Boxer Statement on the Libby Verdict

[ProSense]

Press Release of Senator Boxer
Boxer Statement on the Libby Verdict

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today made the following statement after a jury found Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice:

"This verdict sends a very clear message that the abuse of power is not going to be tolerated, and that those powerful figures who think themselves above the law, will be held to the standard of the law."

link

[Duer 157099]

1. Gosh, I'm just going to have to disagree with her

The clear message that was sent was simply that abuse of power is perfectly tolerated and that engaging in a cover-up is neither productive nor necessary, and in fact can be detrimental. Just do it all out in the open. After all, look at all Bush has gotten away with and yet impeachment is still off the table.

[Ninja Jordan]

4. Bohemian Grove 4 life

[tk2kewl]

2. If so, then time to get to work Babs.

[global1]

3. Yeah - Right Barbara.....

the only clear message that will be sent to *Co is that Congress not initiating investigations as to what really went on in the WH in this run-up and lying us into war and that just gives *Co a green light to continue to abuse power.

The Constitution gives any president the right to pardon anyone they damn well feel to pardon. No if's and's or but's. It gives them the license to lie, cheat, steal, kill, torture, out, etc, etc, etc, and when they are done they get a 'get out of jail' free card. (It's no wonder why people want to be president.)

Some standard of law. This verdict sends *Co the message that they must be a little more careful next time and not get caught.

They learned to be more discrete.

If Congress doesn't do something - and something fast - about trying to wrap their hands around this outing based on the revelations that came out of the Libby trial - they will miss the opportunity - because a pardon of Libby is on the way.

So I guess - the balls in your court Barbara, Nancy, Hillary, Barack, John, Teddy, Harry, Henry, Conyers and the rest of the Democrats in Congress to do something.

If not - then - I guess we are just tolerating this abuse of power.

I don't mean to dump on Barbara Boxer because I like and support her.

But these silly statements get us nowhere. They need to stop talking and start doing.

[ProSense]

5. "But these silly statements get us nowhere." Disagree

They prevent people from posting: "Where are the Democrats?" "Why are they silent?"

They also give insight into what Democratic leaders are thinking.

[saltpoint]

7. Exactly so. They also provide context in which our party may cast

our opponents on the Republican side.

It's a way of weaving historical threads together. And Sen. Boxer is very good at it.

[global1]

8. So Tell Me - What Are The Democrats Thinking?.........

and why aren't they doing? In my mind they remain silent if they don't do something - by way of an investigation. Again - I read that Cheney is weakened. How?

If the Dems don't act - by way of further probes/investigations - Cheney, Rove, * - will all be embolden and just continue to crap on the Constitution.

[saltpoint]

6. I stand with Senator Boxer in this statement.

She's right.

Fitz did his job capably. Libby is convicted on 4 of 5 counts.

The resonance of this case is considerable, in that a certain Vice President is dramatically weakened.

As I often have and expect to do many times hence, I salute Senator Boxer. As usual, she's got it just right.

[global1]

9. I Think You Think I Was Taking A Shot At Senator Boxer - No....

her statement above was just convenient for me to make my point. I like Senator Boxer. Don't be so sensitive. What I'm saying transcends Sen. Boxer. It hits at the brunt of the whole of the party.

Think about this - if the shoe were on the other foot and Libby was a Dem operative that just got convicted in a WH scandal - what do you thing the Repugs would do? I don't think that they would just be issuing nice sounding statements. There would be so many committee's activated to hit at the Dems it would make your head spin.

We - The Dems - just issue these statements - and then say things like - Impeachment is off the Table.

Come on now - we have 22 more months of this criminal administration. We need to do something to them to keep them occupied before they get us into more trouble.

Don't give them the green light. Don't embolden them. This Libby conviction will be old news soon. One maybe two more news cycles and we'll be off on some other wild goose chase. Anna, Britney, Some other ditsy blond.

Get your heads out of the sand - call Barbara up and tell her you support her statement - now you want her to put her money where her mouth is and investigate and get rid of these criminals. Do so quick though - a Libby pardon is looming.

[saltpoint]

10. Boxer's public statement is standard protocol in form, but its

content and context are my point.

She is framing the context, using the traditional protocol, in which her constituents (in California and elsewhere, as the Senate is really a national job) might regard the course of events in the Libby trial.

It's a deft move, well managed by her office.

There is no reversal (barring higher appeal by Libby's attorneys) of this now-historical fact, and Boxer is waxing its hard surface. No longer can conservatives re-interpret the instigation of the Vice President's office in the Plame leak case. Boxer's statement establishes the context in which any further revelation about Vice President Cheney is regarded as no less than circumstantial, and very possibly demonstrable.

These kinds of public statements are the punctuation for events. They frame the context in which we move ahead, and by which we keep the other side on its heels.

[peacetheonlyway]

11. Congress is doing nothing

The few senators you call (Pelosi included) NOT INVESTIGATING anything related
to the misuse of intelligence in Iran.


Oh, but some interesting activity in the Foreign Affairs committee by Rep. Tom Lantos
hearings to demonize Iran, to delcare economic sanctions and get their revolutionary
guard labeled as Terrorists

playing right into the hands of Bush who will sooner or later go into Iran without
the consent of Congress yet again.

Barbara, we love you babe, but you folks don't realize how serious this is.
The clock is ticking and the time to DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING is now.