Leaky Libby

I've heard of three "Scooters" in my life: the first played opposite Kermit, Gonzo and friends; the second was a senile old man who did color commentary on Yankee games (and provided a memorable cameo in an epic Meatloaf song); the third is a miserable douchebag who leaked classified information.

I think I liked the puppet best.

By now, everyone knows about the revelations that have come out in the investigation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Yes folks, it seems that despite their desperate desire to pin the blame elsewhere, Bush/Cheney & Co. not only knew about the leak, but they engineered it as well.

(Before such surprising intel, I probably should have warned you to "hold on to your hats". I apologize if your fedora blew away in that last gust of shock and awe.)

According to court papers filed by Special Council Patrick Fitzgerald,

In July 2003, [Ambassador Joseph] Wilson's accusation that the Bush administration had twisted prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat "was viewed in the office of vice president as a direct attack on the credibility of the vice president, and the president."

Of course, instead of engaging in an open debate (apparently, dissent is no longer the highest form of patriotism…sorry TJ), Cheney went on the offensive. The counterattack began on July 8, 2003, when talking to New York Times cunt reporter Judith Miller, Libby "discussed the contents of a then-classified CIA report that seemed to undercut what Wilson was saying in public." Libby also dropped not-so-subtle hints that Wilson's criticisms could be traced back to an agenda driven by his wife, covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.

OK, so let's catch our collect breath for a second. Disclosing classified information is a felony, as is disclosing the name of a CIA agent. We all understand that at the very least, Libby committed two serious felonies. At worst, his actions were treasonous. This is not debatable, right?

Wrong. Remember who we're dealing with here.

You see, even Scooter himself had reservations about being so cavalier with national security issues, but had his fears assuaged by his bosses:

Libby at first told the vice president that he could not have the July 8, 2003, conversation with Miller because of the classified nature of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, Fitzgerald said. Libby testified to the grand jury "that the vice president later advised him that the president had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions" of the NIE.

Libby testified that he also spoke to David Addington, then counsel to the vice president, "whom defendant considered to be an expert in national security law, and Mr. Addington opined that presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document."

Do you get what's going on here? The Bush Administration thinks it is infallible – the very act of them doing something illegal makes it legal! Just like a 15 ^th Century European monarch, Dubya has apparently been granted divine wisdom. God made him president and God's favor ensures all his decisions are just.

What I want to know is this – is God making me dry heave right now, or is Bush to blame for my being embarrassed to be an American? And which one should I fault for destroying the constitution of a once great country and sending it down the shitter?

Holy cow.