Woodward could be boon to Libby

[raysr]

The revelation that The Washington Post's Bob Woodward may have been the first reporter to learn about CIA operative Valerie Plame could provide a boost to the only person indicted in the leak case: I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

-more-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111602147.html

[madrchsod]

1. who does woodie work for---

enough said....

[gordianot]

4. Remeber George did not know anything about wood during the debates.

Bet that goes for Woodie.

[Voltaire99]

30. Like 99.99% of corporate journalists...

His master is the Invisible Hand. ;-)

[MADem]

2. I do not think so--Woodie refuses to part with the name of ONE SOURCE

...and Fitz tosses him in the slammer.

He is in some serious legal jeopardy, himself.

Fitz is working this quite nicely. He has them all at each other's throats!

[raysr]

5. What a POS Woodward

is. Fitz needs to slam that mf'er!

[tulsakatz]

21. I think that's his strategy.........

....divide and conquer!!

Ironically, in much the same way as the Republican party operates!!!

He makes them all sweat it out and hope that they'll all turn on each other to save themselves......

[Duer 157099]

26. Woodward testified already to Fitz and game him the name

It's *us* to whom he won't give it, his source won't release him to tell the public. Wolf even asked his publisher if they can just publish what was said without saying who it was, and they won't do it.

[MADem]

29. And why does not Fitz release it, we wonder? I think that it is because

the Woodward 'source' is a 'cooperating witness' who could easily become an unindicted co-conspirator if he does not walk the line, whose name is kept under seal. I think if it ain't Bush himself, it is Hadley. It is someone who has seen it all, heard it all, knows it all. And someone who can plausibly DENY he did NOT know Plame was covert--someone who was DUPED, by say, CHENEY.

I still want to know the REAL reason why Fitz went to see Monkey's PERSONAL ATTORNEY, James Sharp, right before he indicted Libby.

If it was, as reports say, just to tell him Rove was safe, for NOW, why not do that over the phone????????

[Garbo 2004]

58. Fitz can't legally reveal grand jury testimony or information relating to.

the grand jury's investigation. If witnesses want to talk about their own testimony/interviews with Fitz, there's no legal impediment. But Fitz just can't go to the press and ID Woodward's source. The only substantive info we've gotten from Fitz is in Libby's indictment. That's where he lays out the charges and his case.

As I recall the speculation that Fitz went to Bush's private lawyer to tell him Rove was off the hook likely was from Rove's lawyer and was spin IMO. But it doesn't make sense. One would think that would be White House business and as such the appropriate contact would be the WH Counsel's Office, not Bush's private attorney.

[MADem]

60. No, of course not, but the name would come out if the person was

INDICTED, you see. I don't know why I keep thinking it is Bush, that Cheney told him to drop the name to Woodward, and Bush is claiming that he did not KNOW she was covert (no intent). Bush has been interviewed, as has Cheney, by a special prosecution team...so there has been contact between them. I just wish we could know how MUCH!

And your second point is quite right--it should be a White House lawyer getting that good news, not a personal attorney. The whole thing stinks to high heaven!

[KittyWampus]

3. Nonsense, Woodward is irrelevant to Libby's indictment for perjury.

[tavalon]

9. But could be significant for someone's indictment

for conspiracy. Let's fire up the popcorn.

[Halliburton]

33. that's what I'm thinking

[havocmom]

17. BINGO

Why are so many losing sight of that? Too many falling for the GOP talking points.

Buck up, people. LIBBY LIED. That is why he got indicted. Boo Hoo Bob
is not Scooter's get out of jail free card.

[Bjornsdotter]

23. Exactly

..and that's been my battle cry since my neighbor brought this up. I'm going to be shouting it from the rafters.

Cheers!

[tulsakatz]

25. I'm still hoping for a conspiracy charge.........

....certainly we all know that it's obvious there is a conspiracy in this administration. It's obvious with all of the higher level people in the administration being involved.

The only problem, as far as I can tell, with proving a conspiracy is that Fitz would need evidence that they were all working together to achieve the same goal. It's obvious they were all doing this, the only question is.....can Fitz prove it?

[Halliburton]

34. well we know that karl and scooter were working together

now all he needs is to tie hadley (or whoever woodward's source is) and anyone else to the leak. wasn't hadley receiving updates from rove and libby on the progress of the smear?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. In what way? Scooter still committed perjury, and lied to the GJ....

