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Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald meets the press at the Dept. of Justice today.

I posted only primary sources this afternoon -- the thing itself, not about the thing -- because I studied a lot of history back when, and these are what jump off the page, still alive, still real, decades later. The commentary of the day is interesting, but largely for how different people perceived, as it unfolded, what turned out to have been happening.

I like Patrick Fitzgerald's understanding of the value of staying within the formal limits of his charge. He wants to know what's true, but he will only make what he learns public if it is relevant to a crime. Props to Keith Olbermann for following that video clip with the news that journalists don't have to stop on the way to the truth.

I once told a reader, "I read widely but only blog within consensus reality."

Yes, I've seen a lot of plausible outcomes for what's ahead. But history plays out in time, and although you may know today how it turns out, the rest of us have to play it out. You may be Cassandra, doomed to know the future but never to be believed, but on the Web your reputation will eventually be redeemed when your words float to the top of the search engine results -- if you're right.

Meanwhile, feel free to prophesy in comments, or in email -- links to both are below, and you can be anonymous.

I dipped into Technorati looking for "c-span Fitzgerald press conference" -- just throwing some words on the wall.

This came up as the most recent blog result:

Fitzgerald

No one will have any trouble finding info on Leakgate, so I'm not going to bother with that unless I find something really interesting that no one else has blogged.

I watched some of the Fitz press conference explaining the indictment on C-Span and it was like he was from some other planet where everyone believes that living within the rules is important. The man simply delivered the facts in the indictment and then dodged and deflected every question that was outside the scope of his charter.

Of course the reporters tried to get him to react to what "critics" are saying. He was great. He just kept saying he doesn't have anything to say about what critics are saying.

Then the reporters tried to get him to prognosticate on the final verdict -- how confident is he of a conviction, etc. Buzzzzzzzzzer! He said "that's not up to me. That's up to the Department of Justice."

The over all quality of the questions was only a little less dumb than the last question he took before he left. Some reporter asked him: "Did the fact that Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination have any impact on your investigation?" The press gallary busted out laughing, and then they shut up real quick like they were being lampooned. Fitz looked really confused for a few seconds and then said "Good. You really confused me there for a minute. Good bye."

Posted by Servant @ 28.10.05

The blog is Ressentiment, it was on top -- most recent -- when I searched. It's all in the timing.

"Scooter Libby is the firewall for Dick Cheney" -- Watergate cover-up indictee and convictee (on obstruction of justice) John Dean on MSNBC'S Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight.

(Dean has said he served "127 days in the custody of the U.S. Marshalls (sic) because I was in the Witness Protection Program. The government was very concerned about keeping me alive.")

We have a fireplace going, the season's first fire, and I'm going to go stretch out in front of it.

Tonight, Patrick Fitzgerald is representing America on TV screens around the world.

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2 Comments

servant said:

I've been looking for concensus on the press conference reaction in Technorati also.

Fitzgerald is getting a lot of good buzz all around the blogosphere, except for the die-hard talking points readers.

People seem to trust him immediately because he uses plain English compared to the goobledigook we had to wade through in the press recently.

Thanks

Link | October 28, 2005 9:59 PM
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rosebud said:

Ah, Sheila, don't you long for the innocence of The Art of The Possible?

You say, "I read widely but only blog within consensus reality."

I don't know what that means. Does that mean you only proffer claims about reality that no one can dispute without in the same breath revealing themselves to be psychotic? I hardly think that could be your meaning. So, linguistically inflating the verb "to blog" in this fashion is not, at least for this reader, a helpful stylistic improvisation.

But let's say we gloss over that: the MEGO defense all over again, if you will. The larger question is: is not "consensus reality" exactly what we don't anymore, assuming, for current forensic purposes, that we once had such a thing within our grasp? (Borrowing loosely from Nietzsche, who once said the same thing about "facts.") So, whose consensus? Whose reality?

Are you familiar with The Corner, National Review Online's blog? No? It's worth a peek if only to dispell the notion that all conservatives -- knuckle-dragging troglodytes that they must be -- march in lockstep to the same drummer: there's quite a kerfuffle now as to Mr. Fitzgerald's deportment during his press conference. Here's a sample. Enjoy.

"[An NRO writer] says that but for Patrick Fitzgerald's kindness, Lewis Libby could have been charged with passing illegally classified information to reporters, specifically the identity of Valerie Plame which, in itself, is classified. (For weeks we've been told that Fitzgerald is tough as nails; today we are told he's a pussy cat.) Nonsense. Frankly, this has the smell of Lawrence Walsh, who claimed that top Reagan officials violated various laws without charging them, and his defenders waived around Walsh's public statements as evidence of crimes.

[...]

"...you bet Fitzgerald smeared Libby during his press conference. All the talk about violations of national security, outing a CIA official, and harming CIA recruitment was nothing more than a well-rehearsed public relations speech intended to paint these indictments as something more than they are (albeit serious in their own right). And that is why, I believe, we have strained efforts now to accuse Libby of passing classified information without the benefit of an actual charge."

http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_10_23_corner-archive.asp#081186

Cheers, milk, cookies -- the usual.

r.

Link | October 30, 2005 4:39 AM
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