Judy Miller
Libby feeds info to Judy Miller, Miller puts it in the New York Times, Cheney cites the Times. Finally: government efficiency.
Let’s not confuse the axis of evil with the evil of access. But to be fair, Miller did forget who she got that info from.
Most journalists were understandably jealous because she was embedded, and they couldn’t get positions in the government. Most journalists aren’t able to take on a second job, but she was able to multitask. Indirectly, of course, they do: we tell them what’s going on, and they print it.
In the end she was ordered off the beat, but she’s got so much rhythm—I mean, for a stenographer. Some call her a danger to journalism, since she facilitated the war in Iraq, which admittedly did kill a lot of journalists.
Scooter Libby
For outing Valerie Plame as a CIA officer, the Scoot was Indicted for two counts of perjury, two counts of false statements, and one count of obstruction of justice. Everybody wants to know: why not espionage or conspiracy? Well, there’s a precedent. This is like when they got Al Capone for tax evasion. Not that Scooter’s like Al. Cheney’s more like Al.
Did he not know Plame was covert? Cheney says Libby is competent and capable, at least at perjury and obstructing justice. Did W know he told Cheney to tell Libby to tell Judy to out Valerie? What did he not know, and when did he first not know it?
David Addington
Replacing Libby on the secrecy desk, he’s been hard at work withholding information on Cheney’s energy meetings, Enron, and 9/11. He dressed down an aide who brought up Section 3 of the Geneva Convention. Do you know what Section 3 says!? No? So far, so good.