Give be a break, two Bush I and Reagan lawyers, David Rivkin and Lee Casey, argue for the end of the Special Prosecutor. In there eyes, he was set to prosecute a crime, didn’t find the crime and should have stopped, but instead because he’s a special prosecutor had to prosecute something. Their position here is totally bankrupt and based only on a shill defense, for something they very well know is an appropriate use of power.

It is clear that, at least by sometime in January 2004 — and probably much earlier — Fitzgerald knew this law had not been violated. Plame was not a “covert” agent but a bureaucrat working at CIA headquarters. Instead of closing shop, however, Fitzgerald sought an expansion of his mandate and has now charged offenses that grew entirely out of the investigation itself. In other words, there was no crime when the investigation started, only, allegedly, after it finished. Unfortunately, for special counsels, as under the code of the samurai, once the sword is drawn it must taste blood.

Not a covert agent? That’s not fact, that’s disputed, the reason the indictment doesn’t include that is because it requires so many levels, knowingly did this and that, in order to prosecute. And most importantly, if it weren’t for the perjury and obstruction of justice Fitzgerald would have been able to indict on that crime, as he said in the press conference.

Also, another part to take issue with is they’re continuing the lie that Wilson was asked by Cheney’s office to make this investigation, as has been said many times, the inquiry came from the Vice President’s Office to the CIA, who then tapped Wilson for the job, and not a bad pick considering his experience with Iraq and Africa.

Finally though, as much as the GOP is going to try to spin this away, deep down inside they know what every person inside the beltway knows, you can’t change the subject on indictments in the White House. I would go so far as to say that Fitzgerald has showed the American people what an effective, honest, and accomplished special counsel can do, get to the bottom of what happened, prosecute the crimes, and not turn it into a book or make press statements every day. Fitzgerald is treating this in the most professional of matters, showing true respect for the Majesty of Law, he should be commended, and any special counsels to follow should take to his example.

This morning it be came clear that Official A, repeated throughout the indictment, is Karl Rove. This just furthers my speculation, what did Karl Rove do or say to not be named directly in the indictment? Or as Fitzgerald said at the Press Conference he refused to comment on Rove, becuase of ongoing investigations, perhaps he wasn’t named directly for the same purpose.

Over at TPM, Josh notes directly from the indictment that they knew Valerie Plame was undercover.

On or about June 12, 2003, LIBBY was advised by the Vice President of the United States that Wilson’s wife worked at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Counterproliferation Divison. LIBBY understood that the Vice President had learned this information from the CIA.

That’s important if one knows what the CPD does:

This is a crucial piece of information. The Counterproliferation Division (CPD) is part of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, i.e., not the Directorate of Intelligence, the branch of the CIA where ‘analysts’ come from, but the DO, where the spies, the ‘operatives’, come from.

Both men, know what this means, and know it means she comes from the department of the CIA that provides spies. So why no indictment? During the Press Conference I heard loud and clear that the reason they can’t indict on that crime was because of perjury and because of obstruction of justice, that is also why Fitzgerald remarked to re-empaneling the Grand Jury if necessary, and must be hoping to work a deal to get more evidence.

Interesting point that was just made while watching the television, Rove made a fourth apperance in front of the Grand Jury on his own accord. Apparently if you return to the Grand Jury to clear up mis-statements made under oath, it becomes an affirmative defense against perjury, perhaps explaining why Rove is not being charged.

Well early predictions that there would be five indictments have proven correct. While Rove was not indicted, Libby has been indicted on five counts. As we posted earlier this week the White House has already began its plan to minimize damage to a White House that is already in a deep rut. Immediately after being given word of the indictments Libby resigned.

Let’s not forget though, these are serious crimes, the Chief of Staff to the Vice President, the place where the plans for the Iraq War were by and large conceived, lied to federal agents, lied to the grand jury, and lied under oath. Republicans may be quick to cry pay-back, but Fitzgerald’s credentials have been well identified in previous news articles. This is a man of great integrity, which makes it clear why he thinks these indictments are so important.

“When citizens testify before grand juries they are required to tell the truth,” Fitzgerald said in the statement. “Without the truth, our criminal justice system cannot serve our nation or its citizens.”

Now for those like Senator Hutchinson who wanted a real indictment, and not some perjury charge as she told Meet the Press, I think it’s time to take a stroll down memory lane .

First the President himself on the subject of Obstruction and Perjury:

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, cranking up his still-unofficial run for the White House, said on Tuesday he would have voted to impeach President Clinton for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

In response to a reporter’s question, Bush said he supported impeachment for a simple reason: “The man lied.”

