Thursday, December 08, 2005

Let’s try this grand jury – Mark Kilmer writes that Patrick Fitzgerald is “dragging it out” by presenting the same ole information to another grand jury after the one he held for two years failed to indict Karl Rove. Mama Cass wants her ham sandwich back.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A prosecutor does the fundamental, low-key, first-day business of his job. And the crack legal minds at Kilmer, Kilmer and Flummox run the red light in their fervor to declare it the end of Fitzgerald's credibility. Oh, and as a bonus, Murtha's a "doddering, drooling old man."

Pat, I think I'd like to spin again!

"The President has no comment about a third-rate burglary attemp... er, third-rate gossip." Sorry, Counsellor Kilmer, but the only way Fitzgerald "fails" is if Libby refuses to flip.

Eric said...

"First day?" He's already burned through two years on the first grand jury.

Where are all the cries of "waste of taxpayer money" and "fruitless investigation" that greeted Ken Starr? (who secured a dozen convictions.)

I'll be waiting for that Libby flip. Oh, I'm sure it's coming, just like the Great Pumpkin.

Anonymous said...

First day: Fitzgerald's informing a new grand jury. Kilmer apparently thinks it's a bodyblow to mention that no witnesses were seen entering the courthouse, and you apparently think those observations are worth more than a roll of the eyes.

Not a single Kenneth Starr conviction had a direct relationship to the Whitewater land deal. For example, Jim Guy Tucker was convicted for a fraudulent cable TV agreement. If it is discovered that Robert Novak or Bob Woodward didn't report their capital gains, it will be a similar coup for Fitzgerald.

Starr was also the first independent counsel to lose a jury trial. Nobody has accused Fitzgerald's staff of leaking grand jury testimony like Starr's office was. It might be presumed that the current investigation doesn't need outside cheerleading to prosper.

As an open case, it's clearly premature to complain about its duration or cost unless you have a partisan interest. Since you mention Starr, Fitzgerald would match his tenure as a special prosecutor sometime in late 2008. (This does not include the additional year helmed by Starr's predecessor, Robert Fiske, and his successor, Robert Ray.) When you can, please list the Libby-level indictments obtained by Starr.

Eric said...

As I've said before: facts are our friends. There's this thing called Google - wonderful invention.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/05/19/archive/main9813.shtml

Here's the list of Ken Starr convictions, irresponsibly titled (according to you) "Caught in the Whitewater net." Jim Guy Tucker was convicted for conspiracy and pleaded out because the cable deal was a separate charge.

But then it take chutzpah to claim (falsely) that the 14 Starr convictions had nothing to do with Whitewater without acknowledging that Scooter Libby's charge isn't even for the underlying crime of revealing a covert source.

Yes, it's an interesting contrast from when the Clinton White House dispatched every acolyte in sight onto the Sunday news circuit to slam Starr. As for the cost/conviction ratio, we can debate whether the #3 person in the Clinton Justice department and the governor of Arkansas equal Dick Cheney's chief of staff until the cows come home. After all, is it quantity or quality that matters?

Anonymous said...

....without acknowledging that Scooter Libby's charge isn't even for the underlying crime of revealing a covert source.

Nice attempted talking point. Yes, Lewis Libby was indicted for the totally unrelated crime of falsely testifying about his own crime of revealing a covert source. What a fishing expedition! And when the Supreme Court completely dismisses Libby's indictment, he'll be on the same legal footing as #3 person Webster Hubbell, who was indicted in the same sense that Bill Clinton was impeached.

Hubbell, of course, was indicted by Starr on charges of being paid a grant by a non-profit education fund to write reports, failing to complete the project, then repaying the group's founder in artwork rather than money, thus evading taxes on the money. Notice any key words missing there? Anything like "Wh_tew_ter"? Tucker's conviction was also wholly unrelated to the Clintons or the land deal. Go through http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/05/19/archive/main9813.shtml and identify the Whitewater convictions, please.

Facts may be our friends, but inconveniently, they're also the friends of other facts.

In case you haven't noticed, Fitzgerald's "dragged out" investigation is still on its original subject (and still active). Or as you say, "the same ole information." A novel and bewildering prosecutorial approach, I know. Ken Starr spoiled us all.

Eric said...

Oh, I see. When you make the rare, definitive statement like this: "Not a single Kenneth Starr conviction had a direct relationship to the Whitewater land deal" and it's easily batted away, then the word "single" takes on a whole new meaning. Don't tell me you don't know that everything in the CBS story with the words "Madison" are directly related to Whitewater.

Yes, Fitzgerald is still on the original subject...with a whole new grand jury. Some people might say that if you couldn't convince the first grand jury after two years of testimony, it might be time to pack up. But then, that's a matter of opinion.