Plame to file civil lawsuit
By on Jul 13th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Plame to file civil lawsuit
against Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Vice President Dick Cheney. Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame will announce the lawsuit tomorrow at 10 am.
UPDATE: The lawsuit accuses Cheney, Libby, Rove and 10 unnamed administration officials or political operatives of putting the Wilsons and their children’s lives at risk by exposing Plame and embarking “on an anonymous ‘whispering campaign’ designed to discredit…(the Wilsons) and to deter other critics from speaking out.”
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Good.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:41 pmPLEEEEASE
July 13th, 2006 at 3:42 pmLets hope it moves forward and gains some traction.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:43 pmGood for her. Now maybe we will get the truth out!!!
July 13th, 2006 at 3:45 pmOooh this should be fun.
*grabs popcorn*
July 13th, 2006 at 3:45 pmTalk about all gesture and no conviction, literally.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:46 pmTalk about all gesture and no conviction, literally.
Comment by Badmoodman — July 13, 2006 @ 3:46 pm
Hmmm… why “no conviction”? How do you come to that conclusion?
July 13th, 2006 at 3:54 pmGood for them. Suit their a** off.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:55 pmI am sure this will be crushed for national security reasons. We don’t want the truth to actually be available to the public.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:55 pmJPV
It’s a pun.
July 13th, 2006 at 3:56 pm… which leaves me wondering what part of Novak fingering Rove (bad, but probably accurate picture) did Fitzgerald not find criminal action?
July 13th, 2006 at 3:58 pmMaybe the ‘Feces Factor’, Rove & Cheney,
July 13th, 2006 at 4:00 pmcan have a little sunlight pumped up those
fat butts.
Plame ‘em, Valerie!
JoinSema,
> I am sure this will be crushed for national security reasons. We don’t want the
> truth to actually be available to the public.
This is exactly what I suspect. I doubt if any of these guys would ever take a witness stand in this case.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:00 pmFinally someone has the balls to do something about this.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:00 pmand, in other news:
—-israel is bombing just about anyone they can with bush’s bombs!!!!
—-the usa has just blocked a u.n. resolution condemning israel.
—-red buttons is dead—but, i think tp may actually post that bit of news
July 13th, 2006 at 4:02 pmI doubt that the lawsuit will gain much traction. Whatever is not dismissed for national security reasons, will be attacked as a partisan show.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:03 pmThe 10 unnamed John Does are probably the remainder of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) which should have been indicted by Fitzgerald under the RICO Statutes. Somehow Bush got to Fitzgerald and turned him.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:03 pmjames risser
I know….no one give a s**t about Israel’s transgressions.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:04 pmWait for the Reich-wing hue and cry about suing a sitting Vice-President. At least there is a distinction here, this would be for acts He committed while in office. So I can imagine all sorts of defenses ranging from State Secrets, National Security and Executive Privilege.
I wonder if an investigation will turn up a stained shirt in Gannon/Gukert’s closet?
(I know, low blow)
July 13th, 2006 at 4:07 pm[...] Valerie Plame has filed suit in federal court against the triumverate of tastelessness. I guess she is mad that they ruined her CIA career. She will be holding a press conference tomorrow at 10 a.m. to discuss the suit more. How many times do you think Dick Cheney will say “executive privilege” in the next few days? [link] [...]
July 13th, 2006 at 4:07 pmDoubleSpeak with Matthew and Peter Slutsky
July 13th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
This civil suit will be handled differently than a criminal case. Maybe Fitzgerald realized that Bush could pardon Rove but Bush can’t help with a civil lawsuit. Hummm…. a jury of peers, could this be held in Washington DC? Hummm… wonder how many citizens of Washington DC love Cheney, Rove and Libby.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:08 pmBush declassified the documents so where’s the national security?
July 13th, 2006 at 4:10 pmI hope Valerie Plame/Wilson sues Karl Rove for every dime he has and forces the creep into bankruptcy too!
