The Problem That Will Not Go Away

An excellent series of posts by Salons Glenn Greenwald highlights just how serious this Attorney General scandal is for the Flight suit in Chief (hat tip to Kos) and exactly why it will not go away:

In one sense, this clip is completely typical of how our national media thinks and talks about political matters. .

Just as was true for their virtually unanimous insistence that there was no wrongdoing worth investigating in the Plame case -- including the serial lying and obstruction of justice from the Vice President's top aide, one of the most powerful people in the White House -- they also see nothing wrong whatsoever with serial lying and corruption by the Attorney General in this case.

Think about this: there are only two instances in the last six years where real investigations occurred in any of the Bush scandals -- this U.S. attorneys scandal (because Democrats now have subpoena power) and the Plame case (due to the fluke of two Republican DOJ officials with integrity, James Comey and Patrick Fitzgerald). And in both cases, it was revealed conclusively that top Bush officials...repeatedly and deliberately lied about what they did...Imagine what would be revealed had there been real investigations...of all the other scandals that ended up dying an inconsequential death due to neglect and suppression.

And thus we have the reason that President Bush has avoided responsibility for bending or breaking the law: All other scandals that ended up dying an inconsequential death due to neglect and suppression.

If I may quote Bele of Charon (despite the MSM's effort to marginalize the scandal or flip the Narrative); the D's are sending a message to the R's and the 500: "not this time you evil mound of filth, not this time".

Again Glen Greenwald:

There is one thing and one thing only distinguishing this U.S. attorneys scandal from all of the others over the past six years: namely, because Democrats now have subpoena power and seem willing to use it, the administration is forced to disclose actual evidence and documents...and that evidence demonstrates that their claims are false. In the past, this is how every scandal transpired:

1. Questions about administration conduct are raised.

2. Administration denies wrongdoing.

3. Administration officials selectively and voluntarily disclose exculpatory documents, appear before Congress, assure everyone that safeguards are in place, deny wrongdoing, and claim the conduct in question is used only for proper purposes (e.g., protecting country again terrorism).

4. Administration followers -- led by those controlling Congress -- insist that no investigation is needed because Official X made clear that there are safeguards in place protecting us and everything is being done for proper purposes.

5. Congressional Republicans block Congressional investigations, compel no disclosure of evidence, do nothing to investigate administration claims.

6. Scandal ends, unresolved.

That pattern has repeated itself over and over and over for six years now...In the U.S. attorneys case, everything proceeded according to script...Alberto Gonzales did what he and other Bush officials always do: namely, issue false statements about what they did in order to conceal their wrongdoing and mislead everyone about what our Government is doing.

So now that oversight is restored and the pattern stopped dead, what happens next? Good question. Short term, "Torquemada" Gonzales resigns soon. His top aide Goodling will try and stonewall the Senate by refusing to testify before the SCJ.

Gandelman of the Moderate Voice explains why this "can only be seen as a public relations debacle for the Bush administration", and your old Sarge agrees. Before Monica M. Goodling (another Monica. Is this name cursed?!?) decided not to testify, Movement Conservatives and their MSM enablers could hang on to the thin veneer of cover that this story was pure politics.

But a claim of refusal because of a fear of self incrimination automatically implies to the lay person that:

A crime was committed.

Those who plead the 5th may have been involved.

It sucks, but that's the way it is. And the excuse that you fear a perjury charge (e.g.Libby) only adds to the question: What are you hiding that makes you so afraid?