Dole Attacks Fitzgerald, Leaves Truth Behind
Dole Attacks Fitzgerald, Leaves Truth Behind
Bob Dole has an op-ed in the New York Times that, perhaps inevitably, begins the right-wing attack on Patrick Fitzgerald. (Former White House political director Ken Mehlman had a chance to declare Patrick Fitzgerald off limits a few weeks ago and demurred.) Dole’s argument against Fitzgerald’s approach hinges on his analysis of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. Dole may have been a co-sponsor of the law, but he completely distorts its terms. Here is what Dole says:
Thus the act was drafted in very narrow terms: our goal was to criminalize only those disclosures that clearly represented a conscious and pernicious effort to identify and expose agents with the intent to impair America’s foreign intelligence activities.
Dole is wrong. The law does not require the exposing of an undercover CIA agent to be “pernicious.” And there is no requirement of an “intent to impair America’s foreign intelligence activities.” The LA Times explains:
Nowhere does this statute require proof that the defendant “wished to harm” an undercover agent or jeopardize national security. The reason why someone disclosed the information — whether for revenge, to prevent the publication of a story or to harm the U.S. — is an issue of motive, not intent.
The purpose of the law, is not merely to protect the nation’s “foreign intelligence activities” but to protect the agents themselves. In a 1983 Washington Quarterly article, Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), then chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence wrote:
The act sends out a clear signal that U.S. intelligence officers will no longer be fair game for those members of their own society who wish to take issue with the existence of CIA or find other motives for making these unauthorized disclosures.
We know that Karl Rove declared Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA agent, “fair game.” Whether it was a “pernicious” effort to “impair America’s foreign intelligence activities” or not, Rove may have violated the law. Dole should stop attacking Fitzgerald for doing his job.
– Mipe Okunseinde and Judd Legum
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The Intelligence Identities Protection Act is not the tool Fitzgerald seems to be using. It seems to be perjury and disclosure of classified information. Amazing how low the times has sunk to allow the Right-wing sound machine space to muddy the water. This is all they are trying to do, I just hope that Fitzgerald bitch slaps them with purjury idictments.
August 16th, 2005 at 12:51 pmWhat happened to Dole? Did he run out of his Mister Happy Viagra pills and become grumpy?
Color me shocked: Dole shills for BushCo. Wow. That man needs to get a life.
August 16th, 2005 at 12:54 pmThey’re pulling ole Bob “Viagra” Dole out of the cob webs to speak out, shows they are really worried. Thats good.
August 16th, 2005 at 12:57 pmExcellent point, Citizen!!
August 16th, 2005 at 1:08 pmDole conveniently ignores the variety of other illegal acts that Fitz is likely going after. Dole hasn’t changed a bit from his staunch conservative base with his recent rhetoric.
The end of BushCo is coming… the people of the United Staes of America are not idiots and can see clearly a crime has been committed, regardless of how BushCo tries to spin the facts.
August 16th, 2005 at 1:13 pmMack
August 16th, 2005 at 1:18 pmI do hope you are right, but I think the best we can hope for is help framing the “Corrupt Republican Traitor” charge for 06 & 08.
They’ve been reduced to digging up Bob Dole (a badly failed ex-presidential cadidate) to speak on the WH’s behalf?
August 16th, 2005 at 1:18 pmThen only to distort a law he helped write?
Karl seemed to be thumbing his nose directly at that law with his “fair game” comment.
I suspect Mr. Fitzgerald is their next “game”.
Pergury isn’t good enough.
Maybe Mr. Dole should stck to
“I’m Bob Dole and I have ED”
Could be the GOP’s next slogan.
per·ni·cious adj. Having been done by a Democrat or other non-right-winger. ant.: Patriotic.
August 16th, 2005 at 1:26 pmSpeaking of Rove’s “fair game” comment, where the hell is Chris Matthews in all this? He of the rah-rah, Mr. Patriot “boots on the ground” bullshit. He’s another fraudulent sellout and traitor. I loathe the mainstream media, except Jon Stewart of course :)
August 16th, 2005 at 1:29 pmOK. I’m slow. But it finally hit me like a ton of bricks.
The Greedy Old Parasites (GOP) and Queen Karl Rove have a very simple strategy: Play offense and don’t ever leave the field.
No matter how “hot” things get, playing offense leaves them in the position of power and control (even though these things are illusions). They can say the most outragious things and get away with it.
We will NEVER see them play defense. Not on any issue or any topic. No matter how bold faced a pack of lies their entire agenda is.
These guys are no better than 3rd graders out on the playground. :-(
August 16th, 2005 at 1:32 pmThe viagra seems to have affected the wrong head on Bob.
