Multi Medium

Co-Wanker Of The Day, Part 1

3 comments July 5th, 2007at 11:29am Posted by Eli

Okay, this time I know that I have more than one wanker today, but I should probably just start assuming that that will always be the case…

Anyway, Wanker #1 is the esteemed Mr. Michael Kinsley, who I’m pretty sure actually used to be a liberal at some point. He basically argues that poor Scooter Libby was caught in an unfair perjury trap, JUST LIKE BILL CLINTON OMG.

Yes, he concedes that Clinton didn’t actually lie to cover up a criminal act, but since Scooter lied about something that might not have been a criminal act (and no-one knows for sure because Scooter lied about it), their perjuries are equivalent. (I would say that the very existence of Scooter’s smokescreen rather strongly suggests that he and his cronies either knew or suspected that they had done something criminal)

He also goes on to make some bizarre and nigh-incomprehensible argument that Scooter shouldn’t have been prosecuted for perjury because the reporters he and his co-conspirators leaked to didn’t have to testify. Umm… What? I could have sworn that Judy, Cooper, and Russert all ended up testifying – did I miss something?

In any case, even if Kinsley hadn’t slept through the entire Libby investigation and trial, I still don’t see how reporters testifying or not testifying has any bearing on Libby’s obligation to do so, and to do so truthfully.

I cheerfully agree that Libby had an unpleasant choice of either lying to a grand jury, or spilling the beans on a possible (I would say probable) crime that he was a party to. But the thing is, he was in that unpleasant situation because he willingly participated in the conspiracy and made no effort to stop it, or even to opt out of it.

In essence, Scooter’s position was little different from that of any other criminal under interrogation: He had a choice to either come clean about the potential crime being investigated, or commit the new (and lesser) crime of lying about it, and hope that the truth didn’t find its way out anyway.

Scooter trapped himself the moment he jumped on the Let’s-Out-Valerie bandwagon.

Entry Filed under: Libby/Plame,Media,Wankers