Reply #24: There are several avenues for continued investigation: 1) the current

[Peace Patriot]

grand jury still sitting, extending the term of the current grand jury (which Fitz did with the first grand jury), and a third grand jury when this second grand jury's term ends (not sure when), and 2) the Libby perjury/obstruction trial, which would include pre-trial depositions, fine-tooth comb pourings over GJ testimony, calling witnesses (both sides), examination of witnesses under oath--which could well include at least Cheney (Cheney written evidence has already been introduced)--additional evidence, and further investigations prompted by the trial.

This trial is about White House obstruction of Fitz's investigation, and there pretty clearly was a conspiracy to do so. Then there is the main crime, and conspiracy to commit the main crime: not just outing Plame (on July 14, 2003) but ADDITIONALLY outing Brewster-Jennings, the entire CIA WMD network (on July 22, 2003, also by Novak). This is a a VERY SERIOUS CRIME, conceivably a hanging offense. It is no surprise that the Bushites have been conspiring about it, and obstructing investigation of it, from the very beginning, indeed, from well before the crime was committed. (The Libby filings show that they had a strategy, devised before the outing, of "seeding" Plame's identity around town, with reporters and others, so they could claim that "everybody knew." Fitz penetrated the conspiracy to that extent, and has exposed that strategy.)

Much as we despise Rove, the evidence so far (the visible evidence) points to him as a relatively minor (if willing) player in this plot, even a patsy. I've thought that Libby or someone acting for Libby probably dis-informed Rove on the legality of revealing Plame's identity, and let him run with it as a political action, a dirty trick. (There is a story in Wilson's book of a dustup between Libby and Rove, early on, along these lines.) Rove was a second in command, like Libby, running a dirty rotten political plot to silence Wilson. But what was BEHIND this plot? Who had the power and the deeper motives to destroy our counter-proliferation network? (I have never believed the story that Wilson was the prime target. The prime target or targets may not even have been American--but people buried in this worldwide network--our eyes and ears on illicit WMD movements--who discovered something, or stopped something, illicit that the Bushites were doing.) (Trying to PLANT nukes in Iraq, and/or Iran?)

Anyway, Fitzgerald may never be able to nail Cheney (or, if he does, the "aspens" may "sacrifice" Cheney to retain power, or, rather, to create a plausible narrative of the people's Diebolded votes, in '06 or '08), and nailing Rumsfeld seems an even more remote possibility (I call him "the Lurker"), but that doesn't mean that Fitzgerald has or will give up on exposing this national security crime. If nothing else, he can issue a grand jury report naming "unindicted co-conspirators." There is simply no question that the Bushites have tried to stop him, and they will no doubt continue trying to do so. But I don't think there is sufficient evidence to conclude that they have succeeded, and there is much evidence to indicate that they have not. A Libby pardon, though--now being bandied about (in Newsday, I understand) would be a clear signal that we have lost any "balance of powers" between the law and the Bush junta.

Our job: Join with others to throw Diebold, ES&S and all election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW! Election reform at the state/local level is our best chance to save our democracy. The Bush junta's power is not primarily a matter of convincing anybody, and never has been. It is a matter of POWER. And until we get back the power of TRANSPARENT elections--which is still a doable thing--we are without our main mechanism for holding our government accountable. Fitzgerald can't fix this. Only, we, the people, can fix it. It is a MUST DO.