Previously, Bush avoided direct criticism of Clinton for the Lewinsky affair, saying he was embarrassed by the scandal and that leaders should “behave responsibly” to set a good example for children.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, another GOP leader under investigation:

There is no serious question that perjury and obstruction of justice are high crimes and misdemeanors. Blackstone’s famous Commentaries–widely read by the framers of the Constitution–put perjury on equal footing with bribery as a crime against the state. Perjury was understood to be as serious as bribery, which is specifically mentioned in the Constitution as a ground for impeachment. Today, we punish perjury and obstruction of justice at least as severely as we punish bribery. Apparently, the seriousness of perjury and obstruction of justice has not diminished over time. Indeed, our own Senate precedent establishes that perjury is a high crime and misdemeanor. The Senate has removed seven federal judges from office.

That straight shooter, Senator John McCain:

“Are perjury and obstruction of justice expressly listed as high crimes and misdemeanors? No. Why? Because they are self-evidently so…It is self-evident to me. And accordingly, regretfully, I must vote to convict the President, and urge my colleagues to do the same.”

And of course, Ms. Hutcinson herself:

Willful, corrupt, and false sworn testimony before a Federal grand jury is a separate and distinct crime under applicable law and is material and perjurious if it is `capable’ of influencing the grand jury in any matter before it, including any collateral matters that it may consider. See, Title 18, Section 1623, U.S. Code, and Federal court cases interpreting that Section.

Wow, I think the Senator from Texas hit the nail on the head here, “willful, corrupt, and false” sounds like what happened here. There was a willful attempt to obfuscate from the Grand Jury the truth about leaking Plame’s name to the media to discredit Wilson’s report, a report which has proven to be true. Corrupt, these people were willing to leak the name of a CIA agent, where she worked, disclosing it as a front for CIA employees and possibly endanger them as well, and doing so to attack a political enemy who was telling the truth. And finally, false merely speaks for itself, the false testimony, the false documents, the false rationale.

Not only that, if Clinton was found guilty in the Senate trial for Perjury and Obstruction then that is what would have occurred, but those two crimes that the Republicans turned into a very big deal, are the same crimes being charged here. Only now, things come with a greater implication than moral misconduct.

David Gergen, a former adviser to presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, told CNN’s “Larry King Live” that indictments in the case could have an enormous impact on the Iraq war.

“Because if there are indictments, it will not only be people close to the president, the vice president of the United States, but they will raise questions about whether criminal acts were perpetrated to help get the country into war.”

This is serious, the only questions left to be asked was what will happen with the FBI’s continued investigation of the Niger document forgeries, and why is Rove not being indicted yet? Does Fitzgerald think Rove can give him something to get Libby with? Is there something deeper? The Grand Jury expires today, so presumably the Press Conference will fill in the blanks.

Well by now you’ve heard the news, documents are supposed to be released anytime in the lunch hour. You’ve also heard by now that the Special Prosecutor plans to seek an indictment against Libby, probably for perjury and obstruction, whether or not it will include the actual 1982 law remains to be seen. While watching CNN it appears as though Libby has retained new counsel in the case specializing in criminal law.

However, Fitza Clause didn’t bring everything that was asked for, Rove has been told that he will not be indicted today, but there is speculation that Fitzgerald may seek to extend the Grand Jury in order to finish the case on Rove.

More to come as the day rolls on, press conference at 2pm. I almost wish I didn’t have work, I could head over there and watch.

The LA Times has a story running with top GOP advisors as sources about what the White House plans to do once indictments are announced. Essentially it appears as though the plan is to run and hide and hope no one notices we just changed the channel.

The basic plan is familiar to anyone who has watched earlier presidents contend with scandal: Keep the problem at arm’s length, let allies outside the White House do the talking, and try to change the subject to something ” anything ” else.

The White House doesn’t plan to attack Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation ” at least not directly, several GOP officials said. Instead, expect Bush to unveil a flurry of proposals on subjects from immigration and tax reform to Arab-Israeli peace talks.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, and so we don’t have a lot of time to sit back and think about [possible indictments],” Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday, reflecting the strategy. “We’re focusing on what the American people care most about, and that is winning the war on terrorism, succeeding in Iraq, addressing high energy prices … and helping the people in the Gulf Coast region recover and rebuild.”

Gergen correctly continues to point out the changing the channel simply won’t do. If there are indictments, and it appears as there will be, speeches and press-conferences are going to be of little help. Once actual indictments are made the link to the President becomes clearer, not to mention the door may be opened for Congress to raise inquiries into the Niger documents, with the new findings in the investigation. Potentially, and the White House knows this by evidenced by their nervousness, the President’s term could slide into complete ineffectiveness if the challenges continue. Not withstanding of course recent bad polling on the President, upcoming investigations on Katrina and the seemingly failing nomination of Miers won’t help.