July 13th, 2006 at 4:13 pmFor all of the latest PlameGate scandal news, legal documents, key statutes and other essential documents, see:
July 13th, 2006 at 4:17 pm“The CIA Leak/PlameGate Resource Center.”
#23
That won’t happen these guys have MANY rich friends, they will start a defense fund, Rove and comapny won’t have to pay a dime.
Just like with Libby who is by all accounts pretty well off.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:18 pmLet me be very clear when i say this:
FRICK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
at the very least, these scumbags will be dragged through the courts and exposed… perhaps no jail time, but CERTAINLY scorn…. TRUTH OUT!!!!!
July 13th, 2006 at 4:20 pmBush declassified the documents so where’s the national security?
Comment by Coffins draped with flags — July 13, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
He’ll just re-classify them (if he hasn’t already) and…that’ll be the end of that.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:20 pmWhatever is not dismissed for national security reasons, will be attacked as a partisan show.
Comment by Krazny
When you are in a court of law the partisan show argument means nothing. Either they outed a CIA Iranian WMD officer or they did not.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:21 pmOJ was found nto guilty in a court of law, but in the civil suit a reasonable Jury found that the preponderance of the evidence pointed right at him. Perhaps this will be a similar situation. Remeber Karl, not being charged or being found not guilty are far different from being innocent.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:22 pmPost 25 > I forgot to think about that > yep you are right Karl Rove would have a rescue fund to pay any money awarded to Plame! There is NO hope to destroy Karl Rove anymore!
July 13th, 2006 at 4:23 pmI don’t care if they do have a “rescue fund” to bail their asses out. I want to see them deposed!!!
July 13th, 2006 at 4:27 pmWC
In South Africa we figured out how to get around that one. We have in camera (no reporters, no cameras) court procedings when the information is at all sensitive or a minor is involved. We don’t keep evidence out of our courtrooms on the grounds of confidentiality, we may be third world but we aren’t that stupid.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:28 pmand in other news:
—-dennis hastert is in the hospital.
—–red buttons is still dead
—–think progress doesn’t care that people are being killed by the bush administration in lebanon and palestine.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:40 pmHow can Plame sue? Doesn’t that mean a crime would have to been committed first? Fitzgerald didn’t indict anyone on the “alledged” crime because there wasn’t one. Who actually sent Joe Wilson to Niger anyway? This case will go no where in my opinion.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:42 pm#35
nope. not for a civil case. thing of it a personal suit, one person against the other, instead of an impersonal one of the state against a defendant.
here is a copy of the complaint if you would like to take a look…
July 13th, 2006 at 4:46 pm34 – a civil suit does not have to depend on a crime having been committed.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:48 pmComment by In the Middle — July 13, 2006 @ 4:42 pm
A “crime” does not need to be committed to sue someone for a tort. That is why repugnuts want tort reform so badly. They do not want their negligence to cost them their precious money.
It is WELL documented that the CIA, and not Valarie Plame, sent Mr. Wilson to Niger.
Think what you want bud, I disagree!!!
July 13th, 2006 at 4:50 pm#35 – James, thanks for the link!
I noticed the “of counsel” is the professor who gave my Bar Review lecture on Constitutional Law. Professor Chemerinsky gave a 3 hour lecture on Constitutional Law without notes! He is considered one of the leading experts in Constitutional Law.
It will be fascinating to watch how this plays out.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:55 pm#39
yes, he also wrote the casebook on evidence, if i remember correctly. must have been good to see him for the barprep!
it would be good if tp would have linked to it….i hope returning posters get a chance to find my note and download a copy.
July 13th, 2006 at 4:58 pmHow can Plame sue? Doesn’t that mean a crime would have to been committed first? Fitzgerald didn’t indict anyone on the “alledged†crime because there wasn’t one. Who actually sent Joe Wilson to Niger anyway? This case will go no where in my opinion.
Comment by In the Middle
Translation:
Duh! What is the difference between a criminal and civil court case?
July 13th, 2006 at 4:59 pmHe has one very dry sense of humor!
But it was amazing to see him go through a three-hour outline point by point. It’s like he has a photographic memory.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:02 pmDuh! What is the difference between a criminal and civil court case?
