Libby Hit With 5 Count Indictment

By Stirling Newberry,

Fri Oct 28th, 2005 at 10:21:20 AM EDT :: Fitzgerald Investigation

Perjury, Obstruction of Justice, False Statements. At issue, "the sixteen words" in the State of the Union Address, which means this is a gun pointed straight at the heart of the Oval Office.

These charges get at the cover up of the cover up. That is, the attempt to stop the investigation of the investigation of Plame, which was, in turn, an attempt to conceal the deceptions over pre-war intelligence. Prosecutions of criminal enterprises often proceed in this fashion, with low level buttons plea-bargained out, people like Judith Miller, while the first level of decision makers is held on the hook, not for the crimes, but for the concealment of the crimes. The price for their getting off is giving up the caputs - the heads who decided when and where the law was to be broken.

Senator Kennedy's reaction is indicative of the gravity of the situation:

"Today is an ominous day for the country, signifying a new low since Watergate in terms of openness and honesty in our government. This is far more than an indictment of an individual. In effect it’s an indictment of the vicious and devious tactics used by the Administration to justify a war we never should have fought. It’s an indictment of the lengths Administration officials were willing to go to cover up their failed intelligence, their distortion on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and their serious blunders on the war. It is an indictment of their vindictive efforts to discredit anyone who challenge their misrepresentations. "

There is a press conference at 2 pm eastern. This will be one of those moments where people will be watching, hoping for some sign as to wither the country, or whether the country.