...Woodward's comments have no bearing on the ACTUAL charges brought against Libby by Fitzgerald.

[Rose Siding]

7. "Libby was not charged with being the first to talk to a reporter"!!!

Wishful headline writer. Even within THIS article:

Randall D. Eliason, former head of the public corruption unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District,said he doubts the Woodward account would have much effect on Libby's case, and dismissed such theories as "defense spin."

"Libby was not charged with being the first to talk to a reporter, and that is not part of the indictment," he said. "Whether or not some other officials were talking to Woodward doesn't really tell us anything about the central issue in Libby's case: What was his state of mind and intent when he was talking to the FBI and testifying in the grand jury?" Eliason added: "What this does suggest, though, is that the investigation is still very active. Hard to see how that is good news for Rove or for anyone else in the prosecutor's cross hairs."

[gardenista]

14. Bingo. Whether or not a headline writer has the power to think critically

through the consequences of Woodward's testimony is the question here.

This is not good news for Libby, and could well be bad news for Cheney, Rove, Fleischer, et al.

[Burried News]

8. That's the plan. NeoCONfusion nt

[elfin]

10. As Olbermann pointed out

Fitz did not say Libby was the FIRST source - but the first KNOWN source -- but ABC and others bought Libby's mouthpiece's spin hook line and stinker.

Libby still lied - time to catch more fish swimming for now happily in the WH fish bowl.

[Me.]

61. Bingo!

The K word, which Libby's lawyers omitted from their yappy spin

[bluestateguy]

11. "it's about perjury and obstruction of justice..."

Gosh, I've been waiting to say that for 7 years.

[sabra]

12. bottom spin is even better, saying this could also be good for Turdblossom

huh?

[still_one]

13. why? libby is under 2 counts of perjury

2 counts of lying to a grand jury, and 1 count of obstruction of justice

It has nothing to do with whether woodward heard about plame from libby or someone else. Libby is NOT being charged with outing a CIA agent

On the other hand it does say that there is a long way to go in this investigation, and that woodward may have been complicit
in a crime

[0007]

15. Cheney is indeed running scared to come up with this little

scam. Isn't it odd that on the same day, we get cheney's little speech defending junior & the crime family and Bob Woodward comes out along with Ted Wells and the rest of the garbage.

[stevedeshazer]

16. So Carol Leonnig and Jim VandeHei got the call from the White House today!

What a difference a day makes!

These guys should know better than to try to turn their original story around from yesterday. I'll bet Andy Card and Karl Rove were furious.

It is ridiculous to assert that Libby will get a "boost" from this. Bullshit.

Let's review the five charges against Mr. Scooter.

*Obstruction of justice

*False statement

*False statement

*Perjury

*Perjury

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf

So what if Woodward learned before other reporters? It DOES NOT change the facts about Libby. He is accused of having lied before a grand jury. Period.

[Supersedeas]

66. Yes, Mr. Rove...we understand you...that's crystal...right away sir, right

[jaysunb]

18. More "misdirection"

Libby was indicted for "lying" not "leaking".......

[OzarkDem]

19. Why is the WP trying to protect treasonous criminals?

Does the news media have no values or ethics?

Seriously, how can they write such transparent crap? Have they completely lost all sense of professionalism?

:banghead:

[occuserpens]

49. Because WPost is dead?

[Kahuna]

20. Good. So now Fitz can put Woodwards butt in jail until he sings.

:grr:

[0007]

59. I'd love it, if Bob was taken to jail....but who did he lie too?

He took it on the Authur Duffy.

[buddysmellgood]

22. Horseshit. He lied. Complaining about Fitz doesn't prove shit.

[peacetalksforall]

24. The right wing is causing us to learn and DU and the blogs are helping

us to know how to spot propaganda and refute lies. Nothing we know about Woodward so far will change the charges against Libby. Don't let the DiGenova's throw us off track. Keep on truckin!

[DrZeeLit]

27. No. He's not charged with the telling. He's charged with LYING.

And that doesn't matter what Woodward knew or when.
Libby made up stories and screwed with the investigation.

Nobody has been charged with the leak.
Yet.

[Duer 157099]

28. Besides, even if Libby were the 10th one to leak

..it's still illegal to release classified info!

Round them all up, every last one, Fitz.

