Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald:
"Mr. Libby's prosecution was based not upon politics but upon his own conduct, as well as upon a principle fundamental to preserving our judicial system's independence from politics: that any witness, whatever his political affiliation, whatever his views on any policy or national issue, whether he works in the White House or drives a truck to earn a living, must tell the truth when he raises his hand and takes an oath in a judicial proceeding, or gives a statement to federal law enforcement officers."
"The judicial system has not corruptly mistreated Mr. Libby; Mr. Libby has been found by a jury of his peers to have corrupted the judicial system."
Supporters of President Bush consistently say that the whole trial was for show and that their was no underlying crime. So the bar is set low enough to include lying about criminal activities by the administration.
In the sentencing phase of this scandal, it's becoming more apparent why President Bush couldn't follow through on his pledge to fire the person responsible for leaking Valerie Plame's name to the media. It was Cheney! Kinda puts a new meaning beside the word "decider."
Dan Froomkin:
"It was established at trial that it was Cheney himself who first told Libby about Plame's identity as a CIA agent,
and
To those of us watching the investigation and trial unfold, Cheney's presence behind the scenes has emerged in glimpses and hints. But I suspect that people looking back on this story will see it with greater clarity: As a blatant -- and thus far successful -- cover-up for the vice president."
Regarding Torture:
Blogger Andrew Sullivan:
"What I am reporting is a simple empirical fact: the interrogation methods approved and defended by this president are not new. Many have been used in the past. The very phrase used by the president to describe torture-that-isn't-somehow-torture - "enhanced interrogation techniques" - is a term originally coined by the Nazis. The techniques are indistinguishable. The methods were clearly understood in 1948 as war-crimes. The punishment for them was death."
The Bush team has learned their lessons well. All of this information about the types and appropriateness of torture was well documented after WWII in the FORTIES! The Bush Administration are NOT Nazi's but they are following the same path with regards to torture... Bring on the GITMO court cases.
Regarding the opinion of the American People:
Jennifer Loven (AP)
"Democrats view the November elections that gave them control of Congress as a mandate to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. They're backed by evidence; election exit poll surveys by The Associated Press and television networks found 55 percent saying the U.S. should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq.
The president says Democrats have it all wrong: the public doesn't want the troops pulled out — they want to give the military more support in its mission."
So, according to the President, it's ok to fix public opinion by simply ignoring it or changing it to fit a perception of reality. sigh....
Regarding Lying once again and finally:
Glen Greenwald:
"'In February of this year, Tony Snow chatted with Bill O'Reilly and said this:"Very quickly -- very quickly, you've got this Valerie Plame case. Now, it turns out that [special counsel] Peter (sic: Patrick) Fitzgerald doesn't -- can't even identify any harm. She wasn't a covert agent. She wasn't compromised. . . She wasn't covert anymore.'
Are there any consequences at all for the White House Press Secretary to tell outright lies like that? Does that prompt any media scandals? Why can Tony Snow say with impunity that Plame "wasn't a covert agent" when their own CIA confirms that she was? Really, how can that be allowed?"
The most disturbing thing about this lowering of the bar is that such dismal behavior is now tolerated and even accepted as conventional wisdom. There has always been a "down and dirty" side to politics, but this administration has gone too far. Who would have ever thought that extending a political campaign an extra 9 months would be good news? That is exactly the case as the election season has begun with real sense of relief from both Republicans and Democrats that this dark period in US history will soon be over.
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