CIA Leak

Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case, has indicted Lewis “Scooter” Libby on charges of obstruction of justice, making a false statement and perjury (for the exact charges, see Fitzgerald’s website: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/) For a summary of the investigation, I suggest you go to cnn.com and read the Gallery: Key Players and Timeline (as of Friday, 1:00 p.m., this is located on the CNN home page under “Breaking News.”) The Daily Show, as usual, as a satirical summary of the events: http://movies.crooksandliars.com/The%20Daily_Show_Rove_Leak.mov

After you read up on the investigation, check out the political spin of Fitzgerald’s announcement. Sunday morning shows like Meet the Press, This Morning (with George Stephanopoulos), and Face the Nation are great places to start. Here are some sites on the internet:

Right:

http://www.michellemalkin.com/
http://www.andrewsullivan.com/
http://www.therealitycheck.org/Political.htm
http://wizbangblog.com/
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Weblogs/
http://www.freerepublic.com (conservative discussion forum)


Libertarian

http://boortz.com/ (Atlanta’s own Neal Boortz—listen live)

Left:

http://www.dailykos.com/
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/index.php
http://www.airamericaradio.com/ (liberal talk radio—you can listen live on online or find podcasts of older shows (Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, Randi Rhodes)
http://www.foxliberal.com/
http://mediamatters.org/
http://www.newshounds.us/
http://www.democraticunderground.com (liberal discussion forum)



Be sure to look at several different sites to get a variety of opinions. Also in your post, discuss how this case relates to topics you’ve discussed in our Media and Politics class AND Professor Barke’s course (For my 3:00 class, obviously ignore the part about Professor Barke). For example, what is the relationship between the media and government? Is this James Madison’s idea of the role of the press in a democracy? Don’t limit your discussion to these questions—for example, comment on the political analysis. Already on CNN, Joseph DiGenova, a Republican and former federal prosecutor, speculated that Libby’s trial will lead to serious questions about the manipulation of CIA intelligence in the build-up to war. Other pundits and reporters believe the trial will be a public battle between the CIA and the White House.