[leesa]

31. How is this a boon to Libby? He still lied. He still outed an undercover

agent.

[Catrina]

32. It's amazing how the press is led around by the nose

each time a perceived, 'powerful' Washington big shot tells them what the story ought to be.

But dumb as they appear to be, I would have thought that at least one of them would have said 'BS, Libby's case has nothing to do with who else talked to the press or when!!

Our press reminds me of bad parents, who allow their kids to call the shots and whose kids turn out to be brats everyone else wants nothing to do with, because they are badly in need of discipline.

The Bush administration are like spoiled brats whose parents never question their bad behavior.

Fitzgerald covered all eventualities in his press conference and the word 'known WH official shows that he was not falling into any trap of assuming Libby was the first. Thank you Keith Olbermann for doing your homework!

Woodward's testimony is no boon to Libby, other than to allow his lawyers to try to spin the story for the public, and to try to influence a future jury should they ever go to trial.

[Lex]

35. It is a freakin' disgrace that the press NEVER questions the spin.

They just spew out exactly whatever the GOP blastfax or email says.

:grr:

[Pirate Smile]

36. NYT: New Disclosure Could Prolong Inquiry on Leak

By TODD S. PURDUM
Published: November 17, 2005
This article was reported by Todd S. Purdum, David Johnston and Douglas Jehl and written by Mr. Purdum.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 - The disclosure that a current or former Bush administration official told Bob Woodward of The Washington Post more than two years ago that the wife of a prominent administration critic worked for the C.I.A. threatened Wednesday to prolong a politically damaging leak investigation that the White House had hoped would soon be contained.

The revelation left the special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, grappling with an unexpected new twist - one that he had not uncovered in an exhaustive inquiry - and gave lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff and the only official charged with a crime, fresh evidence to support his defense.

Mr. Woodward's account of his surprise testimony to Mr. Fitzgerald - reported by The Post in Wednesday's issue and elaborated on in a first-person statement - now makes it apparent that he was the first journalist known to have learned the C.I.A. identity of Valerie Wilson, whose husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, has sharply criticized the administration's rationale for war with Iraq.

He says that he was told in mid-June 2003 that Ms. Wilson worked as a C.I.A. weapons analyst, by an official who made an offhand reference that did not appear to indicate her identity was classified or sensitive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/17/national/17leak.html

[Pirate Smile]

37. more

Vice President Cheney did not join the parade of denials. A spokeswoman said he would have no comment on an ongoing investigation. Several other officials could not be reached for comment.

-snip-
The latest revelation left Mr. Woodward, an assistant managing editor at The Post who operates with extraordinary latitude to produce best-selling books detailing the inner workings of the highest levels of government, in an unusual - and unusually uncomfortable role.

-snip-
It was not clear just what had prompted Mr. Woodward's original source to go to Mr. Fitzgerald, or whether that source had previously testified in the case. But Mr. Woodward was said to have begun making inquiries about the case before Mr. Libby's indictment, which may have been the catalyst.

If there are inconsistencies between Mr. Woodward's account and the earlier account by his source, Mr. Fitzgerald could be obliged to explore new legal implications."

[napi21]

38. The one positive note with this is that this investigation will

be continuing until the 06 elections! Don't ya just know the Pubs are thrilled about THAT!

[Pirate Smile]

39. It won't make Fitz happy to see how much the sand they kicked in

his eyes has blocked his view.

If anything, he should be more pissed at this WH.

[central scrutinizer]

40. could be the trifecta for 06

continuing investigations of the White House, Tom Delay, and Bill Frist with daily leaks, denials, and developments to keep people interested. Unless another blond teenager goes missing somewhere in the world or Jennifer and Brad patch things up - you know, something really important.

[Virginian]

52. Only if Dems will run against incumbents.

There are a lot of Republican imcumbents in both houses who are running unopposed. Someone needs to step up and challenge these guys.

[rocktivity]

65. DING DING DING! Virginian, you're our grand prize winner!

There are a lot of Republican imcumbents in both houses who are running unopposed. Someone needs to step up and challenge these guys.
And NOT just Democrats! A crop of gung-ho moderate Repubs ready to scare those imcumbents into distancing themselves from Bush would also go a long way--long enough, perhaps, to get an impeachment vote going?