Comment by Gerald Gibson
wow, that is not a nice thing to do…people have questions; they are not born knowing the distinction. lighten up or go over to red state or something.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:12 pmWell, well, well.
Let me be the first to serve myself a helping of crow for saying that the Wilsons would never go through with filing a lawsuit. Although, I wonder whether they will actually go to trial with it.
This ought to be a circus for the media. Since the standard of proof is much lower in civil suits, they’ll probably get at least one of those guys for something. Cheney? Nah. Libby? Maybe. Rove? Doubtful. Libby was the one most involved with all of this.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:21 pmThey have more on Cheney than anyone had on Clinton.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:36 pmKermit,
Like what? Scribbling on a copy of the New York Times? Yeah, same thing as a squirt of Clinton’s Special Recipe on a blue dress. Mhm. Cheney is probably laughing his ass off right now. Only ones that need to be worried about their pocketbooks are Rove and Libby. When’s Valierie’s book coming out again? Same time as the trial? Wow, that sure is a grand coincidence.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:42 pmScribbling on a newspaper, scribbling on a dress, yeah sounds about the same.
The precedent has been set. Let’s get Bush and Cheney under oath and make them squirm. It’s the American way!
July 13th, 2006 at 5:55 pmI am glad to hear this news – but will we know the result in our lifetime here? I expect the White House lawyers will stop at nothing to drag this out into infinity.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:55 pmGood for them! Perhaps there will be some justice for a change.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:56 pmInteresting footnote to the Clinton affair. The original plantiff teamed up with Tanya Harding for foxy boxing, and Ken Starr was later disbarred for falsifying evidence.
There’s your Republican heroism.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:56 pmSo exactly who was “harmed” that brought on this civil suit? I noticed they requested a trial by jury (Plame). they are probably hoping to get a room full of koolaid drinkers, but that may not work in there favor. They will drop it after the book gets into the top ten.
July 13th, 2006 at 5:58 pmYes, Hastert is hospitalized with cellulitis, a severe bacterial infection in his leg.
July 13th, 2006 at 6:00 pmI believe it was Justice Scalia writing the opinion that gave Paula Jones the right to sue a sitting president. I’m paraphrasing, but Scalia wrote that if the President had the time to play golf, he had the time to be deposed in a civil suit. I think that’s going to apply to the VP.
July 13th, 2006 at 6:02 pmRepub Soldier: “So exactly who was “harmed†that brought on this civil suit?”
Good question! Valerie Plame’s career as a “non-official operative” ended when it was published that she worked for the CIA. As an operative, she ran a front company called I think Brewster-Jennings, which was tracking the proliferation of illegal nuclear weapons throughout the world, with emphasis evidently on Iran and Pakistan. She had been working on this front project for over 10 years. It has been reported in the British press that when Novak’s column was published, Brewster Jennings employees were running for the airports in some foreign cities. So, they ruined Valerie Plame’s career and Retired Republican, you’re a damned liar if you don’t admit that if this had happened during the Clinton administration, you would have been calling for Clinton’s head on a platter.
July 13th, 2006 at 6:08 pmBush supporters: We know from depositions that when Bush stood in front of the Oval office and said he wanted anyone who knew anything to come forward and help him find out who the leaker was, that he already knew that Cheney and Rove were involved. Does it bother you at all that the President stands there on camera and just bullshits you with a straight face?
July 13th, 2006 at 6:11 pmi am banned!
July 13th, 2006 at 6:16 pmi am banned!
Comment by james risser — July 13, 2006 @ 6:16 pm
Then how did you post this?
July 13th, 2006 at 6:51 pmyes, how can anyone read these bushisms and NOT say he lied….it is astounding how brain-washed these people who say ‘he didn’t lie’ really are!
I want to know the truth. If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true and get on about the business..
And I don’t know if we’re going to find out the senior administration official. Now, this is a large administration, and there’s a lot of senior officials. I don’t have any idea. I’d like to. I want to know the truth. That’s why I’ve instructed this staff of mine to cooperate fully with the investigators—full disclosure, everything we know the investigators will find out. I have no idea whether we’ll find out who the leaker is
I’d like to know if somebody in my White House did leak sensitive information.
