NRO's York Compares Blago Probe To Plamegate

I guess that from here until December 22nd, when the Obama transition team is due to release their who-contacted-who report in accordance with Patrick Fitzgerald's instructions, we're simply going to have to suffer through an ever-increasing level of hallucinatory speculation on how the Blagojevich probe could prove to be bad for the Obama presidency, if only the current set of facts could replaced by a yet-to-materialize, alternate set of more damaging facts. I think it's best to approach these speculations in the same way one might approach television fanfiction -- those alternate story lines of popular TV shows written by shut-ins who want to see their favorite characters making out with each other all the time.

The latest, greatest example comes from Byron York at the National Review, who says: "You don't think the Blagojevich matter could cause trouble for Obama? Then you haven't looked closely enough at the Plame affair." Oh, sweet mercy! This one's gonna be good:

We don't know the extent of the investigation into Blagojevich's allegedly corrupt dealings. Have witnesses been brought before a grand jury? We don't know. If so, who are they? We don't know. What witnesses have been interviewed by FBI agents working for Fitzgerald? We don't know. Do Fitzgerald and his investigators have any doubts about the truthfulness of those who have talked? We don't know.

But we do know that something big is going on.

Do we? Those wiretap transcripts don't just read like American Buffalo, they frankly bespeak a body of wrongdoing that's so similarly small-time. Not to underplay the importance of the probe to residents of the state of Illinois, but thus far, the Blago case lacks the complexity and the stakes of the Plame-Libby investigation. It's pretty easy to grasp what Blago was up to where Obama's Senate seat was concerned -- he was basically auctioning it off to the highest bidder. The Plame case was about covert agents and press leaks and unknown sources and backroom skullduggery between multiple parties and an overarching question over whether something akin to treason happened.

Plamegate was a sprawling, complex, and, at times, confusing case. By contrast, the Blago matter is tawdry, shiny, and filled with an interesting array of colorful profanity, but I think it's premature to call it "big." Face it, if the press lacked their thin premise to indulge in a body of speculative Obama wrongdoing, no one outside of Illinois would be covering the story. (And the press has all but ignored the most complicated and statutorily substantive allegation against Blago -- his kickback shakedown of Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital.)

York continues:

Fitzgerald and his team have a lot of wiretap material. That has likely given them a lot of information to ask witnesses about. Some of those witnesses may be members of the Obama transition team. For example, the Chicago Tribune recently reported that "communications between [incoming White House chief of staff Rahm] Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps." Emanuel might be asked many questions, under penalty of perjury or false-statement charges. Prosecutors will compare his answers to what they have on tape. Perhaps they'll invite him in for another session of questioning. Then they'll compare his answers in the second session to his answers in the first. Perhaps they'll repeat that a few times. As anyone in the Bush administration could advise Emanuel, it doesn't matter if he did anything wrong or not. He just better have his answers in order.

Look, here's how this column reads: "We don't know. We don't know. We don't know. Maybe. May. Might. Perhaps. Perhaps." Well, what can I say? York's logic is maybe maybe might be perhaps maybe impeccable! He, and I, don't know.

Comments

[Bettysdad]

What exactly do these right-wingers have to do before they are laughed at and ignored.

[Digeeedad]

It seems ultimately not to be a laughing matter. Making sure that Obama does not succeed, even if that means that millions of Americans are ultimately harmed, seems of little or no consequence to this crowd.

[loper2008]

oh well

if they want to go nutty right off the bat, more power to them. they are being ignored and will continue to be ignored in the future.

[allonfla]

Obama ran the longest campaign ever and will now have the longest presidency ever. He is not even in office yet and everyone - supporters and opponents - is treating him like he is the President. He already has a scandal comparable to outing an FBI agent? fracking christ.

[EricHayes]

This is the same wheelbarrow full of manure the right wing hauled out to dump on Clinton 16 years ago. This time, however, they're dealing with a candidate who received a mandate, rather than a plurality.

Watch out, right-wingers; you're playing with fire.

[Icantbelieveher]

I can't wait for all these stupid reporters to have to write their answer to the report that is released on December 22nd!

It will read: NEVER MIND!

[burndtdan]

I consider it his Hurricane Katrina, because we're all being drowned by stupidity in the media.

[MarieFara]

"Look, here's how this column reads: "We don't know. We don't know. We don't know. Maybe. May. Might. Perhaps. Perhaps." Well, what can I say? York's logic is maybe maybe might be perhaps maybe impeccable! He, and I, don't know."

I couldn't help but laugh at this part because that's EXACTLY how the media sounds to me "we don't know, perhaps, maybe...bu­t we don't like it". Somehow seeing those words in print instead of just hearing them from the media makes me laugh.

On to the more serious part, so a few days ago this was Obama's 9/11, now it's his Valerie Plame? Are they going to keep reminding us of all of Bush's f*ck ups while Bush is trying to "reinvent" himself? Maybe tomorrow it'll be "Obama's Katrina" so we can remember one more thing Bush was lousy at.

[PeterGSW]

When the smoke clears next week, those who are hounding Obama and looking for a connection, will find themselves without any leg to stand on. Obama surrounds himself with tough, credible people who don't engage in the sort of thing Blag does.

[propitiousmoment]

The thing is, as the organization he heads gets increasingly larger, he is going to have a harder time controlling what everyone does. There will not doubt be some shenanigans from people in the Obama administration, we are all after all only human and that means human failings sometimes show up in our activities. The important question is how will he deal with it? All indications so far are that he will 1) set strict policies against improprieties to keep them to a minimum, 2) keep things open and transparent, and 3) quickly and appropriately deal with wrongdoers. Still keeping my eyes open, but I hope that my prediction turns out to be correct, it would be a wonderfully refreshing change from what we have seen in government lo these many years.

[OverIt]

My goodness..­. the GOP has ZERO sense of perspective or scale whatsoever! They really are devoid of a moral barometer!

[Soundofthunder]

This isn't journalism, Mr. York. It's doling out toilet water in designer bottles. For shame.

SOT

[blackmouth]

The buffoons on the right are desperate to find anything that will injure Obama so that his administration can be neutralized and the Republicans can say, "See I told you so". The only thing that they are forgetting are the facts, but don't worry they'll make up their own.

[Drdemocrat]

Since nobody did anything wrong from the Obama team I just don't see how anybody could equoate this with the Valerie Plame case.

Byron York is off his rocker.