Decision ‘08

Whither Cheney?

Byron York on the Libby verdict aftermath:

What is next? Libby’s—and Cheney’s—enemies have always hoped that a guilty verdict would result in Libby flipping, in fingering the vice president for some still-unspecified crime for which Cheney would then be tried and convicted, or, even better, impeached and removed from office. “Mr. Libby, are you willing to go to jail to protect Vice President Cheney?” shouted MSNBC’s David Shuster as Libby walked away after his lawyers’ statement. That question will undoubtedly be heard many times in the days to come.

At his post-trial news conference, however, Fitzgerald didn’t exactly encourage that speculation. “I do not expect to file any further charges,” he told reporters. “Basically, the investigation was inactive prior to the trial. I would not expect to see any further charges filed. We’re all going back to our day jobs.”

“If information comes to light or new information comes to us that would warrant us taking some action, we’ll, of course, do that,” Fitzgerald continued. “But I would not create the expectation that any of us will be doing further investigation at this point. We see the investigation as inactive.”

Essentially, Fitzgerald has barred the door, turned out the lights, and put out the ‘closed for business’ sign, but that doesn’t stop the speculation. Here’s Andrew Sullivan:

His health is rough; he has been the most disastrous vice-president in history; he has lost two wars; he has lost every ally; he is despised in much of the country; he is now going to be the center of all the questions that the Libby guilty verdict raise. Why did he get so exercized about a two-bit critic during a critical time in the Iraq war? Why would he risk losing his most trusted aide by coordinating a media sting on a minor political opponent? Why would he risk committing a crime to pursue Wilson unless he had something very serious to hide? He will now have to answer many questions - either before the press or before the Senate.

Well…I may have to take back that most overheated award from Howard Fineman, after all…are you sure Cheney wasn’t responsible for Jennifer Hudson getting voted off of American Idol, too?

I have two predictions, one of which is way too easy:

Dick Cheney will not resign. No way, no how. Anyone that thinks he will has simply not been paying attention. Not the resigning type, you see. To emphasize: no chance. None. Nada.

The second? The New York Times editorial tomorrow will make Frank Rich proud - it will cover all the things the trial did not, as the Paper of Record tries to spin an obstruction of justice and perjury conviction into a sweeping indictment of the Iraq War, the Bush Administration, neocons, and First Dog Barney. No heed will be paid to the actual limited circumstances of the case, and the Times will gloss right by the lack of jurisdiction on Plame’s alleged ‘outing’ and will assert that it was proven anyway.

Come to think of it, both of those predictions were pretty easy to make…

3 Responses to “Whither Cheney?”

1 Il Padrino Says:
March 6th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
It’s been a long time since I read Sullivan. Judging from your small excerpt it sounds like he’s gone even further around the bend than I’d heard.
2 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Like Shooting Fish In A Barrel Says:
March 7th, 2007 at 7:20 am
[…] Jackasses : « Whither Cheney? […]
3 Dennis Says:
March 7th, 2007 at 11:54 am
I wonder what it’s like for Sullivan to look in the mirror each day, knowing that he alone seeks the truth. Granted, the truth has a habit of changing radically depending on his mood that day, but still, no wonder he’s always filled with such heart-ache.

The guy is the Horace Greeley of the modern age, screaming “On to Richmond!” at the start and then wallowing in defeatism when he found war is a brutal, difficult thing.