If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration.’
I look forward to finding the truth.’
July 13th, 2006 at 6:58 pmsorry about the bold…
July 13th, 2006 at 6:59 pmBluedog49,
Yes, Plame was in Who’s Who, but most of those who have a clue have known that for quite some time, and also knew that it was completely irrelevant.
I can’t wait for this trial to start. I’m guessing it will start after the Libby trial, right around Valerie’s book release. Quelle surprise.
It’s funny because listed in the “facts” in their filing is a totally false accusation passed to the Washington Post by none other than Wilson’s good friend Marc Grossman.
As I said, I can’t wait for this trial to start, and watch the complete destruction of the Wilson family. I don’t want the Wilson family to be destroyed, but they’ve just set themselves up for the biggest trap in the world. I don’t even know what in the hell they are thinking.
Wilson explaining his lies to the New York Times and the Washington Post? Oh my, this will be fun. Cheers everyone!
July 13th, 2006 at 8:10 pmSeixon, I will bet you a package of Oreos and a bottle of ranch against your $1 that they win this case. Are you man enough to take the bet? Do I have a witness?
July 13th, 2006 at 9:08 pmThe defense attorneys should have a field day with Wilson on the stand. So many lies..
July 13th, 2006 at 10:30 pmSeison strikes me as a very lonely person who is willing to attract negative attention, just to get any attention at all. If, as he claims, he is posting from Norway, he spends all night at his computer. I’ve decided to stop answering his posts. Let him get his attentions elsewhere.
July 14th, 2006 at 12:12 amWhy is it so hard for the Kool-Aid drinkers to see that in the run up to the war, Wilson who had spent much time in the region, knew the government and the economy (as well as the mining industry, which was relative to the “yellow cake”).
July 14th, 2006 at 12:28 amThe fact that his wife worked under cover investigating nuclear proliferation in the region, was why she entered into the picture. She introduced her husband to the people seeking an investigator. This was not a “junket” as FOX news likes to call it — anyone who knows anything about Niger would never refere to Niger as such. He went pro-bono BTW.
Novak made the case for the law suit. The burden of proof isn’t the same as in a criminal case. So with Scotty (former Press Secretary) stating that Karl Rove never told any reporters nor did he know the CIA’s name was a lie. Novak gave the public the info that Karl Rove told him that Plame was a CIA agent. Cheney’s notes and Libby’s loose lip plus all the investigative information in the criminal case seals the fact that this case has merit. Now to watch the spin and blame. Rove and his attorney spread the word out that Plame wasn’t an agent yet Bush says Plame was an active covert agent working in Iran. Some might say it’s all about the money but I notice that Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have set up a Trust Fund for the money to go to other whistleblowers who can’t defend themselves as Bush has made that a criminal offense
July 14th, 2006 at 1:41 am[...] Valery Plame & her husband, Joe Wilson, are apparently going to file a civil suit against several administration officials, accusing… Cheney, Libby, Rove and 10 unnamed administration officials or political operatives of putting the Wilsons and their children’s lives at risk by exposing Plame… [...]
July 14th, 2006 at 6:57 amThe named and unnamed parties will no doubt shout from the rooftops that they are pure as the driven snow, while they do everything they possibly can to avoid testifying under oath, on the record, to what they really did, if they are truly guilty. Otherwise they will no doubt be eager to get this over with, to prove their innocence. Like BushCo supporters are fond of saying, to those who object to being spied on, “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” Alright then! Here we go!
July 14th, 2006 at 7:56 amYes, Hastert is hospitalized with cellulitis, a severe bacterial infection in his leg.
Comment by Marie — July 13, 2006 @ 6:00 pm
July 14th, 2006 at 8:34 amThis may be hard to believe but this could be very serious. Bacteria have become antibiotic resistent and as result DEADLY.
