They've proven they're incapable of NOT committing perjury. They'll just get up there and lie lie lie lie.

Any bets on how long it takes Alberto Gonzales to try and block this lawsuit? He'll have move to have a judge throw this thing out before the sun comes up in California...

Alberto Gonzales has no standing in this action. He does not represent Dick Cheney - he represents the United States. The Supreme Court decision to allow Paula Jones to sue Clinton in office is going to be a difficult hurdle for Cheney, Rove and Libby to overcome.

Cheney's prior statements to Patrick Fitzgerald were not made under oath to a Grand Jury, and are probably not protected. Libby will have testified in his criminal case by the time the civil action comes to trial - and Cheney will be under oath in the Libby trial (absent a pardon). Rove will no doubt be called in Libby's case also.

There's going to be a lot of busy lawyers in DC.

Once, it might have been relatively easy for the White House to stall the Wilson suit until after Bush and Cheney leave office.

But now, thanks to Kenneth Starr and the Republican lynch mob that used the pretext of the Paula Jones harassment suit to pursue Bill Clinton, a precedent exists for compelling a sitting president to testify in a civil case.

Like payback, blowback can also be a bitch. At least we can hope so in this case.

Re: precedent in Jones v Clinton.

File this under "Law of Unintended Consequences," subhead "karma."

This is why a few moderately intelligent Republican senators think that the so-called 'nuclear option' on filibustering nominees is a bad idea. And why they also aren't particularly fond of the line-item veto.

Sauce for the goose, indeed.

Fitzgerald's thorough, snail's pace, timid investigation has managed (so far ?) to catch a small frey at lying - - maybe - - if Libby's lawyers don't manage to talk their way out of the charge and the oval office moron doesn't pardon him.

We thought the reason for the tedious and expensive investigation was to determine who (singular or plural) was responsible for breaking the law and exposing the identity of a CIA agent - - in time of war.

But the law is so narrow and the guilty ones concocted so complicated a mess that it may never be resolved by an investigator. That's exactly what the White House has been banking on all along - - and planned the whole exposure business so that no fair investigation could reveal the plot.

So now Fitzgerald has concluded that NOBODY did it and the only one guy lied about when, or where, or who, or to whom, or about what - - - and who cares anyway.

Or maybe we're supposed to believe that Plame's CIA identity and activity just happened to ooze out out the CIA office and down the steps of the building over to the newspaper reporters all by itself.

Conclusion: Fitzgerald's investigation has failed to get at the bottom of the matter and has only satified the "letter of the law". The traitors are still in charge and continue with their program of dirty tricks.

Now maybe the civil law suit with more aggressive lawyers and money at stake, we MIGHT see the criminals in the White House at least pay for the harm they've done to Valerie Wilson, the CIA, and the USA . We already who the guilty parties are. This time the question of violation of a useless law is not the deciding factor.

...but I don't think this is a case that GWB can just "pardon" away.

Please pass the popcorn.

Is if Rumsfeld was named in the lawsuit as well.

Love the Paula Jones stuff coming to bite them back in the ass, I didn't even think of that. Kudos to whomever mentioned it first.

I hope this civil suit goes as well for Bush inc. as O.J.'s civil trial went for him.

"So now Fitzgerald has concluded that NOBODY did it and the only one guy lied about when, or where, or who, or to whom, or about what - - - and who cares anyway... Conclusion: Fitzgerald's investigation has failed to get at the bottom of the matter and has only satified the 'letter of the law'. The traitors are still in charge and continue with their program of dirty tricks."

FYI--Fitzgerald is a prosecutor. Not a judge; not a jury. He doesn't "conclude" anything. The only thing he concludes is what he feels he can successfully prove in a court of law. You want charges? Blame the grand jury. Bush's underlings successfully obstructed justice in this matter. That, is the bottom line.

Look, I find the nuances of this case to be as frustratingly tedious and confusing as anybody. But Fitzgerald isn't going to make an ass out of himself like Kenneth Starr by bringing up charges he can't prove.

... I wouldn't be surprised if the case is thrown out by the judge.

These guys are on a roll. I believe it's impossible for them to be made to take responsibility for anything. I no longer have any trust at all in the law. (Don't even mention the media - I lost all trust in them in 2000.)

After all, how could Patrick Fitzgerald take more than 2 years to determine that nobody did anything wrong with regard to the Plame outing -- even though everyone has pretty much confessed their role in it and it was definitely a conspiracy by any definition -- except that Scooter Libby told a fib.

There will be pardons all around, Libby's legal costs will be paid by wealthy benefactors (like Tucker Carlson's daddy) and they will continue to smirk and make millions in speaking fees, on book contracts, as 'consultants' to lobbying firms and as sitters on the boards of 'think tanks.'

I wouldn't be surprised if the fix is already in, having been discussed and planned for several years ago. They knew Wilson and Plame would sue as soon as Novak's article hit the fan. Three years is a long time to plan for getting the Wilsons' case tossed out.