WH Staffers: "VP's Office Out of Control"

[kpete]

That doesn't mean Libby will be denied a pardon. Former White House aides, who didn't want to be named discussing Bush's strategizing, say they believe the president will ultimately grant him one. Libby may just have to wait, probably until after the '08 election. "The president has absolute authority, and we've seen in the final days of a presidency all bets are off," McClellan says. "But I'd be surprised if he did anything before the legal process has run its course, and there's been a request through formal channels."

That reluctance to bend the rules may stem from a feeling inside the White House that Libby, though loyal and well liked, went too far. Even if Bush is "sad" about Libby's conviction, Libby did lie to the FBI and made the administration look bad. "What you saw was a vice president's office that was out of control," says a former White House staffer who asked not to be named talking about internal discussions. According to trial testimony, White House aides Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer both disclosed the identity of Wilson's wife to reporters. But the way the White House sees it, Rove and Fleischer "went up to the line," the staffer says, "but they didn't cross it. The vice president's office crossed it." Now Bush has to decide how long he'll make Libby wait on the other side.

more at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17552881/site/newsweek/page... /

[Fridays Child]

1. Craaaaack!

Had to happen, sooner or later.

[yourout]

2. "went up to the line," the staffer says, "but they didn't cross it."

They committed treason! How many undercover contacts of Brewster Jennings died because these assholes.

[kpete]

3. my thoughts exactly

when I read that...kp

[bleever]

5. Libby was the firewall.

Now he's the sacrificial lamb that proves their sincerity and devotion to law.

That strategy will also fail.

[Morgana LaFey]

10. wrong line

the one they care about (Bush & Rove and whoever else) is how PUBLIC and how much EXPOSURE there was. Libby was the one who crossed that line.

[Richard Steele]

21. Exactly. The "line" they refer to has nothing to do with the LAW. nm

[yardwork]

14. Michael Isikoff should be ashamed of himself for this article

The tone of this article is disgraceful.

[Amonester]

16. They don't care how many people died. Never did.

Never will.

They only fake feeling "concerned" when the cameras R rolling and "embarrassing" questions R being asked (doesn't happen often enough).

[EVDebs]

18. Ha ! Chalk all over their shoes ..... nt

[lovuian]

4. If they Pardon Libby then they are saying they are part of the

smear and outing on Plame Bush got on TV telling Americans he would fire anybody who was caught doing that

Outrage and now he pardons him

Bush will look like he is part of the crime
not smart on Bush's part

I think Bush & Company will have to look over their shoulders for years to prevent jailtime

I believe Libby is on his own but they will play him for the fool he is and dangle the pardon out there to keep him quiet

[electron_blue]

7. I'm curious - why do you think it matters if it looks as if Bush was part of the crime

What is he afraid of? He's not beholden to anyone. He can pardon Libby and get away with it. I'd like to think he wouldn't "get away with it". You seem to think so - please clue me in. Maybe I'm just way too cynical these days.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

9. "to keep him quiet"...yes. Also the Mrs. who looked mad enough

to spit, and made a remark about "getting 'em." If it wasn't for the fact that Libby knows where a lot of the bodies are buried, I don't think bush would pardon him at all, ever. Junior enjoys watching people suffer.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. Revenge is the focus of Cheney and Bush. This crime allowed them a double dose of it.

The Wilsons and Brewster Jennings.

It's sort of interesting, even though the corporomedia's coverage was fairly muted, a lot of people had a lot of interest. This has allowed me, and I'm sure many others of us, the opportunity to talk about the implications of outing a covert agent who was deeply part of the nuclear proliferation monitoring department of the CIA.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. If we impeach him before the '08 election, he won't be around to

give out pardons like a drunken sailor.

[EVDebs]

19. Impeach Bush AND Cheney and then Pelosi is Mdm. President QED.

[riderinthestorm]

11. So * believes he can bring the OVP to heel by holding out on the pardon for Libby?

(snort!) The OVP isn't "out of control" - they are the ones in control. Give me a fucking break. That anonymous source is desperately trying to spin *'s power and autonomy when it's now obvious to everyone that Shrub is just Cheney's tool.

[OneBlueSky]

12. the entire BushCo administration is out of control . . . we have a rogue government . . .

that makes their own rules in defiance of the Constitution, U.S. law and treaties, and international law -- not to mention widely accepted and long-held American values and ethics (e.g. fairness, the right to privacy, the presumption of innocence, helping the less fortunate, etc.) . . .

when oh when oh when is someone (Congress?) going to do something to stop them??? . . .

[CJCRANE]

13. This is article is wrong on so many levels

I don't know where to start.

[wicket]

15. K & R

[Ganja Ninja]

17. All these pardon stories are nothing but BS.

There's only one angle to this pardon. We all know Bush and Cheney were involved in the Plame outing up to their necks. So it's not "if" Libby gets a pardon. Libby will get a pardon especially if he gets a stiff sentence. Bush and Cheney can't afford to have Libby turn on them. The only way Libby won't get a pardon is if he gets an extremely light sentence. Speculation about anything else is just distraction.

[dunn]

20. If Libby's pardoned, it means any future president can get away with treason or other high crime.

Maybe congress can pass a law.