If Fitzgerald has something to say (and you know all of us on the left are hoping he’ll say it with indictments) he’ll do it on his own time schedule. Meanwhile, the various parties involved will either keep feeding little tidbits to the press or they won’t. Nothing the blogosphere does or says will affect the timing of those leaks.
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July 21, 2005
WB: S is for Slime
Comments
Yes, if there are no indictments, the story dies; but that also gives a free pass to Bush for moving the goalposts on the standards expected of his administration. Unavoidable, I suppose, given that if Fitzgerald does indict, that standard may be shifted again after Bush pardons Unka Karl.
Posted by: ahem | Jul 21 2005 21:54 utc | 1
You’re correct of course. Then again I can’t do anything about what an idiot Ann Coulter is yet it provides mildly amusing banter around the water cooler.
Posted by: steve duncan | Jul 21 2005 22:13 utc | 2
hella lotta work for no indictments. i can’t see him dropping the ball. what was that quote from the roomate? if he can’t prosecute w/ the original charges he finds one that will stick.
Meanwhile, the various parties involved will either keep feeding little tidbits to the press or they won’t. Nothing the blogosphere does or says will affect the timing of those leaks.
are you sure? i think we need to keep the story alive. notice how when the attention was on rove the drip drip of info kept comin in. i want to know more and i’m guessing these tidbits aren’t new, just new to us. there is a ton of information we are clueless about . i want more. at least a story a day. roberts looks like he sleeps in formaldehyde, not exactly boring but it’s much more interesting to follow a story we have a chance of winning. i want blood slime guts stake thru the heart. cheney
Posted by: annie | Jul 21 2005 22:38 utc | 3
Cheney’s already got a stake through his heart. Don’t know how much longer he’ll last. I saw a photo of him taken Wednesday and he looked weak and in pain. That usual smirk of personal pleasure wasn’t there.
Indictments are coming.
Whether we want it or not, timing dictates that the story will be on the back burner until fall. The original thrust is over. This is just as well so it isn’t overdone by the media massacre prematurely. Let it incubate and explode when the time is right. We don’t need to try too hard too keep it alive. It is very much alive as it is now in the system and beyond our control. News is a daily thing and has an extremely short half life. And the malaise, the boredom with the usual stories.. bombings, terror, SC nominations… indicates that there is an underlying suspense waiting to unfold.
I believe patience is the best course. A little bit of quiet so the public can build its energy back up. If any effort in the blogosphere is made, maybe it should be to keep the main story of the lies around the occupation, this administration’s deception in general, on slow simmer. The public has sensed this. The details will take care of themselves.
Posted by: jm | Jul 21 2005 23:19 utc | 4
Note also the recent article by John Dean where he points out that…
Most relevant for Karl Rove’s situation, Court One of Randel’s indictment alleged a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. This is a law that prohibits theft (or conversion for one’s own use) of government records and information for non-governmental purposes. But its broad language covers leaks, and it has now been used to cover just such actions.
Posted by: bc | Jul 21 2005 23:29 utc | 5
I firmly believe that the chance for this particular group’s absolute power grab has come and gone. Everything was working for them at first. Fate seem to conspire. But now it looks like they have lost their grip and the consolidated force is dissipating. That’s why the timing of Fitz’s move is so good. The weakening within and the pressure from without puts them in a less than potent position.
I’ve always thought that their rhythm and timing were piss poor and would do them in eventually. They move too fast, frantically, and with more force than is probably needed.
I take the turtle’s cue. One of the most successful creatures on the planet. Relatively unchanged since ancient times.
Posted by: jm | Jul 21 2005 23:53 utc | 6
Well, no one has pushed this line of reasoning harder than I have. I think the press has been fooling itself all along that they are somehow central to this story. And the Rovians have miscalculated in the sense that they seem to be playing that game as well. And I still believe that obviously the legal game is all in Fitzgerald’s hands and will not be influenced one way or another by the media or the chatter.
However, the public perception that the President’s most trusted political advisor, is a dishonorable thug who would sell out our national security for cheap political advantage appears to be taking hold in middle America. This is evident in the poll numbers that show that Bush is viewed as untrustworthy by a majority of the population now. This dovetails with the disaster in Iraq and gives the public a source for their ire. Someone to blame. Yes we may have supported this clusterfuck, but only because we were lied to by god! And they will not be kind to the liars. We are seeing the creation of something of a group of national fall guys. Even though you could make the case that to a degree the public were willing co-conspirators, and they would have been happy to have been lied to if things would have turned out better with cheap gas as a benefit. Now that it has all gone south, they will want, hell, need to blame someone, and Karl and Scooter, and maybe even George are looking like the ticket.
So, keeping this thing in the public eye is good politics even though it obviously will have no effect on the legal result. It is having an effect on the public perception of the ethics of the Bush administration and that is a good thing.
Posted by: SW | Jul 22 2005 2:05 utc | 7
The Independent pours some cold water. But their conclusion,
“… And so the wheel comes full circle. This tacky, third-rate leak that is starting to scar the President’s second term springs from the great deception executed in his first term, luring the US into a war that 60 per cent of Americans now believe was misconceived. That is the true scandal, which has yet to be properly explained.”
can hardly be contested.
