The Libby Letters: a window into the bubble

by Kagro X

A few weeks back, emptywheel clued us in on Libby defense lawyer William Jeffress' plea that letters it had solicited from friends and family in favor of leniency at sentencing be withheld from the public, because:

Given the extraordinary media scrutiny here, if any case presents the possibility that these letters, once released, would be published on the internet and their authors discussed, even mocked, by bloggers, it is this case.

He's a prophet, that Bill Jeffress. I, a blogger, am indeed going to mock these letters and their authors.

Probably serially. And alphabetically. And I'm pretty damned sure I won't even be the only one at this blog to do so.

Since Marcy's busy, I'll start. And I'll do it with the letter from Ken Adelman.

Most of the letters, and Adelman's is no exception, offer as their standard fare assurances of the fine character Libby has exhibited, presumably when not covering up the ruination of the writer's career. And Adelman, like many other writers, expresses his shock and amazement at the mere suggestion that Libby could be guilty of anything, being a man of such indubitable integrity. For example:

During these years of public service, whenever I attempted to contact Scooter, he made himself readily available. He worked long hours, seemingly non-stop, and consistently followed through with information and assistance. Never for a moment, on any occasion, did I have any reason to question his integrity, dedication, or judgment. They were always above reproach.

Adelman, of course, marked himself for posterity with his prediction that Iraq would be a "cakewalk," then made a small splash some years later, when he joined neocon fellow travelers Richard Perle, Michael Rubin, and David Frum in recanting their support for the Iraq debacle in interviews with Vanity Fair:

"I just presumed that what I considered to be the most competent national security team since Truman was indeed going to be competent," Mr Adelman said. "They turned out to be among the most incompetent teams in the postwar era. Not only did each of them, individually, have enormous flaws, but together they were deadly, dysfunctional."

But about Libby? Aw, hell yeah! I'm a great judge of character, Your Honor. Trust me! Sentencing is gonna be a cakewalk!

After that, it hardly seems necessary to comment on the fact that really, whenever I contact someone, my minimal expectation is that they will make themselves available, and that they'll work long hours to follow through with information and assistance. But in the back-biting world of Washington, it's apparently a freaking miracle.

Whatever.

Comments

[freepatriot]

well, I guess it's ok if you do a little mocking here Kagro

but me thinks mr wells had another TNH regular in mind when he made that argument

anywho ...

let the "Mocking" begin

personally, I'd prefer that we proceed directly to the defenestration portion of the program at this point, but I guess we could do some more mocking first ...

[Woodhall Hollow]

I suggest a Show Trial!

Put the letter writers on trial. They will have no right to know the charges, they will have no right to speak on their own behalf or to counsel. Let their words speak for themselves!

[Neil]

Kargo. Don't confuse mocking with satire. You skewered Adelmen at the very heart of his argument. Touche.

[freepatriot]

here's something we could make fun of:

Never for a moment, on any occasion, did I have any reason to question his integrity, dedication, or judgment. They were always above reproach.

really ???

even after scooter was indicted for 5 felonies, you had NO REASON to question his integrity ???

if that's true, I got GOOD REASON to question your inteligence AND your honesty

[nolo]

let me be among the first to
mock -- truly mock! -- victoria
toensing's letter. i have set
it in a lurid pink, and then offered
this:

. . .so -- because her
majesty wrote about scooter,
and because no one, i mean,
no.one. -- would decline a
dinner-date with ms. toenail & co.. . .

it simply must mean that
scooter deserves "probation"!

"well -- there you have it!"

q.e.d. -- even a child must
bow before that logic!

'tis stultifying, no?. . .

and. . . my cheney spoof, for
which, regrettably, the REALITY
turned out to be far, far worse. . .

or my commentary on gen.
peter pace's letter. . .
[hey, these are alphabetical, sorta'!]

okay -- i'll stop there.

great post, kargo x!

[nolo]

dyslexic -- kagro x! dag!

[pol]

nolo, I love the pink stationery. How better to emphasize such crap??

[quake]

For those of you who don't have time to read the letters, they all say the same thing. Here's the song:

For he's a jolly good felon, for he's a jolly good felon
For he's a jolly good felon (pause), that nobody can deny
Which nobody can deny, that nobody can deny
For he's a jolly good felon, for he's a jolly good felon
For he's a jolly good felon (pause), which nobody can deny

[Quzi]

Great post, Kargo X!

The letters supporitng Libby were truly a joke. (at least the ones that I read) I'm sure most have read Woflowitz's, et al's letters. As I read them I was so pissed off at the authors, I thought if I was Judge Walton I would be inclined to throw-the-book at Libby with the harshest sentence I could muster because of these disgraceful letters that not only ignored the seriousness of the crimes, but in Wolfowitz case seemed to allude to more crimes! And the one letter from someone in the financial industry bragging about his money and extremely wealthy clientele was so utterly offensive in its ignorance and bravado!

And the neo-con, war-profiteering cabal, have only begun to get a small taste of the full-blown relentless mocking they will experience as more of their crimes become unearthed for the public to see. The unraveling of their crimes has only just begun. In 2008 and 2009, it will surely be open season on these criminals!

[mighty mouse]

Not the deconstruction of a particular letter in support of Libby, but did not any supporter mention Libby's literary abilities and his novel? Blecch. They all had to do some pretty fast footwork. . .

[Dismayed]

I for one can appreciate the value of a good parody tune, Quake. Seems about right here. Which nobody can deny.

[William Ockham]

Kagro X,

I hope you're not really going alphabetically. It will take way too long to get to Wolfowitz.

[Neo]

.