Sandy Berglar

All this time wasted on Libby - and still we haven't gotten to the bottom of this story.

Under debate during the Nov. 23, 2004, meeting was Brachfeld's contention that President Clinton's former national security adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger could have stolen original, uncatalogued, highly classified terrorism documents 14 months earlier by wrapping them around his socks and beneath his pants, as National Archives staff member John Laster reported witnessing.

We should.

Comments

[Darth Malice]

Dems get a pass,yall know that.

[Legalize]

Yes, a pass from the Bush-appointed, politically-motivated Justice Department.

Take off your tinfoil hats and gets some fresh air, morons.

[91B30]

Right-drag out the case long enough to gather evidence and make a case and the cries from the lefites would be "it's a political witch hunt-revenge for Libby."

Burglar boy's attorney does that right at the article in any event, but hey Sandy will have his security clearance back in time to go to work in any Dem administration that might take office in 2009. I wouldn't bet against him getting another security job either.

[Darth Malice]

Legal,it's because Bush is always trying to make nice.He has this "kick me"fetish.

[Zifnab]

Perhaps the fact that the left wing can build a credible, prosecutable case against Scooter while the right just whines, cries, and pees on the carpet at the mention of Sandy suggests that Ashcroft and Alberto are half-assed incompetent administration officals who couldn't prosecute their way out of a paper bag.

Or perhaps there's just no case to be had in this three-year-old non-story.

Either way, Libby's prosecutor has resorted to the Chewbacca Defense, so I hope Libby looks good in bright orange.

[Legalize]

And the wingers love to forget that Patrick Fitzgerald isn't a liberal. Matter of fact, he was appointed to the DOJ in 1988. Remember who was present then, morons? This doesn't stop them from whining and seething of course.

[Kite]

Well, Libby has been on trial for something he didn't even really do. Lied about something that he didn't have too. Let's run over the facts about the case.

1) Valerie Plame (sp?) was NOT covert during the time her name was discussed. Law states that it is only against the law to disclose a CIA agent name when that person has been under classified and covert status within the past year. She was not. Therefore her name was not protected.

2) Mrs. Plame was pushing papers behind a desk at the time. In fact, it was found after investigation she is the one that set up the "ambassador" trip that her husband took to Niger. Where, when he returned, made a statement that he found that Hussein was trying to open dialouge with Niger to purchase Yellow Cake.

3) It has already been stated NUMEROUS TIMES that Libby, Cheney, Rove, and the rest of that crew had nothing to do with the mentioning of Valerie Plames name. The one responsible was Richard Armitage and he has admitted himself to be the one who is responsible.

4) Libby has only been on trial because he claimed he "couldnt remember" who told him the name. What was that...like..a year before? People forget things sometimes within the next five minutes of hearing something.

So, in short, we've been watching a bogus, falsified trial that didn't need to happen. Glad to know the Dems have been wasting public money and court time dragging people through a court case that has no business being held in the first place.

[Legalize]

I always love it when non-lawyers try to sum up "teh lawz" as they see them, and proceedings taking palce in federal court - that coupled with the assertion that somehow "the Dems have been wasting public money and court time dragging people through a court case that has no business being held in the first place." Because everyone knows that the Democrats control who gets prosecuted and who doesn't. That's some pretty compelling analysis, Professor.

It's almost as if you are a partisan hack, Kite, utterly lacking in anything resembling legal expertise, who pays attention only to what winger blogs tell him about X, Y, and Z. You couldn't even be bothered to cite teh lawzz that supposedly claim to say what you say they say. Wait, you do know this trial is about conspiracy, perjury, and false statements, right? You know what the law says about such crimes, right?

[Darth Malice]

The right does not have the killer instinct.That's why we need to send conservative bloggers over to the White House and RNC and instruct our weak Republicans on warfare,politics,and having a backbone.Bush should from now on before he makes say a SCOTUS pick run it by us first.The conservative community has to take control.

[Legalize]

Haha, I'm sure the president is just dying to run his decisions by you, geniuses. Talk about an over-inflated sense of importance. Yes, let the bloggers start making policy decisions for the GOP, PLEASE. I fully encourage the expeditious dissolution of your treasonous Party - none of which, of course, has nothing to do with the Libby trial.

