Hypothetical: If Fitz names GWB as "Unindicted Co-Conspirator"

[Zen Democrat]

would the House be forced by public opinion to open impeachment hearings?

If public opinion for the administration and congress keeps moving downward, indictments and "unindicted co-conspirators" would be impossible for the congress to ignore with all of the reps facing reelection next year.

Bill Clinton was impeached, but never indicted. With indictments looming in this case, would it be too great to assume that congress would look like administration collaborators barring any congressional investigations?

I get that crazy feeling that the Contract On America is coming to its logical conclusion --- THROW THE BUMS OUT. Think about Newt's Contract -- balanced budgets and term-limits (how long has it been since you heard a Republican mention term-limits?) It's all "non-operable" at this time.

[NewJeffCT]

1. nope

The RW media would go into overdrive: Fitzgerald is an out-of-control prosecutor & a rapid partisan Democrat and it is all political attacks and not legitimate. So, be prepared for that sort of blowback... if you think Rove & Company are spinning now, you ain't seen nothing.

We just have to be prepared on our end to counter the charges. If I'm not mistaken, Fitz is an old school Republican, but I could be wrong. But, that won't stop the RW.

[Talismom]

3. Fitzgerald is a republican; takes his work and reputation seriously. n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

4. I believe Fitzgerald is a registered Republican

. . . but that won't keep them from calling him a partisan Democrat.

[NewJeffCT]

5. agreed... Joe Wilson is now a partisan Democrat

Despite having worked for George H.W. Bush and having given money to George W. Bush in 2000, Wilson is now a partisan Democrat.

[indie_voter]

6. They will attack, no question

However, if such a thing ever happened, it would be too huge for them to get much traction out of it.

MHO, the attacks worked (Clarke, O'Neill, etc) before because the sheeple were willing to give GWB the benefit of the doubt.

Things have deteriorated since then (Iraq, domestic issues, etc). GWB poll numbers are NOT good. They might be able to confuse the issue a little, but not to the same extent as they did in the past.

Their chickens are coming home to roost.

[napi21]

2. You're getting way to deep into the law for me to know what would

happen. I seem to remember some discussion when Clinton was Pres, about prosecuting a sitting Pres. It had to do with Paula Jones I think, but I don't recall the outcome.

I don't know what the law dictates, but I do know, if that happened, the political ramifications would be disasterous for Shrub!

[ozymandius]

8. The suit, decided by the Supreme Court, confirmed that a sitting

President may be sued. Prosecution is another matter entirely. Impeachment is the same thing as prosecution for a government official. Clinton v. Jones resulted in Paula Jones sexual harrassment suit against Clinton while he was governor of Arkansas.

[madrchsod]

7. fitz is not a republican!!!!

sorry... but he declares no party at all not even independent...

[longship]

9. Follow this scenerio

Crashcart as "unindicted co-conspirator".

Bush was possibly out of the loop on the Plame outing.

But that's how this thing gets interesting...

Here's a possible scenerio:

Like in Watergate, the crime wasn't as bad as the cover-up. These guys are clever but they aren't very smart. They didn't even read the Watergate timeline before they executed this plan. What's worse, they involved *** in the cover-up when he might not have been already involved in the crime.

Read the administration's official pronouncements throughout 2003 and 2004 about this deal. In particular *** words of Oct 2003 are telling. That's when he claimed that he wouldn't likely find the leaker because his administration was a large one with many senior advisors. He said this--and this is the crucial point--when one leaker was right across the hall from him, and another was right across the hall from Crashcart. It kind of blows away any claim that they were looking for the leaker and suggests--I know, I know, gotta have proof--that the cover-up was in high gear already.

Can you say "Conspiracy to obstruct justice"? Sure you can.

So *** might not have been involved in the leak, but he almost certainly was involved in the cover-up.

[Zen Democrat]

10. What did the president know and when did he know it?

What did the vice-president know and when did he know it?

How much does Colin Powell know about this? He was carrying the dossier with the information about Valerie Wilson's covert position at CIA. Colin Powell has testified under oath to the Grand Jury. Colin Powell could have testified that he told Cheenie about this. Cheenie was also called to testify.

The possibilities here are enormous.

[longship]

11. When Nixon denied knowing about cover-up...

The question morphed into a sarcastic:

"What didn't the President know, and when didn't he know it."
:rofl:

[GDoyle]

12. Umm

Why not just indict him? F him. Indict the bastard, he knew damn well and was in on the meetings on AF1 in Africa when this scheme was cooked up. Likely in on the cover up as well.

GDoyle