NEOGNOSTIKOS

Saturday, 29 October 2005

"Not Common Knowledge"
Mood:

smelly
I have read the Libby Indictment and was interested by the following:

[...] Valerie Wilson was employed by the CIA, and her employment status was classified. Prior to July 14, 2003, Valerie Wilson's affiliation with the CIA was not common knowledge outside of the intelligence community.

Now, this is Patrick Fitzgerald's way of saying that Bob Novak is a rat bastage. Okay, whatever.

But "not common knowledge" is a weaselly way of avoiding the fact that Plame's employment status was not the Great Official Secret that all these [patriotic] and pro-intelligence communitarians on the Left claim it was. Did Fitzgerald alight upon that phrase at the suggestion of the FBI agents he sent to interview the Wilsons' neighbors Monday night? One of her neighbors, David Tillotson, said that he knew Valerie Wilson "very well," but then helpfully added:

"Did we know anything about her position before the story broke? Absolutely not."

Then it's settled. This guy knew her very well...except for that one part where he didn't actually know what her job was. One suspects that this guy is just the sort who would have all his "economic consulting on an international basis" done by Brewster Jennings. You know: just hang around a mailbox until someone drops by to keep up the appearance that Brewster Jennings was an actual company when five minutes online will tell you otherwise.

I'm obviously no lawyer, but this "not common knowledge" stuff cannot be a legal standard, can it? If Plame's classified status with the CIA was, in any way, compromised or expired or otherwise ill-tended, then what the hell was this investigation about, anyway?

Posted by Toby Petzold at 1:35 AM CDT | Post Comment | View Comments (8) | Permalink

Comments Page

Saturday, 29 October 2005 - 7:27 AM CDT

Name: Rider

The fact that Fitzgerald does not specify Plame's status in the indictment does not mean that it was "in any way compromised, or expired, or otherwise ill-tended." I'm no lawyer either, but I wouldn't advise Libby (or Rove) to try to go to court basing a defense on that argument. That was and is an outrageous lie, both in part and in whole.

"On June 12, concerned about a Post report on the Niger trip, Cheney told Libby that Plame worked at the CIA in the Counterproliferation Division [= Directorate of Operations, not "analysts," but spies]. The indictment does not say whether Libby knew that Plame was a covert operative and that leaking her name would be illegal.

But it describes an aide well aware of the sensitive nature of the material he had assembled. He told one aide that there would be complications if the information was leaked, and said he could not discuss the issue on a "non-secure telephone line." All of these conversations could haunt Libby in the course of the investigation." -- Washington Post

It was classified. They knew it. They're all traitors, war-time traitors actually. They pose as fighters against terrorism and then betray an American agent who was actually involved in fighting terrorism. Can you say, "Coun-ter-pro-lif-er-a-tion"? Now, who can tell us what that means? Toby, how about you?

Reply to this Comment

Saturday, 29 October 2005 - 8:53 AM CDT

It's OK Toby, you don't have to slurp BushCo cock anymore. There are other means of employment.

Reply to this Comment

Saturday, 29 October 2005 - 9:38 AM CDT

Name: Spank

At this point, the most the Tobys of the country can hope to do is confuse the details of this matter endlessly in the public's mind. Part of Fitzgerald's delay in the indictment was in trying to sort out the copious amounts of misinformation Libby was pushing to everyone involved. And so it goes on a larger, more public scale now. The shame is, this is what's become of politics for the conservative movement. Obfuscation. Distortion. Lies.
"Truth is the Engine of the judicial system"
---PAtrick Fitzgerald
But I'd add to that: truth is also the engine of a healthy political system and you can see what the Wingers are pushing.

Reply to this Comment

Saturday, 29 October 2005 - 4:39 PM CDT

Name: TP

Fitzgerald's indictment doesn't seem to take any notice of the 1917 or 1982 laws, so where's the treason?

Classified information is what the Administration and the reporters it talks to deal with every day of the week. They share this stuff because it's in the nature of keeping the public informed through a free press. Are you willing to trash all of that because some desk analyst in Langley and her husband decided to out themselves in an attempt to undermine this President in the middle of a war?

Reply to this Comment

Saturday, 29 October 2005 - 4:41 PM CDT

Name: TP

Spank:

truth is also the engine of a healthy political system

The SSCI Report says Joe Wilson's a liar. So do the facts. Why don't you know this yet?

Reply to this Comment

Saturday, 29 October 2005 - 5:02 PM CDT

Name: Rider

Good question. If after two years of looking at the facts Fitzgerald doesn't "know this yet," the obvious conclusion is that your so-called facts are a crock.

Joe Wilson lied about nothing. The SSCI Whitewash Report, on the other hand, is full of lies about Joe Wilson (which he has rebutted, btw). Fitzgerald doesn't believe the lies. It's over, TP. Valerie was undercover. Joe told the truth. That's why he and his wife were attacked. Throw the RNC talking points in the trash and move on.