What If Dick and Bush Are Jeffress’ Pen Pals?

/in /by

  1. albert fall says:

    â€Tony, why does the President support treason?â€

    â€Does the president think support of treason is a good policy, or is this just a specific case?â€

  2. desertwind says:

    Q You don’t know whether the President –

    MR. SNOW: No, no, I really don’t.

    Any time Mr. Snow says â€really†he’s lying. Really.

  3. merciless says:

    marcy, forgive my forgetfulness, but I just don’t remember. What is the maximum Scoot could get, and what is Fitz pushing for?

  4. P J Evans says:

    Tony is the press secretary, yes? Why doesn’t he know, given that this is a pretty obvious subject for questions?Shouldn’t it be a major part of his job to know the answers to the questions likely to be asked, rather than him just punting madly?

  5. Anonymous says:

    merciless:

    Team Libby is asking for probation plus community service, Team USA is asking for 37 months, the PSR suggested 15-21 months, plus offered some reasons for downward departure, Jeralyn thinks 10 months, half served at home.

  6. Sally says:

    They quarantine other people who risk lives yet give themselves medals and attaboys for much, much worse things.

  7. merciless says:

    Thanks, marcy. My wish is that he could spend it in the Supermax in Colorado, but I won’t get greedy…

  8. looseheadprop says:

    Going out on a limb here with a toally uninfomred guess.

    30 months. not that he will serve all that. 10 months minimum served.

  9. Frank Probst says:

    I have to say that I disagree with you a little on this point. Dick Cheney and George W Bush were Scooter’s bosses. If you’re looking for letters of support, it seems like your bosses are some of the people you’d want to write them. There’s a good argument to be made that the Vice-President and President of the United States, if they had even a shred of moral fiber, would see that there’s a conflict-of-interest in writing such letters, but we’re not talking about moral men here. We’re talking about one man who shot somone in the face and then fled the scene before being interviewed by police, and another man who has probably never even read the Constitution that he so frequently runs rough-shod over. So the possibility that they may have written letters in support of Libby doesn’t even raise my eyebrows.

    But here’s a different perspective: If you were Libby, would you even WANT letters of support from Dick and George? Fitz has all but accused Libby of covering for Dick, and Fitz has consistently quoted George W Bush when he writes about the importance of this case. Yes, George W Bush was the man who appointed Walton in the first place, but any letter from Dick or George would absolutely reek of hypocrisy. And Walton’s blunt order stating that the letters will be released more or less says that, if there ARE letters from Dick or George, they’re going to be treated with the head-shaking that they so richly deserve.

  10. Ishmael says:

    When I think about Bushco, even after all these years I still ruin my analysis by thinking, â€No, even they wouldn’t do that!†I never would have thought it possible, but I now see the possibility of an immediate pardon for Scooter. Perhaps we’re all too deep into the weeds here, but the cumulative effect of everything is starting to worry me. Like EW’s analysis of the talking points that were distributed in the sentencing memo, and the descriptions of the letter writers as a cross section of American society from the highest civilian and military leaders to the lowliest admin assistant, and now Snowjob with a non-denial-denial – there would be no other reason for W and Big Time to write letters to Judge Walton other than to lay the groundwork for a pardon (and I agree EW, the prospect of the POTUS and VPOTUS involving themselves in a sentencing is appalling). In addition to Snowjob, I noted in a previous thread that it sure sounds like the â€former civilian military leader†is former Defence Secretary Dick Cheney. I think that they are going to try and brazen it out with a pardon, and damn the politics it would also send a comforting message to all the other people they need to keep the firewalls standing.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Frank

    I’m not sure. Given how much the White House has said â€we won’t comment on an ongoing investigation,†I would think they’ll be immediately tarred as utter hypocrites. But that would assume we’ve got a media worth its salt.

  12. AZ Matt says:

    Would the Prez and VP write letters? I think not because they have to know there was a chance they would be released. If you were the legal council for these guys what advice would you give them concerning submitting letters? I think it would be no.

  13. Mimikatz says:

    Fred Fielding is WH Counsel, and he lived through Watergate. They’s have to be nuts to write letters for Scooter.

    OTOH, there is some evidence that â€nuts†is precisely the word that applies here.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Ishmael

    I think that civil defense leader is much more likely Wolfowitz. He was Libby’s direct supevisor when the wall fell, and boasting of bringing Democracy to E Europe is more Wolfie’s style than Cheney’s.

  16. hauksdottir says:

    Cheney was willing to hand write a note ordering Scottie to exonerate Libby the same way he’d exonerated Rove, even though both men were guilty of violating their security agreements and should have been out on the sidewalk with pink slips pasted on their butts. He doesn’t feel the need to follow any laws or strictures, setting up his own parallel government outside the bounds of the Constitutionally-defined administration. He also feels no shame or sense of morality.

    Libby is desperate to stay out of prison (maybe he remembers that scene with the bear in his own novel). I expect that he asked Cheney to write on his behalf.

    Whether Cheney did so is an interesting question. He wouldn’t want to expose himself to scrutiny… however, he must be aware that Abramoff not only shortened his jail time by cooperating with the FBI but was moved to do so by the lack of loyalty. Does Libby have sensitive feelings?

    Cheney would balance the risks. Public opinion is of no account; the law is of no account. The only factors in this equation are the exposure due to Libby talking versus the exposure of further aiding the obstruction of justice.

  17. Sara says:

    Right now I am sorry I didn’t take the opportunity to write a letter in the voice of Barney, demanding maximum crate time for ole scoots. You know the indictments that could be laid — not watching where you are walking, and walking on me, failure to deliver cookies on demand, asking for attention to some matter when it is time for MY walk.

  18. litigatormom says:

    Why did Scooter and Turdblossom talk to reporters about Plame, and then lie about it? Because they never thought they’d get caught.

    But I don’t know why the letter writers’ would have assumed that their identities would not be revealed. Such letters usually do become public knowledge. Perhaps Abu G told Dubya and Dick that their letters were subject to executive privilege? I know that sounds stupid, but there is plenty of evidence that they are that stupid.

  19. litigatormom says:

    Why did Scooter and Turdblossom talk to reporters about Plame, and then lie about it? Because they never thought they’d get caught.

    But I don’t know why the letter writers’ would have assumed that their identities would not be revealed. Such letters usually do become public knowledge. Perhaps Abu G told Dubya and Dick that their letters were subject to executive privilege? I know that sounds stupid, but there is plenty of evidence that they are that stupid.

  20. emptywheel says:

    Part of me wonders, l-mom, whether no one had a problem at first, but since the time they first sent the letters (in April) and now, someone has regretted the letter. Two likely candidates are Wolfowitz (he’s looking for a job now!) and Thompson.

  22. morinao says:

    I don’t think Wolfowitz would regret his letter; since the neocons are his best prospect for a new job, presumably he’d want to signal his continued loyalty with a public endorsement of Libby. Also, I assume Libby’s lawyers were the first to hear from people who wanted their letters kept private, so they would have been careful in their brief to mask the identities of anyone who had a problem (e.g. substitute â€former administration official†for â€former civilian military leaderâ€, or â€four-star general†for â€former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffâ€).