Read This Please~~~Posted by Hugh Hewitt | 7:30 PM
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
I don't post on the Libby trial because it is a charade, a terrible miscarriage of justice directed at a long serving and tremendously patriot civil servant.
But John Podhoretz brings this to my attention, and it has implications far beyond what Libby dealt with and the world view it produces among those who deal with it daily.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Astonishing 'Stipulation' [John Podhoretz]
The Libby defense ended its case today in Washington, which means that there will be all kinds of instructions from the judge tomorrow and then closing statements next Tuesday. One fascinating detail from the last few minutes. Libby's team argued for weeks for the right to put the people who presented Libby with the Morning Intelligence Brief every day on the stand — to show how many big and frightening issues he had to deal with during the course of every day that might fog the details of his memory of or focus on Joe Wilson and his wife.
In the end, the briefers were not called. Instead, Libby's lawyers read a "stipulation" into the record to indicate what they were talking about. The leftist site firedoglake.com is liveblogging the trial, and has done a dirty transcription of the stipulation.
It's an astounding document. It's hard to imagine how anyone could keep anything straight given the sheer blizzard of information contained in Libby's briefing. The stipulation focuses on one single day, June 14, 2003, and during the briefing, according to firedoglake, "Libby was presented with info concerning:
"Bomb diffused...explosions...E African extremist network...Info on possible AQ attack in US...conncern about specific vulnerability to terrorist attack...Proposed ME plan, Israeli military action...Country's security affecting AQ...International org's position concerning country's nuke program...Iraq's porous borders present security threat...Demonstrations in Iran turn violent...Israeli offer of cease fire to Palestineans...Memorandum assessing Iranian' pres' view on terrorism...Problems in leadership in PLO...Foreign media analysis concerning Egyptian treatment on Paletinian conflict...Media, opposition of Israeli public to attacks...Info on Egypt process ME peace process ...Palestinian groups and Israel...Constraints on Israeli military...Saddam Hussein published on website...Memo in Iraqi WMD...Housing shortage in Iraq...Info on 1920 Mesopotamia and insurgency on moden-day Iraq...Potential effect of improved governance in Iraq..."
Wait, that's not all. There was also a terror threat list for that one day:
1) Concern over possible suicide info to hujack airplane by AQ linked group
2) Concern about terrorists providing support for business transaction by AQ
3) Potential suicide attacks against US forces in IRaq
4) Potential terrorist attacks against Americans in Karbala by unspecified means
5) Potential attack in Ethiopia
6) Potential attack in Nairobi
7) Potential attack in Kabul Afghanistan and Pakistan [sorry, lost the countiing here]
8) Concern over surveillance in Beirut and attack against embassy vehicles
9) Unspecified terror attack against unspecified
10) Potential attack in Budapest
11) Potential attacks in Kabul by unspecified group
12) Video taping in US university
13) Turkish and Pakistani extremists.
Welcome to the life of a senior White House staffer working on the most crucial issues of our time. Good morning, Scooter.
02/14 05:02 PM |
