Wayne Madsen Report

October 30, 2005 -- The Washington Punditocracy is Wrong As Usual. This morning, many pundits are spinning for the White House that Karl Rove, "Official A," in the indictment of Lewis Libby, is off the hook. Au contraire. One must look back at another Fitzgerald indictment and an "Individual A." In April 2003, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicted two aides to Illinois Governor George Ryan for corruption. During his press conference announcing the indictments of the two corrupt aides, Fitzgerald would not comment on "Individual A" because he was not charged in the indictment. Fitzgerald said the same thing when asked about "Official A" in the Libby indictment. On December 17, 2003, former Governor Ryan was indicted by a grand jury in Chicago. It turned out that Ryan was "Individual A" cited in Fitzgerald's earlier indictment of the two Ryan aides. Fitzgerald started out his criminal investigation of corruption in the Ryan administration by one indictment. Ryan was Fitzgerald's 66th indictment in his criminal probe. No, Karl, you're not quite off the hook yet.

October 30, 2005 -- Judge assigned to Libby case has links to Republican Right. US District Judge for DC Reggie Walton has been assigned the Lewis Libby case. It is noteworthy to point out Walton's past and current links to the Republican Right and to elements in the Bush administration who have covered up important details about 911. Walton was appointed to the DC Superior Court in 1981 by Ronald Reagan. In 1989, he was appointed by George H. W. Bush as the deputy drug czar under Bill Bennett. Walton was reappointed to the DC Superior Court by the senior Bush. George W. Bush nominated Walton to the US District Court for DC in 2001. Walton was the judge who, under pressure from the Justice Department, placed a gag order on former FBI translator and whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and cleared his courtroom of the public and media in Edmonds' hearing in her case against the FBI. Edmonds brought to light important information about how the FBI failed to translate important wiretap intercepts before and after 911.