CNN's Malveaux falsehood: "Libby is the only [Bush] administration official to be convicted of a crime"
In a March 7 report on former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's March 6 conviction by a federal jury, CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux asserted that "Libby is the only administration official to be convicted of a crime -- lying during the CIA leak investigation." In fact, since President Bush took office in 2001, several others in his administration have been convicted of criminal charges. From the March 7 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:
MALVEAUX: As it stands now, Libby is the only administration official to be convicted of a crime -- lying during the CIA leak investigation.
Now all eyes are on Mr. Bush to see whether he'll issue a presidential pardon. While Mr. Bush and White House officials refuse to say, several Republican strategists believe the president will let the conviction stand.
As the weblog TPMmuckraker.com noted, several Bush administration officials have been convicted of crimes, including:
- Lester Crawford, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to an October 17, 2006, Associated Press article, Crawford "abruptly resigned" from the FDA in September 2005 and pleaded guilty to charges of "conflict of interest and false reporting of information about stocks he owned in food, beverage and medical device companies he was in charge of regulating" in October 2006. According to the AP article, "[b]eginning in 2002, Crawford filed seven incorrect financial reports with a government ethics office and Congress, leading to the charges."
- Brian J. Doyle, former deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. On September 19, 2006, Doyle "pleaded no contest to seven counts of using a computer to seduce a child and 16 counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor," according to The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida.
- Claude A. Allen, former assistant to the president for domestic policy. Allen resigned in February 2006 after a January 2006 police investigation concerning multiple fraudulent returns to a Target store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. On August 4, 2006, Allen pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor theft.
- David H. Safavian, a former chief of staff of the General Services Administration. Safavian was found guilty of lying and obstructing justice in June 2006. According to a June 21, 2006, article in The Washington Post, Safavian resigned "days before" his September 2005 arrest. The Post added that he "was convicted in U.S. District Court ... of covering up his many efforts to assist [disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack] Abramoff in acquiring two properties controlled by the GSA, and also of concealing facts about a lavish weeklong golf trip he took with Abramoff to Scotland and London in the summer of 2002."
- John T. Korsmo, former chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board. On April 7, 2005, Korsmo "pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees the Finance Board, and the Inspector General for the Finance Board." The Senate committee and inspector general were investigating Korsmo's participation in an October 2002 congressional fundraising event.
CNN reporters have not mentioned any of these former officials in the context of the Libby conviction.
research? what a strange word that is.
At least to the pundit class of morons.
Oh you want some research?
Here is some reference data, for a sense of perspective:
http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/ProRev/wwstats.htm
Enjoy!
Oh, the "Clinton did it, too" response. How unpredictable that was.
What happened to the Progressive Review? After i read what the link lead to i tried to go to the Review home page, it led to a department store from Thailand. So, is this a anti-clinton site that has dissappeared with Clinton leaving office, and why are we dealing with a Thai site as a source of significant information?
Dunno - the link worked for me. Not that the information is credible (among other problems, 4 deaths at Waco are attributed to the Clinton tally of "questionable deaths").
My favorite section was:
"ARKANSAS SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME"
So anyone who died in the supposed "Clinton machine orbit"--WTF? is somehow Clinton's responsibility.
This is a great reminder to the rest of us just how batsh*t crazy some conservatives got in the late 90's. Good times...Good times...
I am not sure why, but the internal link in the article dealing with the Clinton Administraton still takes me to a Thai shopping center. I am able to read about what happened, or was supposed to have happened, during the Clinton administration. However, based on that page could not find out more about the journal behind the piece. Did, more recently, a search through metaeureka.com and found link for Progrssive Review that led to the on-line journal. Even at that site could not find out who was on the editorial staff. Sam Smith was listed/described as the major author. Other than that, outside of various links, the discriptors tend to be self-serving. Comparisons to the Village Voice, and how really really important SAm Smith is in Washington DC, as a informal source for information. Site seemed more self serving than anything else, problematic. Problemaatic because, perhaps due to aademic background, to find out what type of vetting/control of publication was in place. That i could not find.
The link you cited mentions "friends and associates" of Clinton, not administration officials convicted. And what's the standard to label someone as a "friend" of a president? Nice try. Not.
Truthseeker:
(Great handle, by the way). As this is a forum, if you have a better site for a listing of Clinton administration officials convicted, please share it with us and link to it.
Before anyone provides research information for your argument (why you can't look for yourself is beyond me), don't you think you should explain at all how this has anything to do with a reporter lying about how many Bush admin officials have been convicted?
Thanks, MoSho- this website will probably be important in Dick Morris' stalking hearing.
My fave;
ADMINISTRATION RECORDS SET... - Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates
I'd like to see the legal angle on the definition of "friend"
Crazy Republicans are cool.
Sorry, truthseeker, didn't see your post. Interesting that what jumped out at both of us as "nut job propaganda alert" struck MiseryChumpMe as some good solid research.
They don't just give those Factor Gear dacron jackets away.You gotta be dumb enough to pay for them.
and 24 hours later we are still waiting for some from you...
Those are all accusation-based, so someone could just say it, no matter how ridiculus--and then he's the first president accused of rape. Bush is accused of being a complete moron, a liar, elitist, criminal, war criminal. Correct? That's what he's accused of. For good measure, i hereby accuse him of being the worst butcher of English grammar ever-now he's accused of that, too. Get it?
Beating Tommy to the punch...
