A Tale of Two Investigations

[Canuckistanian]

As I was making the rounds of blogs and news articles yesterday, I was astounded at the sheer level of speculation in the Plame case. As one observer put it, astronomers cannot see black holes directly. They can only tell they're there because of subtle shifts in nearby star motion caused by the huge gravitational pull of the black hole. And so it is with the Plame investigation. And the level of disturbance in the people surrounding this case is clearly evident.

And I got to thinking about another case (which some of you may remember). The Ken Starr investigation into L'affaire Monica. Remember the media frenzy, the breathless anticipation of every lurid news tidbit that came out of that public spectacle? Sure the level of speculation was just as high, with false allegations of even more nefarious deeds, of cover-ups, attempts to silence witnesses and even more outrageous behavior on the part of the Clinton administration. And the absolute zeal, the relish that Starr showed for his job was truly astounding.

And where was the source of all this "news"? The Starr investigation itself. Leaks were a daily.. no a twice daily ritual it seemed. Every twitch, grunt and glance of the investigative team was promptly reported. Without question. Without analysis. And repeated often.

And the absolute zeal, the relish that Starr seemed to show for his job was truly astounding. It was clear that they intended to take the President down by whatever means necessary. Partisan? You betcha.


Now we have Fitzgerald and the Plame case. And it could not be any different. Fitz has put the clamp on so tight that not even daylight can seep in. All sources say that the true goings-on are a mystery. Sure, we know the basics but NO ONE knows the full scope, profundity or even the basic tactics of the investigating.

But the clues are tantalizing enough to get a sense that this is big. So big, that it may supplant the Nixon scandal as the epitome of malfeasance and treachery in high political office.

And it seems that no one in this administration is safe. The allegations seem to go as high as the Veep's office. If so, this is catastrophic even if Cheney is not indicted himself.

Hard to see what the end game is in this, but one thing's for sure. The wind has been taken out of this president's sails. He should only wish he were just a Lame Duck now.

[FloridaPat]

1. They had so little on Clinton and spend so many years and cash to

find anything, they had to make it as big an issue as they could to keep the people interested. Now we have real crimes against the people commited. Only one person went to jail with all the investigations against Clinton. 34 went to jail under Reagan. Looks like it's time to start the count under *.

[trof]

2. Nicely put. Deductive reasoning gives me hope.

Starr - Billowing smoke, no fire.
Fitzgerald - Not even a hint of a wisp of an odor, pits of hell?
One can hope.
;-)

[Canuckistanian]

3. Thanks. This is history in the making and I'm paying attention n/t