Overall the indictments could’ve been beaten by First Term W, but this time around I don’t see them beating these back. Unlike the first term, people are now disapproving of the President, multiple agenda failures are taking shape, the effect of Katrina, and now the further doubt in Iraq can only spell trouble for the President. It’s not the same administration, the old one could beat back anything, Bush continues to weaken politically. If these scandals continue, there will be a void of legislative activity and agenda, the opportunities are clear; now is a perfect time for Democratic opposition as well as opportunity to announce alternatives and gain in 2006.

Another update in the leak scandal. It may well be that indictments will not come now until Tomorrow. According to the LA Times, a juror said “see you Friday”. As the article points out Fitzgerald may have already secured some indictments but may try to meet with the Grand Jury until the term expires in order to be able to prove additional charges.

If this is the case, and Fitzmas comes later this year, it would seem that the only reason is that Fitzgerald is trying to get the indictment for the law regarding the release of a name of a covert agent. This would be consistent with activity on Monday, wherein Fitzgerald sent FBI agents to re-interview some of her neighbors in trying to gain more evidence of Plame’s covert status. Which leads us to believe that the only issue left for the Grand Jury is was she covert, if Fitzgerald proves that then Libby will be indicted on that charge as well, if I were a betting man I’d say the indictments for Obstruction and Perjury have already been locked up.

We’ll see what happens as this week comes to a close.

There’s a lot of chatter going on about this leak, especially here in DC, professors, my job, everyone is talking about it obviously. Here’s the latest as we see it:

There’s a lot going on, over at DrudgeReport Matt is reporting two stories. First that the Grand Jury has adjourned today. They apparently have not made an announcement.

As to the question of indictments being announced the other Drudge story being ran is that Fitzgerald might be asking for more time. Unlike Drudge’s link title however, the article also correctly asserts it may only be a conversation about handling the indictments.

As for the announcement DailyKos’s Hunter is citing both a Raw Story article, as well as an update from Richard Sale. Both story’s tell a lot.

From Richard Sale earlier in the day we learn that:

The probe is far from being at an end. According to this reporter’s sources, Fitzgerald approached the judge in charge of the case and asked that a new grand jury be empaneled. The old grand jury, which has been sitting for two years, will expire on October 28.

Thanks to a letter of February, 2004 which Fitzgerald asked for and obtained expaneed authority, the Special Prosecutor is now in possession of an Italian parliament nvestigationi into the forged Niger documents alleging Iraq’s interest in purchasing Niger uranium, sources said.

It should be noted that the post regarding impending indictments was filed after this report. According to sources, it appears as though announcements may be announced today, however that may only mean being announced to those being indicted. According to CNN, no indictments will be announced to the public, and they also admit the possibility of indictments being made underseal to be announced tomorrow.

However, it also does appear that the Press Conference mentioned by Mr. Sale will be taking place tomorrow, at which time it is believed the indictments will be made public.

What are the indictments? According to the previous Raw Story article:

Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has asked the grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson to indict Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, lawyers close to the investigation tell RAW STORY.

Fitzgerald has also asked the jury to indict Libby on a second charge: knowingly outing a covert operative, the lawyers said. They said the prosecutor believes that Libby violated a 1982 law that made it illegal to unmask an undercover CIA agent. [...]

Two other officials, who are not employees in the White House, are also expected to face indictments, the lawyers said.

There’s a lot going on here, but to summarize this is what we gather here at TwoDems.Com.

Overall, tomorrow should be a very merry Fitzmas, hope you’re all enjoying your Fitzmas Eve!

Talkleft has more evidence of the hypocrisy of the Bush camp including George W. Bush noting that in 1999, Governor Bush said that lying during a press conference was an impeachable offense. By that standard, President Bush would have been impeached before the Iraq invasion was launched.

You know the President has a nasty habit of making awful parallels to what we’re doing in Iraq to other wars, where there’s nothing similar. First, he’s compared it to the American Revolution, which is dishonest, and not to mention not a hopefully story if one is concerned with the length that we’d be there, after all it took us more than ten years to set up our government.

Now, the President is comparing it to Japan. Japan, unlike Iraq, was a homogenous people, already under the rule of an emperor with customs and cultures uniform throughout the country. Additionally, we completely took the entire country, unlike Iraq where borders are still open and our control is shaky at best.

Iraq, has three very different, very opposing cultural groups, is anything but homogenous, and is nothing like Japan. Someone should tell the President.

Well, it looks like Bush has sunk to even lower lows in the latest ARG poll via ThinkProgress.

George W. Bush’s overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about their personal financial situations according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush’s handling of the economy, 33% approve and 62% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove, and 36% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.

As ThinkProgress points out at the height of the Watergate scandal Nixon was at 39%. I thought the basement was going to be 40% but the President’s ratings just keep going lower, but don’t worry the President doesn’t look at polls.