[Darth Malice]

Legal,we can't do any worse.If I could get Dan to replace Karl Rove the Republicans could wipe out the Dems in 08.Templer would be great Sec of Def......I think that the blog confirmthem could handle judicial picks.......I truly believe the conservative grassroots have got to start schooling these weak sisters.

[Darth Malice]

The Daily Kos makes Dem strategy!

[Darth Malice]

The Daily Kos makes Dem strategy!

[ME]

Berger "could" have stolen

He already pleaded guilty to this.... he took copies of documents out of the archive. Unless you are talking about removing items from the Archive, and there is NO (zero, zilch, nada) evidence that he removed papers, and has agreed to take a polygraph testifying so. But whatever... as a lefty even I agree that Berger is "sketch", to say the least.

Kite: Your post was a laugh... it's amazing to see someone so misinformed go on and on with such conviction. I mean, almost everything you said is patently untrue, or a distortion, and you treat it as unassailable fact. Your post is patently idiotic to anyone who has been following the libby trial, and you should really stop before you embarass yourself further.

[Darth Malice]

Of course Bergler is dirty,no outrage among MSM,we are such enablers for liberal bad behavior.

[Kite]

U.S. Code
TITLE 50 > CHAPTER 15 > SUBCHAPTER IV > § 426 (Section 4 regarding Covert status)

(4) The term “covert agent” means—
(A) a present or retired officer or employee of an intelligence agency or a present or retired member of the Armed Forces assigned to duty with an intelligence agency—

(i) whose identity as such an officer, employee, or member is classified information, and
(ii) who is serving outside the United States or has within the last five years served outside the United States; or

(B) a United States citizen whose intelligence relationship to the United States is classified information, and—
(i) who resides and acts outside the United States as an agent of, or informant or source of operational assistance to, an intelligence agency, or
(ii) who is at the time of the disclosure acting as an agent of, or informant to, the foreign counterintelligence or foreign counterterrorism components of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; or

(C) an individual, other than a United States citizen, whose past or present intelligence relationship to the United States is classified information and who is a present or former agent of, or a present or former informant or source of operational assistance to, an intelligence agency.

I apologise for my error earlier. It's not 1 year it's 5. Mrs. Plame was not under Classified status nor Covert status when RICHARD ARMITAGE mentioned her name. Therefore there was no "outing of a CIA agent". The law doesn't protect her unless she falls under the U.S. code provided above. There the "teH lawZ" that you wanted.

Actually, the trial isn't about ANYTHING. The only thing that Fitzgerald has pushed forward is that Lewis "Scooter" Libby -lied- about who told him Valerie Plame was. If he did lie, which he claims he didnt because he actually claims he couldnt remember, then yeah...they can get him for perjury. However, if he did in fact lie...it was pointless because SHE WASNT COVERT STATUS. No CIA agent was outed. End of story.

[Zifnab]

"The right does not have the killer instinct.That's why we need to send conservative bloggers over to the White House and RNC and instruct our weak Republicans on warfare,politics,and having a backbone."

What happened to "Strong. Smart."?
I thought the Republican-Americans prided themselves on their solidarity and testicular fortitude. Now you say they're a bunch of wilting lilies who need to get hand-written talking points from Pappa Bush just to survive? What type of political party is being run here? That's just... sad.

Kite, 1) Plame was offically working for "Brewster Jennings & Associates", which the CIA later acknowledged was a front company for certain investigations. Offically, she was not working for the CIA. Call it "hiding in Plame sight", just because she wasn't hidden in someone's matress with a sonic ear pointed at the Kermlin doesn't mean she wasn't covert.

2) Either she was a nobody paper-pusher or she was a powerful agent with connections who could get her husband the sweet boondoggle to Niger. You can't have it both ways. "In his testimony to the grand jury, Libby testified that both he and Vice President Cheney believed that Joseph Wilson was qualified for the mission, though wondered if he would have been selected had his wife not worked at the CIA." Not "His wife selected him" but "whether he would have been selected if his wife wasn't CIA". In fact, both Libby and Cheney greenlighted Wilson. So either the Joe Wilson was as legit as anyone to send or Bush Administration must not know how to run the CIA.

