'AN OBNOXIOUS PERFORMANCE"

Funny stuff on the gift that keeps on giving, the Libby trial. Hysterical stuff. No crime, no covert op, no nothing, except a trial that exposes the underbelly of the media. So great. Liveblogging here.hat tip Mara;

F: First meeting with Wilson

NOVAK: On MTP. The day of his op-ed.

F: You did not become fast friends.

NOVAK: We did not exchange words.  Most people in the green room quietly read. He was giving his opinion at some length about how things were done in the Clinton NSC, in a very loud voice, I thought that was an obnoxious performance.

lol

UPDATE: AJ has this over at the Stratasphere;

If I am reading the Firedog Lake Libby trial blogging it seems Richard Armitage is on tape saying "everyone knows about Plame" (or words to that effect) when talking to Woodward on June 13th.  Woodward already knew the story in the air about the ex-ambassador was about Joe Wilson.  If Armitage testifies lots of people knew about Plame that will kill the Plame Game. More here

Also, it seems Woodward had many discussions with Libby during this period - no mention of Plame.  Libby was a source for the Pincus articles, no mention of Plame.  We seem to be missing a vengeance conspiracy in all this - the core of Fitzgerald's lame case. More here

The lame Plame case. This is what the leftards have us busying ourselves with during the onslaught of a second nuclear arms proliferation case.

UPDATE: And the laughs (not) just keep on a comin'. Carolyn writes me;

Libby's defense lawyers have Woodward on the stand testifying that it was Armitrage who leaked Valerie Plame's covert (only in her mind) identity, and not Libby.  The tape Woodward played in the courtroom had to be (ahem) 'redacted' to clean up Armitrage's potty mouth.  (I was going to use the 's' word, but I promised you guys.)  Armitrage not only exposed Plame's identity to Woodward a month before Novak exposed her in his column, but in fact Armitrage was Novak's source for that exposure as well.  In addition, Woodward also has 'no doubt' that Libby never discussed Plame's identity with him.

To bolster Libby's innocence (not that it was ever in doubt), a second WaPo reporter - Walter Pincus - adds that it was White House press secretary Ari Fleischer who leaked her name to him.  This information obviously "helps defense attorneys make the argument that Fleischer needed someone to blame to cover up his own leaking."

What fucking leak?
 

Please, guys, when will this farce be over so a decent man can get on with his life?  And an indecent woman and her blowbag shill of a husband have their lives finally held accountable for what they did?

Amen.

UPDATE: Mara has more here;

What's new is the tape. 

Mara

Here's the transcript:

 

Woodward & Amitage Interview 1:14 WOODWARD: ...What's Scowcroft up to?

1:15 ARMITAGE: [ ] Scowcroft is looking into
1:16 the yellowcake thing.

1:17 WOODWARD: Oh yeah?

1:18 ARMITAGE: As the PFIAB

1:19 WOODWARD: Yeah. What happened there?

1:20 ARMITAGE: They're back together. [coughs] They

1:21 knew with yellowcake, the CIA is not going to be hurt by this

1:22 one---

1:23 WOODWARD: I know, that's---

1:24 ARMITAGE: -- Hadley and Bob Joseph know. It's

1:25 documented. We've got our documents on it. We're clean as a

2 3:2 2:1 Woodward & Amitage Interview -
2:1 [ ] whistle. And George personally got it out of the Cincinatti speech of the president.

2:3 WOODWARD: Oh he did?
2:4 ARMITAGE: Oh yeah.
2:5 WOODWARD: Oh really?
2:6 ARMITAGE: Yeah.
2:7 WOODWARD: It was taken out?
2:8 ARMITAGE: Taken out. George said you can't
2:9 do this.
2:10 WOODWARD: How come it wasn't taken out of the State
2:11 of the Union then?
2:12 ARMITAGE: Because I think it was overruled by
2:13 the types down at the White House. Condi doesn't like being
2:14 in the hot spot. But she ---
2:15 WOODWARD: But it was Joe Wilson who was sent by
2:16 the agency. I mean that's just ---
2:17 ARMITAGE: His wife works in the agency.
2:18 WOODWARD: --- Why doesn't that come out? Why does ---
2:19 ARMITAGE: Everyone knows it.
2:20 WOODWARD: ---that have to be a big secret?
2:21 Everyone knows.
2:22 ARMITAGE: Yeah. And I know [ ] Joe Wilson's
2:23 been calling everybody. He's pissed off because he was
2:24 designated as a low-level guy, went out to look at it. So,
2:25 he's all pissed off.
3:1 WOODWARD: But why would they send him?
3:2 ARMITAGE: Because his wife's a [ ]
3 3:23 3:2 Woodward & Amitage Interview -

Bottom line? Everybody "leaked" it, everybody knew it except the guy Fitzgerald indicted. Libby. Seems to me, Fitzgerald  went to the same school as Michael Nifong and ought to suffer the same fate.

UPDATE: Check out the best blog coverage over at Just One Minute here