Inventory of the Scooter Libby Letters
/in emptywheel /by emptywheelI’ve read them, all of them. (Big PDF Part One; Big PDF Part Two; Excel file of all the letters)
What a depressing way to spend a weekend day. You see, I believe all those people when they describe how loving Libby is with his kids. And I believe all those people who describe what a great mentor Libby has been to young professionals. But there’s no denying that Libby threw all that away, presumably out of a warped sense of duty. I’m reminded of the two pieces Libby’s childhood friend Nick Bromell has written about him, particularly when he describes,
I want to insist that Scooter’s respect for power is not just a front for cold self-interest. At bottom, there’s a kind of innocence about Scooter. He has submitted to masters like Paul Wolfowitz and Cheney because he respects them, just as a Zen novitiate submits to a meditation master or a young violinist reveres the prodigious talent of her teacher.
Because in the end, these letters make complete sense. They paint a rich portrait of Libby’s commitment to duty and loyalty. And that, of course, is what got him into trouble.
I’ll have one or three posts on individual letters today or tomorrow. But for now, I thought I’d provide my rough inventory of who wrote letters.
Total letters: 196
Letters favoring a harsh sentence: 25
Letters favoring a lenient sentence: 171
Letters from obvious Neocons: 34
Letters from OVP affiliates*: 49
Letters from former Dechert colleagues: 15
I didn’t count the number of those whose kids were friends with Libby’s kids, those who play football with Libby, or plain old neighbors. Those were the good letters, the ones that read true, but they’re also the ones, as such, that deserve some privacy.
*For OVP affiliates, I counted anyone who described working for OVP during Libby’s tenure there, whether or not that person is still there. This may have been work directly in OVP or in a service position (such as Secret Service detail) that worked exclusively for OVP. It may have also involved working in NSC in a close role with OVP or being–like John Bolton–the sleeper agent for Cheney in some other agency. In addition, I counted those whose sole tie to Libby comes through an OVP affiliate. For example, I counted Jenny Mayfield, her sister, her father, her father’s partner, and her fiance as OVP affiliates, since their sole tie to Libby is through Mayfield’s work as Libby’s Assistant (in which position, she stamped incriminating documents with the improper stamp “Treated as Top Secret/SCI”). Both Jenny Mayfield and her sister (who worked for Lynne Cheney briefly) have moved on to new jobs.
If you use the Excel files, please let me know of errors–it was a quick first pass so I don’t guarantee its accuracy.
On Fouad’s Fallen Soldier
/in emptywheel /by emptywheelI promise, I’m going to start looking at the Libby letters in earnest tomorrow, and hopefully continue my series on the week of June 9, 2003. I have to wait until tomorrow, though, bc I’ve got key documents on my desktop, and all the batteries for the keyboard and the mouse crapped out at once (and mr. emptywheel has expressly forbidden me from using any but rechargeable batteries for them anymore).
But for now, I want to look at Fouad Ajami’s absurd piece in the WSJ.
All that has been said about the piece–not least, it’s insult to real soldiers, particularly those who have fallen in Ajami’s and Libby’s war–is absolutely right. But I’d like to say something slightly different.
I appreciate Ajami’s piece or its naked honesty. Ajami portrays this fight–the fight for Libby’s pardon–to be a key battle in the larger bureaucratic fight to be able to go to war.
Some Schlozman Details
/in emptywheel /by emptywheelI haven’t found a transcript online, but here are some details from the Schlozman hearing that–at least according to my notes–are significant and underreported.
The ACORN Investigation Is/Is Not National
You’ll recall that Brad Schlozman indicted 4 former ACORN workers (one of whose name he got wrong) for submitting fraudulent voter reg information. Well, he strongly suggested that the indictments were not part of a national investigation (a few Senators hammered him on this point–suggesting that, since the investigation was not national, it shouldn’t have been filed before the election). But, at the same time, Schlozman indicated over and over again that the investigation is national.
There needs to be follow-up on this. Did Schlozman and some other flunkies dream up a national campaign against ACORN based on the 4 flimsy indictments in MO?
Schlozman Was Personally Monitoring DOJ Emails
In a discussion about a case being investigated by Office of Public Responsibility, Schlozman admitted he had given himself the ability to monitor Department emails.
Apparently, OPR was investigating a Department employee who had contacted someone DOJ was suing and offered to defend him (I think the implication is the DOJ employee would quit and then defend the defendant). "At the direction of OPR," Schlozman started monitoring emails … not just of that employee, apparently, but of the departments’ employees. Leahy asked Schlozman how he came to be directed by OPR to start reading Department employees’ emails. But I don’t think Schlozman ever provided a real answer.