:headbang:
rocknation

[lumpy]

41. Conjecture?

"The revelation left the special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald grappling (?) with an unexpected new twist- one that he had not uncovered in an exhaustive inquiry". I believe Mr. Fitzgerad has probably left no stone unturned. Like to know where these writers got this info. regarding what the prosecutor knows or doesn't know.

[creeksneakers2]

42. Between the lines?

After reading this, it sounds to me that the information about the leak to Woodward came to Fitz from Libby and his lawyers. The article says Libby's lawyers want reporters who were not previously named questioned. If that's true, it likely means that Libby knows about even more leaks. Libby's information could reveal more perjurers at the top.

[Halliburton]

43. why the hell is Anne Kornblut contributing to this article

she should be kept off this case due to her lack of objectivity.

[cantstandbush]

44. Anybody who works for the CIA is "sensitive."

And almost all of their work is too.

[HootieMcBoob]

46. This is the important part of the story

it seems like it's more likely to open up a whole new can of worms. How the Post could come up with it being a positive for Libby is just weird. Does it matter really who got the info first?

[Wordie]

45. The spin machine in action, once again. n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

47. WaPo 1875 - 2005 RIP

Death ruled suicide by stenography. Last of the US national 'print media' to avoid this fate, the Washington Post took its own life, destroying any credibility it had left, on Wednesday November 16, 2005.

[NYC]

54. Sad, but true.

[occuserpens]

48. Who cares about logic?

Logically, the fact that Woodward got secret info before and not from Libby should not help Libby in the least. But who cares about logic when GWOT is involved?

[Warren Stupidity]

50. In fact it is evidence of a conspiracy. Duh.

[occuserpens]

51. Yes, WPost is 96% GOP-compliant.

What else is new?

[moondust]

53. Woodward confirms one thing.

It was a conspiracy: More than one WH official leaking the same damaging information to more than one member of the press on more than one occasion. (Spread it around enough and it becomes "common knowledge" that somebody will inevitably leak inadvertently if not intentionally.)

Scooter is covering it up with ongoing lies, knowing he will eventually get a pardon.

[Virginian]

55. It's the beginning of the attacks on Fitz by Bushco.

Already he is being misquoted. He said that Scooter was the first person KNOWN to leak to the press.

Spin is that Fitz said Libby was first person to leak to press. Now that Woodward has shown his hand, we find that he was the first person so that clears Libby of his obstruction of justice charge, right? It doesn't? Why not? :sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

56. Fitzgerald said that Libby was the first "KNOWN" Plame leaker

The word "known" was omitted by Libby's defenders today, including his lawyer. Those of you that watch Keith Olbermann's show on MSNBC are well aware that the spin meisters have deliberately mischaracterized Fitzgerald's comments at his press conference.

It is interesting to see how many puppets the White House has in the press corps!

[Jim__]

63. Fitz is no dummy.

He chose his words carefully. Libby's lawyers arenow choosing their words carelessly. Libby might want to re-think his choice of lawyers.

[MidwestTransplant]

57. The ONLY way this helps Libby is if Woodward tells Fitz that he told

Libby about Plame and that would have to be before Cheney knew and shared with Libby, which is totally unlikely.

[Vinca]

62. Libby was indicted for lying . . . that hasn't changed.

His lawyer is spinning Woodward, but beneath the show for the cameras, a lie is still a lie. Libby is in no better shape today than he was a week ago.

[shawn703]

64. Can someone explain to me how Woodward helps Libby?

As far as I can remember, Libby is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, not leaking the information to Woodward or any other reporter. How does this help his case, since it does not contradict the prosecution's claims that Libby lied to and misled federal investigators? If this is brought up in court, couldn't Fitzgerald just object on the basis of relevance?

:crazy:

[redqueen]

67. SPIN, SPIN, SPIN!

He still lied. This doesn't help squat.

Wonder why the media has that BS claim on full blast... hmmm....

[PATRICK]

68. That was my first impression

and it is possible if they win the battles the old Rove way of playing one crime against another so that they not only disappear but magically exonerate and boost the felons. Mainly this is all aiming to making a smokescreen and delaying to maintain the cover up until pardon time.

The usual exquisite timing scenario that has been in operation for Bushco might lead one to wager that Cheney will just start bubbling up on the radar(again to our cheers and expectations) but survive direct attack until the 2008 elections are over and then the pardons charge to the rescue.