August 16th, 2005 at 1:40 pmDole came out last year and attacked Kerry, saying it’s unclear that he was shot at in combat… he’s showing his true colors once again, the Repub shill that he is.
Here he uses the ploy of focusing on the “Intelligence Identities Protection Act”… The truth is that Rove violated SF-312 (a firing offense under executive order 12958)
Also, he could have violated 793(d) and 793(e) of Title 18, United States Code (criminal offense)
Then of course, there’s the perjury… Shame on you, Dole. You support perjurers and attack war heroes.. are you that self-loathing?
August 16th, 2005 at 2:11 pmMost of Dole’s op ed is about the need for a federal “shield” law.
August 16th, 2005 at 2:12 pmI am puzzled by the “intent of the law” arguments. There are laws that prosecutors use in ways never really imagined by the drafters, RICO is probably the best known one but as most schoolchildren know Al Capone was ultimately convicted for tax evasion not for murder or racketeering. No one imagined that the 14th amendment would be used to protect corporations before it was applied to blacks.
I don’t know what many right wingers would say about the intent of the second amendment and its language about a “well-regulated” militia and the “people’s right”.
http://www.chancelucky.blogspot.com
Bobe Dole has no lead in his pencil. Remember his pencil? Yeah, and that Viagra ad… he has no lead in either pencil. Bill Clinton don’t need no Viagra. They are all jealous. No Republicans can get it up. Beefcake mags with Ahhnold pumping iron sorta get them turned on, but they still need the little blue pill.
August 16th, 2005 at 2:14 pmNothing is “off limits” for these thugs even there own mothers would get taken down.
Does anyone really care what Bob Dole has to say? He a has been and has no skin in the game.
August 16th, 2005 at 3:15 pmDoleful Argument
For a few naive years after the 1996 election, I allowed myself to be lulled into thinking that Bob Dole wasn’t such a bad guy. I realized the error of my ways when I watched Dole join the swift boat slander campaign. Read this column by former Nixon…
August 16th, 2005 at 3:21 pmThe Dole op-ed is not an argument against Fitzgerald. Read it and see. It is an argument for the Lugar-Pence federal shield law bill. Someone should explain to Mipe that reposting paranoid fantasies with Judd as co-author doesn’t make them any less paranoid.
August 16th, 2005 at 4:19 pmIf nobody realy cares wht Bob Dole has to say how come everybody is commenting on an op-ed by Bob Dole? Where’s the outrage?
August 16th, 2005 at 4:25 pmOne thing that people don’t seem to be highlighting is that the requirments of the proposed shield law as outlined by Dole, do in fact appear to be met. His claim that a federal shield law would have led to a different outcome does not appear to be supported by the facts.
For example, in a criminal investigation, a reporter would be required to turn over confidential information only if a court determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime has been committed, that the requested information is essential to the investigation and that it could not be obtained from nonmedia sources.
Dole should know that the standard suggested is very similar to the standards used by the Department of Justice already. See: http://www.cjog.net/documents/James_Comey_testimony.pdfThere is a legitimate debate as to whether the law should strengthen that standard or not, but his editorial is likely to mislead most readers. Nor is there any reason to believe the outcome would be any different if the shield law were applied in this case. As noted by other commenters there is evidence of several crimes in addition to the Intelligence Act. The fact that a judge ordered her jailed in contempt makes it clear that all of these elements were satisfied. If Dole is puzzled by the jailing of Ms. Miller, then he should do the responsible thing and read the opinion. If he had, he would know that the entire premise that the outcome may have been different with the shieled law in place is completely misplaced since the Judge already held that even if such standards were required Fitzgerald met them:
Assuming, arguendo, that the DOJ guidelines did vest a right in the movants in these cases, this Court holds
August 16th, 2005 at 5:25 pmthat the DOJ guidelines are fully satisfied by the facts of this case as presented to the court in the
ex parte affidavit of Patrick Fitzgerald. Furthermore, assuming arguendo that this Court were to determine that the journalists did possess a qualified privilege – a holding which this Court has explained is simply not supported by case law – the ex parte affidavit has also established that Special Counsel would be able to meet even the most stringent of balancing tests. The information requested from Mr. Cooper and Mr. Russert is very limited, all available alternative means of obtaining the information have been exhausted, the testimony sought is necessary for
the completion of the investigation, and the testimony sought is expected to constitute direct evidence of innocence or guilt.
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/04ms296.pdf
The IIPA of 1992 is irrelevant. The United States Code applies. Specifically 18 USC 793 and 794. MSM is ignoring this fact.
August 16th, 2005 at 5:31 pmI’m just happy to know that BushCo is on the defensive.
Guilty as charged!
votetoimpeach.org
August 16th, 2005 at 5:54 pmbob the slob viagra dole, or limp willie….
