Scooter Libby Verdicts

[MichaelC]

From MSNBC

quote:Libby faced two counts of perjury, two counts of lying to the FBI and one count of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors said he discussed Plame's name with reporters and, fearing prosecution, made up a story to make those discussions seem innocuous.

Key to several charges were Libby's recollections of conversations he had with Tim Russert of NBC's "Meet the Press" and former Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper.

Following are the individual charges and their corresponding verdicts:

   * Obstruction of justice: GUILTY
   * False statements to FBI investigators (Russert conversation): GUILTY
   * False statement to FBI investigators (Cooper conversation): NOT GUILTY
   * Perjury to the grand jury (Russert conversation): GUILTY
   * Perjury to the grand jury (Cooper conversation): GUILTY

[Conan71]

I don't think anyone will be particularly shocked by the verdict.

[rwarn17588]

Especially when you've got one of the best prosecutors in the nation after you.

Libby got thrown under the bus to protect his boss.

[Chicken Little]

This makes it official...the Bush Administration lies.

[Conan71]

No, it means someone in the Bush administration was convicted for lying.

[grahambino]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

No, it means someone in the Bush administration was convicted for lying.

"someone"...that's rich...you make it sound like its a intern or page.

that "someone" was the veep's chief of staff.
spin much?

[sgrizzle]

Just means members of bush's staff are liars. Just like every other president's staff.

[Chicken Little]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

No, it means someone in the Bush administration was convicted for lying.

Yeah, that's what I said.

[MichaelC]

IMO, it also points towards how much this administration really really really wanted to go to war.  "Evidence be damned, it's go time."

[Conan71]

This is a bone for those who are still pissed that Clinton was impeached for perjury.

It was a minion in the administration who was caught lying, not the leader of it.

The actual damage done by Libby's actions are about as innocuous as what Clinton lied about.  Yes, Plame had NOC status at the time, but nowhere has it come out that this was a blow to national security.

Ostensibly, the outing of Plame didn't actually break any laws, Libby should have just told the truth.

[MichaelC]

I don't know that this has much to do with Bush himself, other than the idea that the President should take responsibility for his administration's actions, know what's going on in the administration, and act accordingly.  

But, it's been a long time since I was under the impression that Bush is actually a "leader" of the Administration.  Most of the time, he seems like more of a "talking head".  His Administration more or less seems to run itself.

[Chicken Little]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

This is a bone for those who are still pissed that Clinton was impeached for perjury.

It was a minion in the administration who was caught lying, not the leader of it.

The actual damage done by Libby's actions are about as innocuous as what Clinton lied about.  Yes, Plame had NOC status at the time, but nowhere has it come out that this was a blow to national security.

Ostensibly, the outing of Plame didn't actually break any laws, Libby should have just told the truth.

Your assertion would be laughable if so many hadn't died because of these lies.

I suspect that Scooter lied to protect his boss, VP Cheney.  Somebody (Cheney, Rove, someone else...all of them?), invented a story about Plame "planting" Wilson on a CIA investigative trip to Niger in order to discredit the investigation.  That same somebody also "outed" a CIA agent (Plame) in the telling of that story.  Scooter lied to the FBI and a grand jury to protect that somebody.

It was a lie covering another lie.  Wilson couldn't find evidence of an Iraq/Niger uranium deal because the Italian intelligence for this claim was itself fabricated.  Nevertheless, this lie found its way into a State of the Union speech by the President (the "16 words") and became a cornerstone of the "hyped" intelligence that led us to war in Iraq.

So, let's tally.  Scooter lied to protect Cheney's (or somebody else's) lie to protect a third lie that the President, knowingly or not, used to lead us to war.

That's no BJ, man.

The Bush Administration lies.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

I remember someone else lying to a grand jury, investigators, and the American people and never going to prison for it.  

I dont care if he was 'sacrificed' or however you want to word it, the jury convicted him of obstructing the process he was sworn to uphold and he has -whatever they chose to give him- comin' to him.

quote:No new taxes.

quote:It is a priority to see our boys home, from Vietnam

quote:I am not a crook.

quote:I will only serve a single term

Hell, we could have a terrific list of bold face lies to the public.  But other than our good friend scooter and Slick Willy, I cant think of a politician that lied to a grand jury and got caught.  Wonder why only one is going to prison?

[rwarn17588]

<Conan wrote:

The actual damage done by Libby's actions are about as innocuous as what Clinton lied about. Yes, Plame had NOC status at the time, but nowhere has it come out that this was a blow to national security.

<end clip>

Plame's outing wasn't innocuous. It messed up the CIA's Nonproliferation Division, which is designed to keep rogue countries from getting weapons of mass destruction.

Those rogue countries, by the way, include Iran.

But apparently Conan apparently doesn't give a rip of whether rogue nations get nukes. Comparing the outing of a CIA agent in a WMD division to covering up a blowjob is insulting to the intelligence.

[Chicken Little]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Wonder why only one is going to prison?

Clinton was acquitted by the Senate...Scooter's conviction may yet be tossed by a higher court (less likely)...or he may be pardoned by the President (more likely).