Monday, October 24, 2005
Both predictable and stupid
As the White House and Republicans brace for possible indictments in the CIA leak probe, defenders have launched a not-so-subtle campaign against the prosecutor handling the case.
"He's a vile, detestable, moralistic person with no heart and no conscience who believes he's been tapped by God to do very important things," one White House ally said, referring to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.
By all accounts published and otherwise, Patrick Fitzgerald is a very upstanding guy and quite unlike the partisan clown in Texas who has indicted Tom DeLay. Attacking Fitzgerald personally would be bad for the Republicans, bad for prospective and actual defendants, and bad for the country. Yes, the Democrats slimed Ken Starr. But that doesn't make it right to do the same to Pat Fitzgerald. And the press shouldn't play along with off-the-record smears. Precisely what public interest is served by the Daily News printing a factually empty attack on the character of Patrick Fitzgerald from a speaker who is unwilling to say such things for attribution? The Daily News' source is a moral cretin, but only one rung below the Daily News itself.
UPDATE: Andrew McCarthy agrees, and then some. (CWCID: Chris Lawrence.)
4 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Oct 24, 06:53:00 PM:
I was (briefly) listening to Hannity on the ride home and he obviously got the memo about going after Fitzgerald. Although, from what little I heard he was going after Deputy AG James Comey. Something about Comey appointing Fitzgerald. He was rattling off a bunch of stuff about Comey, I wasn't really paying attention. I think if the plan is to smear Fitzgerald they may be going after Comey too.
(Normally, I listen to the iPod in the car but the wife gets it on Mondays.)
Rob A.
(F?WF?)
By 
geekesque, at
Mon Oct 24, 06:59:00 PM:
Why even print something like that? The person making that comment could have been indicted by Fitzgerald, for all we know.
And Hannity has an excuse.
He's as dumb as a box of hammers.
By TigerHawk, at
Mon Oct 24, 07:33:00 PM:
Hannity is as dumb as a box of stupid hammers.
By Lanky_Bastard, at
Tue Oct 25, 04:08:00 PM:
Comey gave Fitz such a glowing reccomendation, they would have to discredit him too: "I once told a Chicago newspaper that Pat Fitzgerald was Elliot Ness with a Harvard law degree and a sense of humor. Anyone who knows him, who knows his work, who knows his background, knows that he is the perfect man for this job."
I don't get the sense Fitz would care what people say about him.
