Tuesday, November 01, 2005
There is no graver crime than to mislead a country into war, and then lie to cover it up.
The case of who disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA covert operative working to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, reaches into the highest levels of the White House. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has now indicted Assistant to the President and Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Scooter Libby. Senior Advisor to the President Karl Rove has yet to be indicted but is still under investigation.
President Bush, who has already broken his public promise to fire anyone involved in the leak, is probably considering pardoning those involved before any trial, just as his father did more than a decade ago in pardoning six high-level officials who broke the law in providing arms to Iran and the Nicaraguan contras.
This case has always been about the Bush Administration's brazen efforts to mislead the American public into supporting the invasion of Iraq. With the nation in mourning for our 2000 slain soldiers, nothing could be more offensive than to pardon those who misled us, covered it up, and then endangered the lives of undercover CIA agents in order to intimidate those who stood up for the truth.
This isn't a failed real estate deal or a stained blue dress -- this is the national security of the United States. Thousands have already died, with more to come. Regrettably, we cannot be sure that justice will be served in this case. President Bush has the unilateral power to pardon Libby, Rove and anyone else who might be accused of a crime, even before their trial.
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