Captain Ed:
This means that the Department of Justice knew the source of the Plame leak within four months of its occurrence. It also knew that the leak had no malicious intent. Patrick Fitzgerald, who almost certainly knew of it within the first days of his investigation, never attempted to indict the man whom he knew leaked the information. Why, then, has Fitzgerald's mandate continued after the first week of October?
Fitzgerald took the case on September 26. If this book is accurate about its dates, the DoJ and Fitzgerald would have known about Armitage's role as the source of the leak five days later. Instead of either charging Armitage or closing down the investigation, Fitzgerald went on a witch hunt. He didn't even talk to Scooter Libby until two weeks after Armitage's confession. A year later, Fitzgerald had reporters Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper imprisoned for contempt of court for refusing to divulge a source about a leaker from whom Fitzgerald had already received a confession.
This shows the danger of independent investigators who answer to star chambers instead of the elected representatives that have electoral accountability. The entire Fitzgerald investigation is a massive waste of money and energy, an ego project for one man, a wild-goose chase without the goose. Up to now, we all thought that Armitage never came forward or did so much later in the process. This time line shows Fitzgerald as a dangerous Cotton Mather with a briefcase. What else should we think of a prosecutor who hauls people into court and jails them for contempt when his culprit confessed at the very beginning?
Addendum: The more I think about this, the angrier I get -- and not just at Patrick Fitzgerald. Richard Armitage confessed to the DoJ in October 2003, and then sat on his ass for the next three years as the media and the Left play this into a paranoid fantasy of conspiracies and revenge. I know Armitage dislikes Rove, Libby, Cheney, and Bush, but what kind of man sits around while the world accuses people of a "crime" that he himself committed? Armitage did nothing while the nation spent years and millions of dollars chasing a series of red herrings, never speaking out to remove the mystery and end the witch hunt. Even three years later, Armitage hasn't mustered the testicular fortitude to publicly admit that he leaked Plame's identity and status; he has Isikoff and Corn do it for him.
Armitage should be through in politics, but he'll catch on with a presidential campaign this year. Watch very carefully to see which one has him as an "advisor" on foreign affairs. It'll reflect poorly on the candidate who continues an association with this bitter apparatchik.
UPDATE: One commenter notes that Fitzgerald didn't get assigned to this case until December 2003. In my opinion, that makes this worse. Fitzgerald should have brought the entire investigation to a close as soon as he got briefed on Armitage's confession.
UPDATE II: The Political Pit Bull has video of Novak on Meet The Press this morning. Novak tells Tim Russert, "I believe it is way past time for my source to come forward." Some now argue that Fitzgerald probably told Armitage to keep his mouth shut, but since Armitage had to know that Fitzgerald was using this as an excuse for a political witch hunt, his silence only abetted Fitzgerald's abuse of power; it sounds as if Novak agrees. Shame on Armitage for his silence.
UPDATE III: And shame on Colin Powell, too, who also knew by October 1, 2003, where the leak originated. He didn't have to stay silent -- he could have told the truth and ended this witch hunt -- but he also chose to stay silent. And please note from the Isikoff/Corn text in the excerpt that their source for this Powell/Armitage conversation has to be -- either Armitage or Powell, and almost certainly Armitage, who still fears legal repercussions. |
