More on the Situation in Washington

Someone just asked in comments what I make of a certain connection in this whole Plame scenario. The truth is, I'm not quite the best positioned person to handle those inquiries. As with most D.C. coverage, my primary sources for information are Talking Points Memo, AmericaBlog, and ThinkProgress.

Those are still the best sources that I know of for on-going coverage of this whole mess.

Already, he points out that the indictment just may make it clear that the White House did know Wilson was covert, since they have an indication that Cheney told Libby that Wilson worked for the Counterproliferation Division (CPD), which is part of the Directorate of Operations. CPD, QED.

The right-wing blogs are making a big deal that what Libby is in trouble for isn't the outing of a CIA agent. They're even stretching the claim to say that the charges are unrelated to the original scope. That's not a tough straw man to knock down. Fitzgerald was supposed to look into whether classified information was inappropriately shared. When Scooter Libby was asked how he came to receive certain information and how he shared it, he lied repeatedly. That's not a tough conclusion to reach based on the indictment.

The fact of the matter is that we still know very little. What we do know is that based on the evidence provided, it is tough to believe that Libby didn't know Plame was covert. We know the evidence is significant enough that Fitzgerald thinks the matter worth prosecuting. And we know that there are other loose ends to tie up, including the minor matter of what will happen to Karl Rove. In the American system, Libby is to be considered innocent until proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he is guilty. That's a good legal standard. But looking at the evidence today, I'd say that I'd be damn ashamed of myself if I was one of the Administration officials who had a hand in this exercise in the abuse of power.

Alright, I've got work to do and any East Coast readers are likely shutting down for the day. Enjoy the weekend. If you liked what you read here, you can find more from me (and a small stable of contributors) at Left in the West. It's been a pleasure.

And I even made it two days without bringing up Ohio.

--Matt Singer

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