I thought he was dead by now.
He is another evil man.
I wish everyone would contact the msm and DEMAND that journalists and guest contributors get a little integrity.
I suspect we will be seeing that walking corpse on all the so-called-news programs. The only good thing about dole is he ONLY HAS ONE GOOD ARM to wave madly in the air as he rants.
August 16th, 2005 at 7:23 pmsmelly fish and concerned commie, this pertains to you too!
Of Course He Is a Psychopath …
A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Elizabeth
… or a sociopath — the distinction here is insignificant.
I’m a mental health professional and psychopaths are a professional interest of mine. There is little doubt that Bush’s is a psychopathic character structure.
Another, and I think very appropriate term to describe psychopathy is emotional retardation — an inability to experience higher emotions expressive of the highest human values (such as empathy and guilt, sympathy, compassion, devotion to common human ideals such as peace, for example, etc.).
A psychopath is a person who uses his often considerable intelligence in the service of his primitive drives (think sex, aggression, power). Being fairly bright, he learns, imperfectly, to mimic emotional expressions suggestive of some higher emotions (compassion, for example), but his reactions hardly fool anyone because they ring hollow as there is no truth and authenticity in them. He can use lofty words when needed — an easy thing for a fairly intelligent psychopath — but there is no emotional content to them.
Just look at Bush’s responses whenever he is asked, unscripted, about anything that would require him to express either empathy, or caring and compassion for others, including his own family members. He stammers and stumbles, tries some platitudes or inappropriate jokes, and eventually makes a fool of himself. It is always painful to watch and it clearly demonstrates his emotional retardation.
Even most recently, when asked about Cindy Sheehan, he responded by saying “And I think it’s important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say.” He followed it with “I think it’s also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life.”
This statement in itself is very revealing. First, it sounds like something Bush has just learned to say on advice of his handlers who reminded him to pretend to be human (he *thinks* it is *important* for him to be thoughtful and sensitive …). Not that he knows what this means, or that any of it resonates emotionally for him, as evidenced by how quickly he closed this statement with a glib reference to, what else, his own need for a “balanced life,” a reference that sounds so incredibly insensitive in this context that it completely invalidates the message intended in his previous sentence.
I have no doubt that this emotionally flat and highly inappropriate statement came from the desk of one of his advisors — which only shows that psychopathic leaders surround themselves with psychopathic handlers who are equally clueless about what it means to be a feeling human being. It’s nothing new or surprising — we have seen it before in the history of the world. But it’s horrendously painful to witness.
Bush’s fumblings with statements that are supposed to express higher human emotions are not a proof that he is unintelligent in the conventional sense (i.e. intellectually impaired). His intelligence appears normal (= average at least) — but it is the emotional sphere that is so dangerously underdeveloped in him.
Notice that typically he does not encounter similar troubles when he talks about what is really close to his proverbial heart (not that he possesses a real one): power. All those swagger-filled threats, gestures of intimidation, and displays of bravado — often in the most inappropriate contexts (”Shock and Awe,” “Mission Accomplished,” etc.) — are further proof that we are dealing with intelligence in the service of primitive drives, combined with emotional hollowness. A.k.a. psychopathy.
And while you’re right that playing an armchair diagnostician is a task of dubious value sometimes, in case of G.W. Bush the evidence to support the diagnosis of psychopathy (or sociopathy) is just overwhelming and in plain sight for anyone to see. So if the shoe fits …
E.L. Doctorow’s essay sums up the core of Bush’s psychopathic character so well — and so painfully for all of us who have retained humanity in our souls.
The intelligence in the service of primitive instincts that Bush’s actions and words represent; the raw aggressive power, unmitigated by thought or higher feeling; and the surge of compensatory confidence it engenders, are what appeals to a great segment of this — or any other — society, especially to its powerless and emotionally underdeveloped members. They rally around their leader, seeing in him both a reflection of themselves and a promise of a “victory” that would release their fears and frustrations, and avenge their sorry, hopeless fate. Of course what they do not realize is that their leader couldn’t care less about their fate. To him, his minions are an echo chamber for his words and cannon fodder for his missions.
Tragically, as a nation, we will remain in the dark ages as long as we keep choosing psychopaths as our leaders and pretend this is a good thing. And no matter how hard we will try to convince ourselves that what we yearn for are freedom and democracy for all (and whatever other ideals we choose to endorse by our words), our actions — the choices we make, including our choice of the leader — will keep telling the rest of the world otherwise. As shameful as it is, the psychopathic Bush represents America to the world.
August 16th, 2005 at 8:30 pmrepublican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.republican talking points.
