Fitzgerald

The internets are about to blow up, I'm sure, as the Patrick Fitzgerald press conference has just ended.  I'll leave the legal ramifications to those more qualified, but my one over-riding thought is simply this: He has more.

Though Fitzgerald was reserved and succinct, it was clear that he felt these crimes were important.  It wasn't so much that he didn't think the crime of leaking a CIA agent's name occurred, it's that he doesn't know because of Libby's obstruction and perjury.

About Fitzgerald, his endearing nervousness mixed with just the right degree of toughness was refreshing.  After this presser, it is going to be difficult for the "overzealous prosecutor on a partisan witch-hunt" meme isn't going to fly.  This is a guy who is doing the job he was asked to do, and is doing it with professionalism.

One thing that became clear to me was that Tim Russert had a much larger role in this, if only that his testimony was partially responsible for getting the perjury rolling.  Tim Russert, today, spoke on the air that he told the Grand Jury that he and Libby never spoke about Wilson's.  This, apparently, directly contradicted Libby's own initial testimony that he found out about Wilson's wife from Russert.

Secondly, Ari Fleisher appears to have testified that he found out, from Libby, about Wilson's wife.  Unfortunately, it appears to have been days before Libby testified that he found out from Russert.

The crimes that Libby has been indicted on (2 counts of perjury, 2 counts of false statements, 1 case of obstruction) are incredibly stupid.  It's yet another indication that, in national politics, you can often get away with the crime but you can rarely get away with the cover-up.

Chris Matthews asked an interesting question just before the Fitzgerald press conference began:

I wanna know a couple of things from the special prosecutor.  One is, I'd like to know why he was able to convince Judge Hogan that he should put a reporter, a top reporter, Judy Miller, in prison.  What was so important to this case: Catching Scooter Libby for Obstruction?

Chris meant this, I think, as an indication that there wasn't much of a case there on the leak charge, but I think it's an important one to think about from the other perspective.  Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but Libby's lies underscore the fact that a cover-up was in full swing, and if there was a cover-up to this degree, what were they covering up?

 

Comments

[eRobin]

I don't think Tweety understands the implications of anything he comments on and only about half of what he says.

I was watching MSNBC at that moment too. Fitzgerald came on before Tweety's question could be answered by any of the Hardball guests. His opening statement though, the one that emphasized the gravity of the charges and put the indictment in context, answer Tweety's question for him. Of course after the press conference, Matthews still acted like he was confused.