3) In fact, Libby and Cheney and Rove all mentioned Valerie Plame's name. The question was whether they revealed her connection to the CIA and whether they did this before or after the secret became widely known. That is what Patrick Fitzgerald was investigating. Armitage and Rove both came clean under oath. Libby did not, and got busted for perjury. Libby's lies fouled the grand jury record, so Fitzgerald will require a guilty verdict of perjury to set the record straight and continue the investigation.

Futhermore, if two people leak a CIA officers name - or if a conspiracy exists to release the name involving two or more people - the first guy who gets caught doesn't exhonerate the second. Armitage's leak doesn't absolve Libby, Rove, or Cheney. It just gets Armitage in trouble.

4) If you read the case rather than just shooting your mouth off, you'll discover that the entire trial was to determine whether or not Libby "forgot" or actually lied under oath. Fitzgerald brought up a string of reporters who all heard Libby talking about Plame and Wilson days before Libby "discovered" that Plame was CIA. This makes the idea that Libby just plum forgot everything the day he stepped into the grand jury room seem less and less likely.

And, I mean, seriously. If Clinton tried the "Oops, I forgot I had sex with her" excuse on the witness stand, you're saying you'd give him a free pass because, honestly, who can remember everything, right? You're so full of crap.

[Darth Malice]

Z....Conservatives are strong and smart...Elected Republicans are a different matter.Liberals to their credit have leaders willing to fight for their positions and base.We conservatives will have to beat our officials into submission to get them to do the right thing(Harriet Miers/Alito)

[Kite]

Oh, ME and Legalize. I soooo love the fact that in your posts you claim that my statements are idiotic, untrue, and a distortion. However, neither of you will take the time to point out HOW I am wrong. You can say im wrong all you want but i'd like to see you prove it.

[TheSpartan]

"Legal,it's because Bush is always trying to make nice.He has this "kick me"fetish."

Since when does Bush or his WH have a record of trying to "make nice"?

[Darth Malice]

Spartan....my God!The President is always calling the Dems patriotic.Pushing crap like no child left behind....He has been the Dems best friend.Allowing Dems to win so easily while pushing immigration reform in 06......pleeeze!

[TheSpartan]

No Child Left behind? You're putting that piece of unfunded garbage out there as bipartisan?

[Darth Malice]

Spartan at least we agree it's garbage.

[seekeronos]

"Take off your tinfoil hats and gets some fresh air, morons."

Not until after you take off yours, and you put down that crack pipe too.

[Rob Kaufman]

No Kite, I think it is up to you to prove she was not covert. The fact you think she wasn't does not make it so, do you understand what NOC means? Keep drinking that Kool-Aid though, wouldn't want you to be unable to regurgitate all those phoney talking points.

[Phoenix]

Without going into what is wrong with NCLB, can someone offer up an alternative that would be better and that would work?

[Legalize]

"Legal,we can't do any worse.If I could get Dan to replace Karl Rove the Republicans could wipe out the Dems in 08.Templer would be great Sec of Def......I think that the blog confirmthem could handle judicial picks.......I truly believe the conservative grassroots have got to start schooling these weak sisters."

I have to agree with all of the above. PLEASE get every buffoon, er genius you guys have on the payroll over to the White House post haste I demand that official policy be dictated by the most fringe / blundering loonies possible, and that the president pander endlessly to the most rabid, fanatical, paranoid, delusional, and uneducated of his base!

[Legalize]

Sure thing, Kite. I cited a number of examples re you not having a clue as to what you are talking about. You, afflicted with inoperable intellectual cowardice, ignored them. But to put it as simply as possible, so that even you and Riehl can understand: the Libby trial isn't about the outing of a CIA agent; it is about the alleged lies told to the grand jury which was investigating the outing of a CIA agent - an investigation not undertaken by Democrats, but an investigation undertaken by the Bush-appointed DOJ and a conservative prosecutor who was appointed by Bush Sr.

Get it?

[Jeff]

"a conservative prosecutor who was appointed by Bush Sr."

Wow, this just deserves to be repeated over and over...

Are you serious? Appointed by Bush Sr.? Do you even know how the justice system works?

Legalize, you are on a very slippery slope.

[seekeronos]

"Are you serious? Appointed by Bush Sr.? Do you even know how the justice system works?

Legalize, you are on a very slippery slope."

Of course Mr. Dopehead (Legalize) knows how the justice system works... He is a Leftie Looneyversity Graduate with a Law™ Degree.

