Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Is This "Fitzmas"?

"How could we reach a point where the chief of staff for the vice president was repeatedly lying to federal investigators?" Fitzgerald rhetorically asked the jurors. "That's what this case is all about."


Well, that's what WaPo is reporting this morning. Here's more:

Fitzgerald said Libby became Cheney's point man in talking to the press and White House to rebut Plame's husband, a former ambassador who publicly raised doubts about President Bush's statements on Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Plame's undercover status was revealed in the political crossfire between the administration, particularly the vice president's office, and the war critic, Joseph C. Wilson IV.

Fitzgerald contended that Libby claimed he learned Plame's identity from NBC's Tim Russert in July 2003, though he actually learned it from Cheney and several other administration officials a month earlier. He told investigators he passed along this information as second-hand gossip to two other reporters, but the two reporters have said Libby provided or confirmed the information for them.

Fitzgerald said Libby's subsequent claims of memory lapses to a grand jury in spring 2004 are implausible. He noted that Libby told the grand jury he felt he was learning the information as if it were new when he heard it from Russert on July 10, and had forgotten he heard it first from Cheney and other officials weeks earlier.


Well, I don't want to steal Fitz's thunder. Go to The Washington Post yourself, and see what's there. I have a feeling that this will be one interesting trial...

And more not-so-good news for Dubya as he prepares to give his "Disarray of the Union" speech tonight.

No comments: