We now return to everyone's favorite chief of staff and traitor, Scooter Libby. Last we left our hero, he was awaiting the decision of Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney investing the CIA leak case. Last Friday, he was indicted on 5 charges: 2 counts of perjury, 1 count of obstruction of justice, 2 counts of lying to a grand jury. All in all, he could serve a maximum of 30 years. Serious time. A chance for him to hit the weights, get his degree, convert to Islam, figure out his true feelings for Dick Cheney. Go here (pdf) to read the indictment.
He was in court yesterday for arraignment, pleading not guilty. The trial has begun, and it should help remind everyone that the indictment wasn't an end, but rather a beginning. Don't forget that there is so much more to come, as evidenced by Karl Rove's uncertain future. The Washington Post reports that aides are discussing whether he should resign or formally apologize. Jane at firedoglake has some great thinking on this article. Even better, contrary to the Right's talking points, Rove is still under investigation in the leak case.
-Libby resigned as the Vice President's chief of staff last Friday, as well. Are you wondering who was picked to replace Libby as Cheney's chief of staff? You are, aren't you? Wondering if the White House and Dick Cheney have learned from the Libby indictment? No, they have not. David Addington has been named as Libby's successor as Cheney's chief of staff. TAPPED has the story on him, the man called one of the president's "torture lawyers" by Slate. Even better, Cheney's new national security advisor, John Hannah, is closely tied to the lies that lead us to war. Matt Yglesias links to this Knight Ridder article about Hannah's pivotal role in the bogus claims that was used as evidence to bring us to war. Oh, and both men are pivotal actors in the leaking of Valerie Plame's name to the press.
-Speaking of torture, are you missing the stories about Abu Ghraib? Feeling a bit of pride when you consider our country, the US of A? Well, do I have a tale for you. The Washington Post has the story that the CIA has been hiding terror suspects in secret prisons in Eastern Europe, prisons that were once used by Soviet police. You want more? Dick Cheney has chosen his cause: torture. He is ACTIVELY lobbying members of the Senate to add a CIA exception to John McCain's bill banning torture by any American. Other members of the administration are even disturbed at how far down the slope they have gone.
In light of all of these stories, Cenk Uygur asks the fundamental question: What have we become?
-With such scary news out there, go to Laundromat United and grab the nice Halloween mix that Lambo and Capski put together for the holiday. We Mix On Their Graves is really great stuff.
-I have been sleeping on a great blog from a Philly bol, Trapper Juan. Drew's got lots of links and thoughts on topics ranging from rap to myspace to Barry Melrose's hair. Anyone who gets harrassed and stalked by people who frequent the OkayPlayer message board and references the greatest MASH character has to be alright in my book.
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