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Perhaps we can put this baby to bed once and for all.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s lawsuit against members of the Bush administration Thursday, eliminating one of the last courtroom remnants of the leak scandal.
Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband’s criticism of the administration.
While Bates did not address the constitutional questions, he seemed to side with administration officials who said they were acting within their job duties. Plame had argued that what they did was illegal and outside the scope of their government jobs.
“The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson’s comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory, ” Bates wrote. “But there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush administration’s handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants’ duties as high-level Executive Branch officials.”
Story here.
Judge Bates full opinion here.
On a side note. If you checked in earlier, yes there was a post by J on this topic with the same title. We decided to update and as the original story now had more information, this is how we chose to do so. Sorry if we made you think you were seeing double.
Written by Sue
Big Mo Says:
July 19th, 2007 at 5:49 pmVisit Big Mo
Marge Says:
July 19th, 2007 at 7:31 pmVisit Marge
Bush Administration has gotten away with everything else so what’s another notch in his belt.
Sue Says:
July 19th, 2007 at 7:46 pmVisit Sue
Marge:
I think every President and their administrations have had “notches in their belt.”
There are those who will believe this president somehow ordered this “take down” of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and others who will contend that Mr. Wilson while campaigning for Senator Kerry found a way to leave the appearance that the administration had acted improperly.
Perhaps the two opinions will never meet in the middle but it is my hope that this entire affair can be put to rest and we can move on to important business in this country.
Guss Says:
July 19th, 2007 at 7:49 pmVisit Guss
You tell em Marge.
~J~ Says:
July 19th, 2007 at 8:37 pmVisit ~J~
Some people are so biased against Bush that they will believe anything bad about him and nothing good. This, unfortunately, includes my Aunt Marge.
Marge Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:57 amVisit Marge
Sorry “J” don’t mean to step on your toes. I do have a right to my opinion. Think I’ll go to bed and hope I don’t wake up cleaning out my linen closet. Get my drift “J”?
Big Mo Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 7:35 amVisit Big Mo
How did Bush “get away” with this?
Sorry, but Wilson and Plame were truth-challenged, publicity-loving scoundrels since the left first made them heroes.
The left has been desperately trying to use scandal! Scandal! SCANDAL! to bring down Bush, but there just is NO “there” there.
Sue Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 11:08 amVisit Sue
Big Mo:
I could not agree more.
A manufactured scandal right before the 2004 election which the press was more than willing to fuel and voila..the Wilsons became the victims of this administration.
I think this judge got it right..in their capacity this administration had the right to fight back against the claims the Wilsons set forth.
I would never deny anyone their opinion or claim that mine was the only correct way to perceive any situation, I am just glad we may have seen the end to this whole affair.
Guss Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 11:36 amVisit Guss
Manufactured scandal?
George H. W. Bush charged that “those who disclose the identities of covert operatives are committing the equivalent of treason”, while George W. Bush believes that those who lie under oath about such matters should receive less jail time than Paris Hilton.
Guss Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 11:38 amVisit Guss
I guess it depends on how you look at it. To some people treason is a serious thing.
Democrats and George Herbert Walker Bush see it as treason and Republicans see it as no big deal or something drummed up by the Democrats. Whatever!
Sue Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 11:39 amVisit Sue
That is exactly right Guss. It depends on how you look at it.
Sue Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:00 pmVisit Sue
Guss:
Rest assured if I thought for one minute treason was involved here I would be the first to say put them all on trial.
That simply in my opinion having read on this case from the beginning is not the case.
GHW Bush said it was treason if a covert operative was deliberately revealed to the press. Valerie Plame was outed years ago by Aldrich Ames.
Again, I would not deny you the right to believe whatever and however you wish and I respect that but please do not imply that I do not take treason as a serious offense just because we disagree on the issue at hand.
Guss Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:01 pmVisit Guss
It depends on how you look at it.
Guss Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:03 pmVisit Guss
There’s no sense in me debating something I can do nothing about so I respectfully withdraw from this conversation.
~J~ Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:19 pmVisit ~J~
Guss,
None of the named defendants were charged with disclosing Plame’s identity.
Richard Armitage disclosed her identity and was not charged.
Why? We ran a story with documentation awhile back that stated spy Aldridge Ames disclosed her name to the Soviets, and the CIA itself sent a package to Cuba to the US Interests section of the Swiss embassy. This information was not to be seen by the Cubans, but somehow they got hold of it, so she was really outed and put in danger by a spy and by the CIA itself.
Scooter Libby was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in the outing of Plame, but the prosecutor knew before he even interviewed Libby and at the beginning of the investigation Armitage was the latest leaker. There was no more need for an investigation since the leaker was known and that was what Fitzgerald was charged with investigating.
He didn’t go to jail but he had to pay hefty legal bills and a quarter million dollar fine. As far as the president was concerned he should also do the probation but the judge had questions as to whether or not that would be legal given the commutation of sentence.
You and I have talked about this and you agreed he shouldn’t go to jail. I don’t understand your conflicting statements and I don’t say this to argue with you.
Libby was taken into the Grand Jury room and questioned for hours about which reporters he talked to when and about what topic. He was denied the opportunity to have his notes or calendar there so he could be more accurate.
Now, maybe he did lie on purpose, but the punishment should fit the crime and he did not commit treason.
Guss Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:51 pmVisit Guss
J,
I refer you to comment 14.
~J~ Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 12:58 pmVisit ~J~
I know, Guss, but while I was writing my comment under that our aunt called me and I didn’t see it before I posted my masterpiece.
Guss Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 1:00 pmVisit Guss
J,