Reply #2: Billmon: "More prosaically, I think the fact that Fitzpatrick's .... [View All]

[understandinglife]

.... office has created its own web page is a strong sign that indictments are coming -- but not for the reason most widely held. Yes, a web page will come in handy for posting indictments, press releases about indictments, etc. But I think the documents already posted there may be the real tip off. They constitute a not-so-subtle reply to the conservative lie du jour -- that Fitzgerald has strayed far beyond his "original" mandate to investigate alleged violations of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

I've seen this lie repeated so many times today -- mostly by people smart enough to know better -- that I'm beginning to wonder if the RNC really does have a chip implanted in the brain of every corporate journalist on the planet. It was in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and in a Weekly Standard editorial so duplicitous that it cements Bill Kristol's claim to be the most talented intellectual hooker in Washington.

On his brand new web page, however, Fitzgerald has prominently posted both his original delegation of authority from the Justice Department -- which instructs him to investigate "the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity" -- and a follow up letter, dated Feb. 6, 2004, which clarifies that he has the power to investigate and prosecute:

... violations of any federal criminal laws related to the underlying alleged unauthorized disclosure, as well as federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, your investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses . . .

Nowhere -- a word even Bill Kristol can't parse -- in either document is it stipulated that Fitzgerald's brief is limited to the IIPA, in fact the opposite is true. By throwing those letters up on the web today, Fitzgerald has, intentionally or not, signaled that he doesn't have the slightest intention of backing down. This guy is about as Irish as they come, and the Irish are not generally known for ducking away from bar fights. If the neocons want to take him on -- on the ground he's been preparing for the past two years -- they'd better have the propaganda equivalent of broken bottles in their hands.

Much more at the link:

http://billmon.org/archives/002284.html

Agree.


Peace.