The Daily Background

Oh, this is rich. Associated Press writes the following about Lewis Libby’s lawyers latest legal defense (it’s surely a winner) :

Lawyers for Vice President Cheney’s former top aide asked a federal judge Thursday to dismiss his indictment because the special prosecutor in the case lacked authority to bring the charges.

In a court filing, lawyers for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby said the indictment violates the Constitution because Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was not appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.

Hat tip, ThinkProgress. Of course there’s one small problem with this indirect argument. Before Fitzgerald sought any indictments, he confirmed he had the authority to do so. RAW reported last December:

In late January 2004, Fitzgerald sent a letter to his boss, then acting Attorney General James Comey, seeking confirmation that he had the authority to investigate and prosecute individuals for additional crimes, including obstruction of justice, perjury, and destroying evidence.

[…]
Comey responded to Fitzgerald in writing Feb. 6, 2004, confirming that Fitzgerald had the authority to prosecute those crimes, including “perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses.

Update: SusanG of DailyKos has more.

Filed under: Plame Leak, Z-TDB Blog