August 16th, 2005 at 9:13 pmAre you kidding me, I thought Bob Dole was dead. Doesn’t he remember his failed presidential campaign or has his alzheimer’s kicked in?
He should go change out his pen, it is starting to smell.
Idiot! STFU
August 16th, 2005 at 11:04 pmWhat are we going to do when Bush fires Fitz?
August 17th, 2005 at 1:22 amStart the rebellion.
August 17th, 2005 at 1:28 amOr, I should put it in a way that everybody understands.
We will toss the tea in the harbor. We will take back our country from those that have made a mockery of our Constitution.
August 17th, 2005 at 1:29 amThese rightwing wing nuts (or nazi’s) will NEVER SEE REASON.
They believe with all their hearts that ALL people should see the world through their eyes.
hold the phone…..
I am sitting here listening to some dumb bitch on MS..BS say that planes flying into the twin towers were operated by people from Iraq…..
and Chris (goebels) matthewes is agreeing with her…
boy are people really that stupid?????
good god!!!!
August 17th, 2005 at 3:18 amSorry, I had to fire off an e-mail to chris matthews…
AT WHAT POINT DO THESE msm idiots start to REPORT NEWS.
I was listening to him wondering how he would spin the Sheehan story into a repugnican talking point… and sure enough he did.
I told him if he valued real morals he would start to report the real news. Most importantly NOT NATALIE HOLLOWAY…. more like things that concern more than a few…. like TREASON
I told him that if he valued real morals he would begin to talk about the downing street memos. Election fraud and things that really affect the ENTIRE WORLD.
I am sure they don’t care about anything that the WH tells the NOT TO CARE ABOUT.
SCULL AND BONES RULE….. pity we ALL aren’t scull and bones…
BUT TO THE CONTRARY… KUDOS that Fitzgerald IS NOT SKULL AND BONES.
August 17th, 2005 at 3:35 amDOES ANYONE HAVE BOB DOLE’S e-mail address?????
I would love to send him a proto type of my new watch…
I doesn’t tell the time…. it runs backwards, and has only one WORKING HAND…. but it bitches constantly about the democrats….
August 17th, 2005 at 3:53 amThe following are the relevant CitizenSpook postings
http://citizenspook.blogspot.com/2005/07/treasongate-controlling-law-big.html
August 17th, 2005 at 9:56 amhttp://citizenspook.blogspot.com/2005/08/treasongate-controlling-law-part-2.html
http://citizenspook.blogspot.com/2005/08/treasongate-us-attorney-generals.html
http://citizenspook.blogspot.com/2005/08/treasongate-federal-grand-jury-fourth.html
Chris Matthews doesnt want to lose his job, therefor he refuses to talk about things like treason,9/11 inside job,and the downing street memo. hes a coward just like the rest of them.
August 17th, 2005 at 9:59 amI agree chris
August 17th, 2005 at 12:14 pmBill O LIE lly sure got an ear full.
Maybe just maybe my e-mail will slip through and he will see what real people think of him.
August 17th, 2005 at 12:14 pmThis is a fight the left started when they dug Joe Wilson up out of nowhere to try and attack Bush. Now, it has escalated and like most political fights, liberals will ultimately lose it.
Wilson and surrogates are liars. Plain and simple.
August 17th, 2005 at 12:39 pmHey NED,
August 17th, 2005 at 1:46 pmwhat are your views on gay marriage?
what are your views on blacks voting?
If anything like REAL ISSUES get in to the conversation, like treason and election fraud and illegal wars, cronie politics, the far right commies always speak up.
August 17th, 2005 at 1:48 pmi hate blacks voting,. i hate gay people. im programmed this way.i love gay prostitute plants in the whtie house press corps. i love paying with my tax dollars, for pro-admiministration propaganda. im a sheep and i love it.
August 17th, 2005 at 3:09 pmi hate stem cell research too. they tell me to hate it and i do.
August 17th, 2005 at 3:09 pmrepublican talking points.cant think for myself.republican talking points.cant think for myself.republican talking points.cant think for myself.republican talking points.cant think for myself.republican talking points.cant think for myself.republican talking points.cant think for myself.
August 17th, 2005 at 3:10 pmONE MORE WINDBAG FRIEND OF JR.S UPDATING US ON THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO
DO THE RIGHT THING:
August 17, 2005
Mr. Kj Lovell
Oklahoma
Dear Mr. Lovell:
Thank you for your letter regarding the so-called “Downing Street Memo”
from a high-level British meeting about the war in Iraq that was reported
in the Times of London.
I must respectfully decline to support a Congressional investigation into
the President’s decision to go to war with Iraq.
Once again, thank you for contacting me.
Sincerely, A Tom Coburn
United States Senator
TC: ds
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