Of those named by MMFA, only one was convicted; the others plead guilty.
See? SEEEE? They only PLEAD guilty. So, ah... ahhh... hmmm, I guess they're still guilty, huh?
Ok...I know you're being funny. But before one of the nuts attempts to assert any truth to your post, note that a conviction also results from a guilty plea, not just a guilty verdict.
Watch out for signing statements attached to the horde of pardons inevitable in view of Congressional oversight, and the explosive ramifications in terms of ever-growing indictments and convictions of these monsters.
Don't worry. More to come.
C(ertainly) N(ot) N(ews) + fact checking= DOES NOT COMPUTE!! Speaking of Crawford and the FDA, anybody here read Kevin Tredeau's book, Natural Cures where he talks about the FDA and the FTC? It is a bleepin'-eye opener!!
Kevin Trudeau is a fraud and a felon.
http://skepdic.com/trudeau.html
he is a felon... but have you read his books?! They are awesome!!
Tell me, did you find any 'cures' in this book? Or did you find a sales pitch for his paid-membership website?
yes- many cures, and a web site for purchase... they are crazygood books- check 'em out!
With any luck, he won't be the last. I keep imagining that famous picture of Nixon waving goodbye as he boards the White House Helicopter, and I superimpose Bush's face on it.
President Cheney?
Good point. We'd better throw garlic on Cheney first.
Not if we can impeach HIM first! President Snowe or President Collins would be OK.
Hey, here's a new conspiracy theory...Bush resigns, Cheney picks a new VP, congress impeaches Cheney, newly picked VP runs in '08 as an incumbent...
The 25th Amendment DOES require approval of a majority of each house; thus, the Dems have the ability to prevent any such manipulation of the process, should they wish - and if another Repugnant George-hole were nominated, I suspect they would wish.
Sens. Collins and Snowe would likely be quite acceptable, though, and would allow the Repugnants to claim the first woman in the office.
You impeach both or none. If you impeach only one it won't be entirely the right thing to do. I think George Bush is much more involved in the Plame Scandal than people are lead to believe.
THANK YOU.
njguy93@yahoo.com
The comment "Libby is the only administration official to be convicted of a crime" seems like a righty piece of misinformation. But consider her opening qualifier "As it stands now," which implies that this is just the tip of the iceberg, like she's relishing the thought of future convictions. Then consider the source - CNN, I mean, sheesh... - and it becomes clear: another instance of liberal media bias.
Stinkin' liberal drive-by mainstream media.
You're right, Neon. Like a ravenous wolf, after seven years of dirtbaggery, she throws out the implication of possible wrongdoing as if everything that has happened in that time really happened.
And as if she has a duty to report it. Monsters!
And to think. These are the guys just convicted. Maybe the rest of the liars, criminals and warmongers will soon get their day in court. One can only hope.
If I were Doyle (which thank God I am NOT) I would sue MMFA over this item for libel. He was never convicted--he is actually awaiting trial. MMFA is quickly delegitimizing itself by posting false statements such as this one.
Self-correction: Doyle is currently serving 5 years in prision after a plea of no-contest--a plea of no-contest is just that, neither an admission of guilt nor an assertion of innocence. Either way, it is CERTAINLY not the same as a conviction. Obviously MMFA has no understanding or respect for the United States judicial system.
Uh, "no contest" means the individual didn't plead "guilty" or "not guilty". However, if you have been sentenced to serve time--either probation or to a jail or prison, you have been CONVICTED. Get it? It isn't the assertion of the perp that gives you guidance, it is the decision of the court, in this case it found the accussed GUILTY.
"However, if you have been sentenced to serve time--either probation or to a jail or prison, you have been CONVICTED."
Nope--convicted means you were proven guilty. Show me a source that shows that Doyle was proven guilty by any court. Good luck.
INTOB, Man your arms must be tired from reaching so much.
For the benefit of Smashthestate who doesn't seem to know much, "jail" is merely a generic name for a detention facility--many people go to "jail" without having been convicted--for example, while awaiting trial. And "JuliaJayne" I take it from your response that I am correct (not that I needed confirmation from you).
Ah, no, the court says a guilty plea is a conviction.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=411&invol=954
It is because of the waiver of these rights and that a guilty plea is itself a conviction....
Nolo Contendre is the same as a guilty plea except it cant be used against you in a civil proceding. It is in effect pleading guilty.
Solon--
While the case you provided is interesting, I'm not sure how it refutes my contention that a plea of no-contest is not the same as a guilty plea. This is from wikipedia (admittedly not the best of sources but I'm too lazy to dig deeper): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolo_contendre
Although no-contest has the same effect as a guilty plea, the court passed no judgment on whether or not Doyle committed the crimes--he therefore cannot be said to have been "convicted"
It may not be a slam dunk but I think it is good evidence pointing toward refutation even the article YOU cite says this:
Effect of a plea of nolo contendere
Defendants are still subject to all the penalties arising from that conviction
So even YOUR citation refers to a nolo plea as a conviction. I admit you make a decent argument but I think at best it is arguable, it isnt a clear cut showing that nolo is NOT considered a conviction.
It appears that you are correct. I take back my previous assertions about MMFA being incorrect about stating that he was "convicted" (though whether or not he was part of the "Bush administration" as opposed to a career bureaucrat we can argue about--was he even appointed by Bush?)
Apparantly he wasnt but was a career civil servant. That is a valid point.