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November 17, 2005
Watergate Reporter Torpedoes Case Against Libby
Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has delivered what may be a fatal blow to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s case against the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. The key figure in the Watergate saga that brought down President Richard M. Nixon provided testimony in recent days that indicates a White House official other than Libby mentioned Valerie Plame’s association with the CIA to him weeks before Fitzgerald says the subject of his indictment “was at the beginning of a chain” of communications with reporters.
Former U. S. Attorney Joe DiGenova believes that the Special Prosecutor must now withdraw the indictment against Libby because the central premise of his claim has been refuted. He says that Justice Department rules specify that Fitzgerald cannot proceed with prosecution if facts material to the indictment are proven to be false. William Jeffress Jr., one of Libby's lawyers is questioning whether Fitzgerald will admit that he was wrong to say on TV that Scooter Libby was the first official to give this information to a reporter.
Fitzgerald’s indictment of only Libby after two years of investigation was a bitter disappointment to the Old Media that drove the story. Democrats were livid when Bush’s political advisor, Karl Rove was not indicted. They had hoped to topple the “evil genius” that handed them three straight electoral defeats.
Woodward’s bombshell has them all reeling. During Wednesday night’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball”, host Chris Matthews’ disappointment was evident. In the weeks leading up to Libby’s indictment, he was giddy about the prospect of key members of the White House facing charges. Now he has been forced to deal with the prospect that not only might there be no convictions in the case, but the truth about the Wilson-Plame affair will probably be discovered.
The question on the minds of nearly everyone paying attention to this was the reason Woodward decided to come forward only now. It wasn’t a sense of conscience that motivated the reporter; it was fear of being forced to admit that he withheld important information that would exonerate Libby. When Libby’s defense team announced that it would vigorously defend their client, instead of negotiating the usual Washington “slap on the wrist” Sandy Berger-style plea deal, Beltway reporters realized that many of them might have been called as witnesses. The defense would have every right to do so since the Special Prosecutor, who required reporters to reveal sources of confidential information, has already established the precedent in this case.
Libby’s lawyers indicated this week that they would seek to have a large number of journalists testify, especially those who were not called before the Grand Jury. The question to be asked of reporters will be: “What did you know, and when did you know it?”
The answer to this question will further destroy Fitzgerald’s case, if it ever makes it to trial. The Special Prosecutor already knows that Valerie Plame was not “covert” at the time Robert Novak published her name in his 2003 column. What he will learn from journalists is that Joe Wilson’s wife and her association with the CIA was well known among reporters. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell admitted as much even before a special prosecutor took over the case, but has recently claimed her remarks were taken out of context. Libby’s lawyers intend to determine what she and other reporters knew about Valerie Plame under oath.
What many of these reporters fear most of all is that they may be required to reveal their sources. Since there is no federal shield law that exempts a reporter from being forced by the court to name a confidential source, it is likely that the network of reporters and their sources in the government will be exposed. The results will be enlightening to say the least.
What may be laid bare is the virtually unlimited access that reporters have to government secrets. No small part of this is the political component behind many of the leaks. During 2004, classified information that was damaging to the Bush administration was provided to journalists who appeared to coordinate their reporting with the Kerry campaign. Those reporters may be exposed as having acted as political operatives.
One of the reporters who may receive the most scrutiny is the Washington Post’s Walter Pincus. His extraordinary sources have made him a top reporter on national security issues, but now that reputation will come into question as the Libby case moves closer to trial. Yesterday, a federal judge found Pincus to be in contempt of court for refusing to reveal his government sources for information about nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee. Lee has filed a lawsuit against the government for improperly disclosing information about him in violation of the Privacy Act.
The Wilson-Plame affair is on the verge of becoming a media scandal, where journalists will be found to have willingly participated in political operation to destroy a sitting president. As I have said on many occasions, this is not 1972 and the Old Media’s credibility is virtually non-existent and its ability to control the news has been significantly diminished by the rise of the New Media.
Posted by jeffgannon at November 17, 2005 09:31 AM
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