TREASONGATE: "TIME OF WAR" - Fitzgerald gives nod to Death Penalty and Espionage Act.
"Time of war". Fitz dropped it yesterday in closing arguments for Libby trial.
18 USC 794 (emphasis added by CS):
(b) Whoever, in time of war, with intent that the same shall be communicated to the enemy, collects, records, publishes, or communicates, ....information relating to the public defense, which might be useful to the enemy, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.
The "time of war" provision in 794 takes the same violation from 18 USC 793 and heightens it to a death penalty sentence.
I've previously reported to readers of this blog that 18 USC 794, a provision of the Espionage Act, provides for the death penalty when "information" which is "related to the national defense" is illegally communicated.
Yesterday, Patrick Fitzgerald finally tipped the public off to something the Citizenspook blog has been telling you about for quite some time now (see previous CS blogs), 18 USC 794 (b) was triggered and in in play for this continuing preosecution.
From the Firedoglake live web blog of Fitzgerald's closing arguments in the Libby trial:
"Time of war". Fitz dropped it yesterday.
I've slammed Firedoglake.com for not reporting the most important aspects of Treasongate, specifically their failure to focus on possible pending indictments under The Espionage Act. However, I must give credit where credit is due and recognize the marvelous public service FDL has provided to the country with their live blogging. It's truly an immense important work that they've done and I thank them for it, as should you.
Furthermore, upon reading Jeralyn Merrit's Huffington Post shill job for the Bush cabal today, and adding it to the incredible shill job she did in covering Rove's ass by filtering Luskin and Corallo's misleading fax statements which cover for the probable truth that Rove plead guilty to certain illegal activity "prior" to being charged (see article below), I have come to the conclusion that Merrit is a Bush cabal mole that has infiltrated FDL and I hope they flush her out.
I believe FDL have misplaced their trust in Merrit.
I was very impressed with Fitzgerald's performance and that of his team. Unless Libby has a mole in the jury room, Libby is going to be convicted. But Merrit has been trying her best to appear upset that Fitz has no done a good enough job to win a conviction. here's what she said today:
"In other words, Fitzgerald missed the forest for the trees. Maybe he thought the case wasn't there. But in charging such a stripped down version solely against Libby, I have to believe at least one juror, like me, will have a reasonable doubt and refuse to convict."
Load of crap. fitz nailed it and Merrit knows it. The question is, what does Merrit really know?
Citizenspook
