Treason in the White House

As Josh Marshall points out over at TPM, the indictment gives us a very strong case that Cheney and Libby both knew, on or about June 12, 2003, that Valerie Plame worked in the Counter Proliferation division of the CIA.

Go to page 5 of the indictment. Top of the page, item #9.

On or about June 12, 2003, LIBBY was advised by the Vice President of the United States that Wilson's wife worked at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Counterproliferation Divison. LIBBY understood that the Vice President had learned this information from the CIA.

This is a crucial piece of information. The Counterproliferation Division (CPD) is part of the CIA's Directorate of Operations, i.e., not Directorate of Intelligence, the branch of the CIA where 'analysts' come from, but where the spies come from.

Libby's a long time national security hand. He knows exactly what CPD is and where it is. So does Cheney. They both knew. It's right there in the indictment.

This is very important, since the wingers and their lawyers are going to argue that they didn't know she was covert. Fitzgerald is going to go after more people than Libby, and this key bit of info is probably a good way to tell what and who.

But this points to a much more general issue that I've been experiencing first hand with wingers lately. When they know they've lost an argument, as Cheney and Libby certainly knew they had regarding the Niger Uranium, they attack the person they're arguing with in the most vile and viscious way they can. They attack relatives. They attack wives. They attack anyone they can in order to draw attention away from the actual argument.

So, we can conclude that they knew they were screwed, and their only chance at getting everyone to look at something other than the fact that they lied about Iraq wanting uranium from Niger was to attack Wilson's credibility by saying, perhaps also a lie, that his wife suggested him for the job. That brings up two questions: a) what the hell difference does it make who sent him?, and b) what about Wilson's charge that they were lying about Saddam trying to purchase yellowcake? Through their despicable attack-the-accuser tactics, the bigger question is being lost. Why couldn't they prove that Wilson was wrong? Why did they have to attack him and out his wife? Why have they still not addressed that issue, outside of Bush admitting that he shouldn't have put those 16 words in the State of the Union.

Let's face it. Bush admitted that those words, that Iraq sought uranium from Africa (said in the scariest way he could say it), should NOT have been in the SOTU address. He admitted they were wrong. So what's the point of outing Valerie Plame other than retribution for Wilson proving they were lying?

These, like all right wingers, are viscious thugs. They're in such a state of denial, that I'd be suprised if they weren't committing more crimes as they try to wiggle their way out of all this. They will, most certainly, attack everyone they can. Like a viscious animal, they are even more dangerous when cornered.

And they are certainly cornered now.