Fred Thompson on the Libby Fiasco

Fred Thompson is a fascinating man -- a former U.S. attorney, a former Senator, an actor on Law & Order, he is an excellent communicator, congenial, and has impeccable conservative credentials. There have been many conservatives who have urged him to throw his hat into the Presidential race; he is said to be considering it. At any rate, he has weighed in on the Libby trial:

Two crucial decisions were made in order for this sorry state of affairs to have played out this way. The first was when the Justice Department folded under political and media pressure because of the Plame leak and appointed a special counsel. When DOJ made the appointment they knew that the leak did not constitute a violation of the law. Yet, instead of standing on that solid legal ground they abdicated their official responsibility.

The Plame/Wilson defenders wanted administration blood because the administration had had the audacity to question the credibility of Joe Wilson and defend themselves against his charges. Therefore, the Department of Justice, in order to completely inoculate themselves, gave power and independence to Fitzgerald that was not available to Ken Starr, Lawrence Walsh, or any prior independent counsel under the old independent-counsel law. Fitzgerald became unique in our judicial history in that he was accountable to no one. And here even if justice had retained some authority they could hardly have asked Fitzgerald why he continued to pursue a non-crime because they knew from the beginning there was no crime.

From there the players' moves were predictable. Fitzgerald began his Sherman's march through the law and the press until he thought he had finally come up with something to justify his lofty mandate--a case that would not have been brought in any other part of the country.

Read the rest of his article. I agree with all that Mr. Thompson has to say. See my prior post on this topic here. Further, Mr. Thompson's criticism of the DoJ just adds another charge against an organization that is appearing more and more to be incompetent.