Cyra – BushCo may not have a choice about testifying under oath. Valerie Plame is the one in control here. Wonder how Rick Santorum feels about this lawsuit? He’s sued medical professionals twice so he must support Valerie on this action.
July 14th, 2006 at 8:40 amSKdeA,
You’re going to give me ranch dressing and Oreos if I win, and I give you $1 if I lose?
Sure, but this case is a bit complicated, as it has up to 13 defendants. So what we betting on exactly? Heh. What does a “win” mean?
July 14th, 2006 at 8:57 am#70-Coffins, thanks to the Republican witch hunt of Bill Clinton, the Supreme Court said that a sitting President can be made to testify in a civil suit, thanks, Scalia! BushCo has no excuse to get out of it now, and they did it to themselves! LOVE IT! But the one thing that really vexes me is the clear contradiction of the BushCo stories, about Valerie Plame. Bush ‘Boosters’ keep saying that she was not a “NOC”, that she was little more than a secretary at the CIA, of no real import at all, blah, blah, blah. If that is true, why would GWB need to ‘declassify’ top secret documents, to ‘out’ her? And if she was a ‘nobody’ why would information about her identity be ‘classified’ in the first place? And how would a lowly ‘paper pusher’ have the ‘pull’ to send her husband on a ‘mission’ for the CIA? The truth is right there, for anyone who wants to, to see. I feel better now.
July 14th, 2006 at 9:32 am#66 Jackie
July 14th, 2006 at 9:40 amMr. and Mrs. Wilson have set up a Trust Fund for the money to go to other whistleblowers who can’t defend themselves as Bush has made that a criminal offense.
That is a point worth noting every time a Bush lover brings up the name Plame.
Cyra,
You have been duped. Bush declassified parts of the NIE, not anything to do with Plame. You’re a victim of a quite successful bait and switch carried out by Murray Waas and others.
Plame was NOC, but it’s never been actually confirmed that she was covert under the law. Plame was not a lowly officer, which is exactly why she had the clout to be involved in sending Wilson. She was an analyst on WMDs, not a covert agent.
Marie,
Oh God. Bush hasn’t made being a whisteblower a criminal offense, Bush can’t make laws! Get a clue. Joe Wilson could have gotten a Congressional hearing on his little trip to Niger, but he chose to go leaking bullshit to the NY Times and the WaPo instead.
July 14th, 2006 at 10:10 amSeixon: “Joe Wilson could have gotten a Congressional hearing on his little trip to Niger, but he chose to go leaking bullshit to the NY Times and the WaPo instead.”
As usual, pure bullshit. Why would anyone believe Joe Wilson could get a Congressional hearing on this matter when the Republican congress has been stonewalling any investigation whatsoever into the use and misuse of intelligence by the Bush administration?
July 14th, 2006 at 2:04 pmSeixon: “She was an analyst on WMDs, not a covert agent.”
That, of course, is a lie. Brewster-Jennings was a CIA front company. She ran the company overtly, with her position as an operative for the CIA a secret. Even long-standing family friends have said they didn’t know she even worked for the CIA.
July 14th, 2006 at 2:19 pmBluedog49,
Did Wilson ever tell Democratic senators and congressman to try and get a hearing about the issue? Nope, he started leaking to the Times and the Post in May 2003 instead. Notice that he also did not start talking about any of this until the IAEA had determined that the Niger documents were forged, and the war had begun.
Secondly, Plame was an analyst for WMDs. She had not done any covert missions for a long time, as she was brought back from Europe in 1997. Her position at the CIA was classified, and the Brewster-Jennings front company was largely defunct by 2003.
Of course her friends didn’t know she worked for the CIA, her position was classified. That doesn’t mean she was “covert” under the IIPA. Classified and covert are two different degrees of secrecy. I believe everyone who works as the Directorate of Operations has a classified job, but not all of them are covert. Only the agents that work in the field are covert. The people working the desk jobs back in Langely are classified, just like Valerie.
There’s a reason why Wilson went bullshitting to the Times and the Post. Try and discover it.
July 15th, 2006 at 1:21 pm