The thing with him is, he was too baked half the time he was in class.

[Jeff]

Actually Legalize graduated from my school, if he is a lawyer - the law school is pretty decent. I think they accept around 60% into the pre-;aw program and 40% to the actual program, so I won't say he went to a bad school. That being said... there were some huge idiots at UB.

[templar knight]

The Law School may be pretty decent, Jeff, but if Legalize is any indication, the quality of the law student has taken a dive. That someone who is a lawyer could have the attitude he does is downright scary. Wonder what his grade was in Legal Ethics, or do they even teach that any more? Hopefully, this guy never gets to do anything more than represent drug addicts and drunks in Family Court. Can you imagine this guy as a judge? Wouldn't he be objective?

[Jeff]

He could be on the 9th circuit. ;P

[ME]

Kite says: "However, neither of you will take the time to point out HOW I am wrong."

It's so obvious how wrong you are that it's not worth the time or energy. Any facts cited would be refuted with mindless talking points that you beleive because of their source, not their content. Instead, I'll try to explain why it's not worth it.

If I told you that we never went to the moon and it was all filmed on a soundstage, would you spend time and energy proving me wrong? No...becuase it's an exercise in futility. Another example: evolution. Ever try explaining it to a creationist? You'll be met with "the devil put fossils in the ground to fool you" (patently rediculous explanations) and "my grandfather wasn't a monkey" (complete misunderstanding of evolution). I'd expect the same sort of tripe from you in regards to Plamegate.

Darth Malice Said: "Pushing crap like no child left behind....He [bush] has been the Dems best friend."

Yeah, just like Lucy was Charlie Brown's best friend because she always held the football for him to kick.

How could you cite NCLB as an example of Bush being nice to Dems? You would have to be totally ignorant of all the details surrounding that mess to think so. Oh, that's right... details and facts don't concern you when spewing self-validating rhetoric that has nothing to do with reality.

NCLB was a shrewd and cynical political maneuver by Bush. He made a deal with Ted Kennedy, and he broke it. He promised increased funding for schools in exchange for more testing with direct consequences for educators. The bill passed, and Bush then declined to fund the program. That is not being nice to Dems... it's screwing them over. It's also screwing school districts across the country who have to dedicate more resources to testing without any additional funding. In fact, it's quite obvious that this will result in an increase in property taxes as local communities struggle maintain proper funding for their school systems.

But Bush is teh greatist!

[Jeff]

ME, if I knew you were going to regurgitate the same talking points that most libs use, and not actually bring an argument to the table, I would have saved my time and not read that.

Kite says: "However, neither of you will take the time to point out HOW I am wrong." And you rebut, by not saying how he is wrong... kind of ironic... and sad...

ME, you are lving proof that our nation's education system is spewing out morons... wait that's irresponsable parents and liberal teachers who would rather teach that homosexuality is normal and acceptable, than teach kids lessons that will at least make them moderately smart... What I mean is, someone in your life failed you, and really messed you up.

[dnichols]

This is a very, very interesting article on Mr. Burglar...

http://www.aim.org/aim_report/5254_0_4_0_C/

[Legalize]

"a conservative prosecutor who was appointed by Bush Sr."

"Wow, this just deserves to be repeated over and over...

Are you serious? Appointed by Bush Sr.? Do you even know how the justice system works?

Legalize, you are on a very slippery slope."

I did make an error, actually. Fitz was only an /assistant/ U.S. attorney in 1988. He was appointed by the current president Bush in 2001, as the U.S. attorney for the N. Dist. Ill. I got the dates mixed up. Of course, none of this detracts from the fact that the Democrats had and have absolutely nothing to do with the prosecution of Scooter Libby - which was the point to which I was responding.

[Phoenix]

NCLB is bad because Bush stopped the funding for it? That sure makes your case about the program itself. Sounds like 'tough love' to me. If a locale takes the money and doesn't bring the students up to par, why should the government keep pouring money in? Leave it up to the community to get pissed-off enough to demand better teachers and more accountability. No better way to jerk a community's ire than to tax it. Money talks. Bad for the dems? Bad for the NEA. That's good.

NCLB might not be the best, but it makes it hard on teachers by holding them accountable. Get rid of the bad ones. That's a start.