"SCOOTER" Facts

Pre-emptive refutation of conservative information concerning Libby's indictment that is most likely to appear in the media:

>MYTH 1: Special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald is an overzealous prosecutor who was out to get the Bush administration.

FACT: Fitzgerald was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois by President Bush after he was recommended for the post by conservative Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL, no relation). He was hand-picked by the Bush Justice Department to investigate the Plame matter.

>MYTH 2: Fitzgerald overstepped his authority and went beyond his original mandate to investigate possible violations of the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA).

FACT: Fitzgerald's official delegation as special counsel did not mention the IIPA, or any other specific statute. Rather, it granted him "all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department's investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity."

>MYTH 3: The indictment marks a troubling move towards the criminalization of politics.

FACT: The outing of Valerie Plame wasn't "politics," it was a leak of classified information that put U.S. national security at risk. Lying to a grand jury and obstructing justice to block an investigation and possible prosecution of the leak, if in fact Libby is found guilty of those crimes, isn't "politics"; it's a crime.

>MYTH 4: Leaks happen every day in Washington; there was no reason to launch an investigation in the first place.

FACT: Leaks about an upcoming press conference or the administration's legislative strategy happen every day. Leaks of classified information that blow the cover of CIA agents and jeopardize national security are far different from the comparably trivial leaks that occur daily.

>MYTH 5: It was commonly known among Plame's neighbors and in her social circles that she works at the CIA.

FACT: Libby's indictment reads: "At all relevant times from January 1, 2002 through July 2003, Valerie [Plame] Wilson was employed by the CIA, and her employment status was classified. Prior to July 14, 2003, Valerie Wilson's affiliation with the CIA was not common knowledge outside the intelligence community."