An American Tragedy.... Or Something

Details of Valerie Plame's 'tragic' existence were revealed Friday in the Washington Post. With her CIA cover blown by Bob Novak's July 2003 column, she has lived the past four years in a surreal world, but today she will speak out at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Since her retirement from the CIA, Plame's life has been fraught with hardship:

Over the past year Plame has completed a book, "Fair Game," which netted her a seven-figure sum, although the book remains tied up in a CIA review process and its publication date is uncertain.

She and her husband have sold the movie rights for their life story to Warner Bros.

Earlier this week the couple closed the $1.8 million sale of their Washington house, which they purchased in 1998 for $735,000.

They have relocated to Santa Fe, N.M., buying a spacious adobe home with a mountain view and a reported $1.1 million mortgage.

Her and her husband's fame give them access to top politicians (including, last week, Sen. Hillary Clinton, with whom the couple had dinner) and Hollywood types.

In his book, Wilson described a dinner in Los Angeles where "Valerie found herself seated between Norman Lear and Warren Beatty..."

Said Valerie,

"My life is becoming more surreal every day."

Why, it's positively heartbreaking.

According to the Post, Plame's goal in testifying is to dispel claims that she was not an undercover agent. We can expect soft toss questions from majority members of the committee which is chaired by the undoubtedly sympathetic Henry Waxman. Committee members from the Republican minority might be somewhat less sympathetic than Representative Waxman, and if they are permitted to interrogate Ms. Plame, a Rick Ballard Column in American Thinker offers suggestions for some questions they might ask.

Since the CIA maintains an office which is responsible for contacts with the press, on what date did you report your May 2 and 3 contacts with Nicholas Kristof to that office?

Did you also inform that office of the nature of your contacts? Who did you speak to?

Inquiring minds would love to hear the answer to these and other questions. For instance: What credentials did husband Joe have to offer Nicholas Kristof in order to gain the credibility for such prominent exposure of his story? You, perhaps? I've been wondering for a really long time now, what was the real reason for husband Joe's trip to Niger in 2002?

Stuff The Media Wants You to Think About the Libby Trial That Really Isn't True

It’s probably a little ridiculous to have to state this, but after reading the deplorable 'coverage' (which constitutes ripping a story off the AP wire that reads more like an opinion piece) by the Springfield Republican regarding this story, some things need to be pointed out.

The only thing this story means is that in the eyes of the jury, he lied about what he told prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

It does not mean:
1. That one iota of intelligence was in any way manipulated in the run up to Iraq.
2. That Joe Wilson has been vindicated in any way.
3. That Valerie Plame was "covert". She was an analyst.
4. That the Bush White House had anything to worry about from Wilson/Plame.

Don't be fooled by all the spin-sters attempting to turn this into the Watergate of the Bush era. It's not.

And everyone knows it...

Lewis "Scooter" Libby Convicted on 4 of 5 Counts

Well, Scooter Libby has been convicted. Before people panic or begin to celebrate, it is good to remember a few things... a refresher course if you will.

1.) Let us remember that Bill Clinton was taped in the act of committing perjury. It's almost impossible to imagine something more convincing than a video tape. Yet somehow, the special prosecutor declines to pursue the case any further. Who wants to bet it was out of fear that he couldn't get a jury in Washington D.C. to convict?

2.) Consider that the Democrats voted in near complete and total lock step not to convict President Clinton at his impeachment trial. Perjury didn't seem all that important to anyone on the left then. Now that Libby's been convicted, it's a high crime. Bleh.

3.) You've got to bring in the question the sort of justice Republicans can get in Washington D.C. when Sandy Berger was given a slap on the wrist for not only stealing highly classified documents (as in like 10 people could see them), but also hid them in a place where someone else could have found them.

4.) Consider the fact that Harry Reid's anger and dismay when he discovered that top secret documents were covered in Sandy Berger's ball sweat and wasn't prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Wait, you don't remember him getting angry. Hmm, neither do I.

If the Republican media outlets out there handle this right and don't plunge into silliness, the Libby Verdict and the fallout from it could be the best thing to happen to everyone on our side of the aisle, minus Libby himself.

While we try and mind our P's and Q's, it doesn't take away from the fact that the legal ethics system has one more shiner to put ice on. We can't have two systems of justice anywhere, but it's pretty obvious that we do in Washington, D.C.