10.29.2005
Democrats Say Problems at White House Go Beyond Libby (NYTimes.com)
By BRIAN KNOWLTON
International Herald Tribune
Published: October 28, 2005
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 - Democrats wasted no time today in asserting that the indictment of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, reflected a recklessness by the Bush administration - perhaps from the very highest level, they suggested - that had endangered the national security.
"These are very serious charges," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate minority leader. "They suggest that a senior White House aide put politics ahead of our national security and the rule of law."
Republicans were generally cautious in their remarks, and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah offered a mixed verdict. He said the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, appeared to have apparently been "reading something into the statute that I didn't read into the statute." But the senator added: "Knowing Fitzgerald as I do, he's a competent, very, very good professional, and you have to doubt that he would bring charges that he didn't have backup for."
Mr. Hatch, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Mr. Libby as a serious and competent professional, saying on CNN, "We'll just have to see what happens."
Meantime, more than one Democrat spoke of "corruption."
(More ... Democrats Say Problems at White House Go Beyond Libby - New York Times) ¶ 11:53
International Herald Tribune
Published: October 28, 2005
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 - Democrats wasted no time today in asserting that the indictment of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, reflected a recklessness by the Bush administration - perhaps from the very highest level, they suggested - that had endangered the national security.
"These are very serious charges," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate minority leader. "They suggest that a senior White House aide put politics ahead of our national security and the rule of law."
Republicans were generally cautious in their remarks, and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah offered a mixed verdict. He said the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, appeared to have apparently been "reading something into the statute that I didn't read into the statute." But the senator added: "Knowing Fitzgerald as I do, he's a competent, very, very good professional, and you have to doubt that he would bring charges that he didn't have backup for."
Mr. Hatch, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Mr. Libby as a serious and competent professional, saying on CNN, "We'll just have to see what happens."
Meantime, more than one Democrat spoke of "corruption."
(More ... Democrats Say Problems at White House Go Beyond Libby - New York Times) ¶ 11:53
