A couple of thoughts on the Scooter Libby indictment. One is that with his statement Friday and the release of the paperwork, the prosecutor rendered millions of bytes of Internet discussion inoperative and inaccurate. I don't know if people have gone back and scrubbed their weblogs but an awful lot of armchair legal analysis has been proven wrong. To pick one area of many: All the anti-Bush folks were arguing that Valerie Plame's status as a C.I.A. operative was classified and covert. All the pro-Bush folks were arguing that it was neither. The prosecutor, Mr. Fitzgerald, has access to more information than any of these folks — presumably, he has extensively talked with the C.I.A. about her actual assignments instead of deducing it from questionable press accounts — and he says her status there was classified but declined to say it was covert. (There's apparently a big difference there in terms of whether leaking the fact of her employment is a crime.)
Both sides are actively spinning this as either a blow to Republicans or a disappointment to Democrats. I don't think you can say for sure which it is yet. I mean, Libby's trial — if it ever happens — could get very interesting with guys like Cheney and Rove testifying under oath about reports of alleged uranium guys in Niger and who knew what when about Weapons of Mass Destruction. Which is why I suspect it will never occur…the trial, I mean. If I were Mr. Libby's lawyer right now, I think my main objective would just be to try and run out the clock, delaying that day as long as possible, angling for a more favorable plea bargain. Already, the statements of the guy who has that job, and the view of other barristers who've read the indictment are suggesting that winning is not a likely option.
So I'd try to make the best deal I could. And the options there are to either become a witness for the prosecution of others or to admit guilt, accept whatever sentence and fine I had to, then depend on the famous loyalty of presidents named Bush to their friends. His father pardoned everyone involved in Iran-Contra, in some cases for lying to an Independent Counsel, just as Libby is alleged to have done. Methinks the idea there was to head off a trial that might have resulted in some very embarrassing revelations about that George Bush. You kind of figure that a lot of folks around the White House don't want the Scooter Libby trial to happen for much the same reason.