After Libby Guilty Verdict - When Will We Get Some Answers and Oversight?

Now that it has been determined that Libby lied and covered-up the outing of CIA Agent Plame, it is time for the Senate to investigate and have a Special Prosecutor investigate the actual crimes behind the cover-up. We still have so many serious questions unanswered about the reckless abuse of Executive power.

Who outed a CIA agent, ruining her cover, her cover company, her network, and her work actually countering WMD proliferation in Iran, Iraq, and Africa? Who endangered all those lives? Who made public service so dangerous? Why?

I think this illegal outing was not just against Joe Wilson but was intended to cow and neutralize the CIA and its analysis that might slow the Bush Administrations plans and fake rationales for wars. This whole Novakula-reported 'nepotism cancels Joe Wilson's credibility' line was unbelievable or at best irrelevant from the start. Which is probably why so many reporters held off on the story. But Novakula, the Prince of Darkness, was counted on to plant the story. So, who ruined the CIA counter-WMD network? Why?

Whomever orchestrated this is guilty of high crimes and treason, and this is certainly impeachable. At the very least, public servants in intelligence need to know that they will not be sold out by the Executive Branch. That work is dangerous enough without having to worry about being fragged by the White House or the Vice Presidency.

In addition, an investigation with prosecutorial powers might uncover current treasons and high crimes, and will slow down or cow those who are quite well committing them right now.

Our government does not have a parliamentary system with a prime minister; we have term limits on the Presidency. On the surface this limits executive power, by limiting the time that one can exercise power, but it was subject to the continuing approval of the voters. But with term-limited Executives, this structure incentivizes Executive abuse of power, and its committing serious abuses as fast as possible, giving only foot-dragging co-operation with Congress and the Press, running out the clock toward the next election cycle and irrelevancy. That, combined with the power of Executive Pardon, makes it ideal for abuse of power and crimes.

This is what we found out recently with the deal between Nixon and Ford to pardon Nixon for Watergate. Bush1 gave a Christmas gift to Caspar Weinberger (and Colin Powell) just as Lawrence Walsh was getting close to them in 1992-1993. Bush was leaving office and he pre-emptively flushed Walsh' five year Iran-Contra investigation down the drain.

And now we are stuck with most of those perpetrators back in power, Armitage, Negroponte, Abrams, working with Bandar Bush... Maybe even Bush1 was involved... Colin Powell was, too. And we have warmongering in Iraq and it is coming elsewhere in the Middle East.

For these reasons we need a strengthened Legislative Branch, doing serious investigations, oversight, and prosecutions of Executive abuse and crimes.

Write your Senator! We need an investigation of who outed Plame. We need the Independent Prosecutor law renewed. We need an Independent Prosecutor and Investigation, one unhobbled by Congressional immunity in exchange for TV testimony.