Alright,

posted by The Vidiot @ 1:16 PM Permalink

if Bush manages to weasel his way out of this one, ...

Excerpt: Defendant’s participation in a critical conversation with Judith Miller on July 8 (discussed further below) occurred only after the Vice President advised defendant that the President specifically had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the NIE.

... then we should just throw in the towel and call it a day because obviously, the man will never go down for anything.

Look, what basically happened is this: Monkey II (Cheney) told Libby that Monkey I (Bush) had told him that the contents of that particular NIE was OK to share with reporters. The Monkey General (Gonzales) is saying that Monkey I can basically to whatever he wants anyway because, well, he's the Alpha Monkey and therefore, he can do whatever he wants. On top of that, some among the Monkey population are saying that since the NIE had nothing to do with Fitz's investigation about who leaked Plame's name to the press, there's no reason to get their semi-opposable thumbs in a crunch. And then on top of that, the Monkey Gallery (Congress), in between bouts of flinging their poo at each other, have said that Monkey I didn't break the law because the Alpha Monkey has the power to declassify whatever he wants because, well, he's the Alpha Monkey and therefore, he can do whatever he wants. But the Executive Order Monkey I signed says that in the event a declassification seems warranted:

Excerpt: they shall be referred to the agency head or the senior agency official. That official will determine, as an exercise of discretion, whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the damage to the national security that might reasonably be expected from disclosure.

But, according to Libby, he and the dynamic duo were the only ones aware of the declassification.

Excerpt: ...[Libby] understood that no one at those agencies was aware of, or involved in, the declassification made known to him by the Vice President or the disclosures he made to reporters Cooper and Miller.

So, if the Executive Order says that the agency involved in classifying the information has a hand in declassifying it, but they were never told of the declassification, is it really declassified? And if it's not, then aren't the Monkey Duo in trouble? And if not, why not?

These are all questions we'd like answered, no?