Posted by: bvb09 | Jul 22 2005 2:36 utc | 8
b, the link above and on the main page doesn’t lead to the slime article, they both lead to london, you might want to check them.
uplifting comment @7:53 jm.
hope you’re right.super duper hope
Posted by: annie | Jul 22 2005 2:49 utc | 9
jm said, “They move too fast, frantically, and with more force than is probably needed.”
The reptiles cannot conceive of subtlety, nor practise it, and this failure will cause their downfall.
Posted by: rapt | Jul 22 2005 2:54 utc | 10
BREAKING: Bloomberg Reporting That Rove, Libby May Be Subject To Perjury Charges
Posted by: annie | Jul 22 2005 3:00 utc | 11
The Bushie WH has miscalculated concerning the Plame leak. Sooner or later the lying about the war would catch up, now the Plame case gives everyone a look at who the true traitors are. As I said before, repeat, Rove is a traitor, Rove is a Traitor.
The traitor brush is used against liberals and progressives constantly, it’s time the table turn. Play hardball. And hopefully Fitz will nail Rove bad. Always remember, it isn’t always the crime, it’s the cover up.
Posted by: jdp | Jul 22 2005 4:37 utc | 12
new post up at Billmons —
Kissing the 4th Amendment Goodbye —
http://billmon.org/archives/002049.html
Posted by: ck | Jul 22 2005 4:38 utc | 13
I reckon we need to stop casting alla the players in politics as either heroes or villains eg Leopold 2 (Cheney) as a villain and Fitzgerald as a hero.
No I’m not trying to argue that Leo has a heart of gold. I would suggest though that nice guys don’t normally get picked to be special prosecutors. For all we know Fitzgerald might be going for broke and gathering alla the hard evidence of foul play and deceit he can on the repugs for some completely personal motive The fact that his grand jury has been pretty much leak proof is a bit of a two edged sword. It means that the repugs may not exactly know what is coming down on them but conversely if nothing comes down the rest of the world won’t know whether there really was enough evidence to indict Rove/Leopold/Fleischer.
This in turn means that there is nothing to stop Fitzgerald from parleying his evidence into a position of real power in the civil service or the repug machine. Never underestimate the mendacity of tory lawyers.
Posted by: Debs is dead | Jul 22 2005 5:24 utc | 15
Annie,
I think that’s about all we can really do for the moment… hope. I will never let them steal THAT from me. I can’t see wasting my precious time despairing when I don’t really have a reason too. I’d rather save my suffering for the times when things truly are bad. They will NOT steal my joy.
I’m an optimist, as you can see. If if I were down in some totalitarian shit hole, I would still be optimistic since it is so fundamental to my character and is unrelated to outside events. I used to gauge things accurately and try to be a little realistic, and I’ve found that things usually work out OK. I do admit though, that I might be overly positive about this political outcome. My hope is surely filtering my perception of this reality but I will perservere in my belief that they will fail. I’ve always thought their die was cast. If I’m wrong, I will adjust, but something just doesn’t add up about them. And we were due for a cyclic return to political restriction, so I think it will run its course and go the other way for balance.
Posted by: jm | Jul 22 2005 7:18 utc | 16
I disagree with Billmon on this. It’s not Fitzgerald who is moving this along, but members of the “old” non-pured CIA. That’s where all the stories in the papers these days are coming from.
If Fitzgerald wants to stay alive, he had best prosecute this case. On the other hand, If he does…..
Watch Walter Pinkus, and the other CIA connected journos, to see which way the wind is blowing.
There are definitely some pretty deep currents flowing behind the scenes.
Yep, Fitzgerald is the great unknown, and the lack of leaks gives him a lot of power–to indict, to not indict, or to parlay his evidence into real power as Debsisdead says above. However, Billmon’s point yesterday about the gusher of leaks etc. drying up seems to be premature. Todays front page NY Times & Bloomberg stories about Rove/Libby coordinating the White House position on Niger uranium circa July 2003 and their testimony contradicting reporters accounts fuels the controversy. The London bombings story will die down over the weekend and Rove will remain.
Somebody is still leaking & wants the story alive–whether its the CIA or Colin’s allies, etc. is unknown, but there are deep currents flowing behind the scenes as Malooga says. Can the steady drip of leaks continue & keep the story alive until September/October when Fitzgerald ends his investigation?
Will the boy emperor have his month long vacation interrupted by the continuing Rove unpleasantness? He won’t be happy, and might even throw a tantrum or two if he has to fly back to D.C. to deal with it.
Posted by: lono | Jul 22 2005 15:02 utc | 19
Fitzgerald’s term of service lasts until October, which is also the length of time remaining for the grand jury hearing evidence in the case.
Thus ends the current Bloomberg article. Does it mean that Fitzgerald has to produce his indictments by the end of October?
Posted by: alabama | Jul 22 2005 16:09 utc | 20