say that Libby “has a terrible memory.” They did not call Libby to testify, which led to a tongue lashing from the judge who then refused to allow certain “memory impairment” evidence to be presented in front of the jury. The refusal to allow some of this evidence could come back to haunt the judge on appeal, but it did move the case along and besides, there will be no appeal. Fitzgerald had many rebuttal witnesses lined up and ready to go, all willing to testify to the fact that Libby actually is a brilliant man who rarely, if ever, forgets anything. Calling these people turned out not to be necessary because of the rulings of the judge, so Fitzgerald declined to call any rebuttal witnesses.

That’s pretty much the gist of the happenings at the trial, and it should be a slam dunk conviction for Fitzgerald. We will move on now.

Many months ago I told you that this “outing” of a covert CIA operative would land right at the door of the Vice President. I was wrong, I admit it. Well, partly wrong, anyway. The fact is that it didn’t actually LAND at his door, but it did pass through there on the way to another door. And this door, my friends, is the door of George W. Boosh.

The New Revelation

One new thing came out during all of this, though the jury did not hear it. In reality it shouldn’t matter as it has nothing to do with the charges against him. Libby’s I “knew and then forgot and then remembered I had forgotten or whatever the hell I’m trying to remember or not remember” defense isn’t going to work. The new thing is this. Robert Novak gave a draft of the article to someone who passed it along to Karl Rove three days prior to its publication. And if you believe that Karl Rove had this in his possession in advance and didn’t share it with Boosh, I’ve got some swamp land to sell you. Novak has claimed that, of course, he had no way to know that this third party would pass it on to Rove or anyone else inside the administration. Oh wait, I just found some more swamp land to sell.

Now whether or not this had any impact on the dimwit or his actions is up for argument. But, this does prove that Boosh did have knowledge of the leaking of a covert CIA operatives name before it was published, and that he could have stopped it from happening had he so chosen. And maybe worse than that, he knew exactly where it came from before he spewed his “if I find out that someone in my administration leaked this information they’ll be gone” BS. What does any of this have to do with the Libby trial, you might ask? The answer is absolutely nothing. It does show, however, that our Commander in Chief is a lying scumbag. Like we didn’t know that already. It is too bad that the Mainstream Media is paying little attention to any of this, or if they are, they certainly aren't sharing it with the American people. Someday soon, however, they will be forced to examine this stuff yet again.

What Does Any of This Mean?

Patrick Fitzgerald, when announcing the indictment of Libby, said that what Libby had done was the equivalent of “throwing sand in the face of the umpire” and then asking him to make a call at the plate. He could not pursue the investigation of the leak because Libby obstructed him from doing so by lying to the FBI and to the Grand Jury. As it turns out, this is a perfect analogy and a perfect strategy for Booshco. I can no longer claim that they have screwed up everything they have touched because they are now in position to do the unthinkable, and they planned it flawlessly. They will also pull it off.

Scooter Libby will be convicted of the charges he faces, maybe as early as today. It should take longer to elect a foreman for the jury than it will to get a unanimous guilty vote. Justice, however, will not be served, and I would bet my house on it. Boosh will Pardon Libby before he spends one minute in jail. This is why they did not put on a defense, they knew going in that a Pardon would occur if Libby protected his boss, the Vampire Cheney. If anyone actually believed the pre-trial nonsense that Cheney would testify, well I’ve talked enough about swamp land. First, they would have needed to have night court since being in the sun would undoubtedly cause Cheney to dissolve. Second, Cheney under oath? Get real; it ain’t gonna happen, now or ever. To realize why I am so certain of this, one must go back a ways and look at what happened during Watergate, and look at one of the key players in that debacle.

I’ll begin by stating this. Scooter Libby is no G. Gordon Liddy. If you recall, during the Watergate crimes, the prosecutors jailed the entire lot of co-conspirators and waited for them to break and turn on Nixon. One by one they did so. But not Liddy. This masochistic psychopath went so far as to hold his hand in the flame of a cigarette lighter the entire time he talked to investigators, and as they smelled his scorched skin, he asked again and again if they really thought that sitting in a jail cell would make him turn on his boss, Richard M. Nixon. I guess he proved his point, and he spent upwards of eight years in jail as a result of his faithfulness. To this day he has never spoken in a negative light about Nixon. Scooter Libby does not strike me as that type of person. He doesn’t appear to have the fortitude to sacrifice himself for anyone. In essence, he is a wimp, and would turn on a dime if given the proper incentive. If we look further, we can now begin to see, through him and Booshco, what is really wrong with this country today.

I was in favor of the Pardon of Richard Nixon, though not necessarily for the reasons that Gerald Ford gave for doing so. My thoughts were and still are, with a guy like Nixon, it was a power thing. Jailing him would have done nothing further to damage him than stripping him of power and forcing him to essentially live in isolation for the rest of his life did. For most President’s, power means everything. And for most, the loss of power is proper punishment for whatever crime they participate in. (the current leader is NOT among that group, however) That being said, there is a big difference between the Pardon of Nixon and the upcoming Pardon that will be given to Libby.

You see, Nixon himself was the cancer and had to be removed. He was, and we survived. In the current case, Libby is merely the cancerous lesion and removing him will have no deterring effect on the cancer that is spreading throughout Washington and across America. To stop this spread, you must remove the inside source of the cancer, not just scrape off the top layer. Libby is merely the top layer and is easily expendable, so long as you can keep him quiet. The real cancer lies in Rove, the Vamp and Boosh. Unfortunately, they have won, unless this man and his entire staff are impeached and removed from office. It took that to remove Nixon, a herd of Republicans walking into his office and telling him that it was over. It will take that and maybe more to remove Booshco.

The Ending

Boosh will Pardon Libby, claiming that the real purpose of the special investigation was to find out if anyone broke the law by outing a covert CIA operative. He will say that while he has the utmost respect for Patrick Fitzgerald, he knows Scooter Libby “the man” and knows that he wouldn’t deliberately lie to the FBI, a Grand Jury, or anyone else. Then he will say that since no charges were brought against anyone for the “outing itself,” that Scooter boy should not have to go to jail because of his unfortunate forgetfulness. He’ll say that the pressure of the war was first and foremost on Scooter’s mind, and that all should understand how it would be in such a situation. He’ll say that the whole Wilson affair was minor in comparison to his “war on terror” and that they gave it little thought. The press will dig in, the documents prove otherwise, everyone will be pissed off for a while, but it will eventually be shoved aside. Cheney will remain in his bunker directing the next insane war to cover up the current dirty and failed war; it will be business as usual.

Sorry Kids, but in today’s America, the good guys seldom win.

Cyclone