Criminal Rationalization


Right-wing commentator Bill Kristol has figured out what special
prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the CIA leak scandal
is all about: criminalizing conservatives. (Along with his colleagues
at Fox News, he is pushing the line repeatedly on TV.. According to
Kristol's theory, Fitzgerald's probe is an example of "a kind of
ideological criminalization" lead by "the left and the elite
professions, including journalism and teaching, in which they
predominate." Karl Rove and Scooter Libby are central figures, not
because they did anything particularly wrong, but because they are
among "the most prominent promoters of the conservative agenda of the
Bush administration." There is one big problem with Kristol's argument:
Fitzgerald was hand-selected by the Bush administration to lead the
investigation. His appointment was announced by Deputy Attorney General
James Comey on December 30, 2003. Comey said that Fitzgerald had been
selected because of his "his sterling reputation for integrity and
impartiality," calling him "an absolutely apolitical career
prosecutor." President Bush agrees, recently applauding the
"dignified way" in which Fitzgerald is conducting the probe.
Kristol's argument about the investigation may be totally baseless, but
that doesn't mean he won't keep repeating it. It's just one of many
myths being propagated by the right as Fitzgerald's investigation draws
to a close.

MYTH -- LEAKING THE NAME OF A CIA OPERATIVE IS NO BIG DEAL: Kristol
argues that the leak of Valerie Plame's identity is no big deal.
According to Kristol, "In today's Washington, as has been true for
decades, classified information is leaked by many different players in
any given policy fight in the government." It might offend Kristol's
clubby Washington sensibilities, but exposing an undercover CIA agent
is no ordinary leak. In a 1999 speech to the CIA, George H.W. Bush said
he had "nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust
by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most
insidious of traitors." (Watch him say it.)

MYTH -- FITZGERALD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INVESTIGATING THE INTELLIGENCE
IDENTITIES PROTECTION ACT: The right is also arguing that Patrick
Fitzgerald has exceeded his authority because he is only supposed to be
investigating violations of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act.
New York Times columnist John Tierney compared Fitzgerald to "an
inquisitor with the zeal of Captain Ahab - even more zeal, actually,
because he'll keep hunting even after he learns there's no whale."
Fitzgerald's investigation didn't actually have that limitation. In
Comey's letter to Fitzgerald appointing him as special prosecutor, he
wrote "I hereby delegate to you all the authority of the Attorney
General with respect to the Department's investigation into the
alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity."

MYTH -- VALERIE WILSON WASN'T UNDERCOVER: This week, Fox News' Fred
Barnes said, "Fitzgerald has had two years, two years to answer a
simple question, and that is, was the law violated by someone having
willfully exposed an undercover CIA agent? Now, we know that wasn't
true. Valerie Plame wasn't even an undercover agent at the time."
This is a classic right-wing argument, but it's still not true. In
2003, the New York Times reported, "[W]ithin the C.I.A., the exposure
of Ms. Plame is now considered an even greater instance of treachery.
Ms. Plame, a specialist in nonconventional weapons who worked overseas,
had 'nonofficial cover,' and was what in C.I.A. parlance is called
a Noc, the most difficult kind of false identity for the agency to
create."