Cheney To Be Indicted?

The Culture of Corruption story is continuing to unfold...

RAW STORY has a research report stating that sources close to the investigation into the 2003 leak of Valerie Plame's identity say that Fitzgerald is now looking into Vice President Dick Cheney's involvement in the leak--that he, as part of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) may have ordered the leak to take place. This is a potentially disastrous development for the current administration, and, in my opinion, a political crisis, the likes of which have not been seen in recent history, coming soon.

The apologists can say what they want, but there are some simple truths in the fallout of such an investigation. If VP Cheney is indicted, along with other members of WHIG, it will create a political crisis which could ultimately lead to the disintegration of the entire Bush Administration. With such "important" figures possibly involved (and at this point, it doesn't matter if they're guilty or not, the indictments, if and when they come, are what I'm focusing on in this discussion), there are serious Constitutional considerations. Would Cheney have to step down? If he does, the president would quickly need to choose a new VP, and get the nomination to go through as quickly as possible.

What about the other members of WHIG? Here's the list:

Deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove, Bush advisor Karen Hughes, Senior Advisor to the Vice President Mary Matalin, Deputy Director of Communications James Wilkinson, Assistant to the President and Legislative Liaison Nicholas Calio, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby - Chief of Staff to the Vice President and co-author of the Administration's pre-emptive strike policy.

Rice was later appointed Secretary of State; her deputy Hadley was made National Security Advisor. Wilkinson departed to become a spokesman for the military's central command, and later for the Republican National Convention. Hughes was recently appointed Undersecretary of State.

I'll be writing more about this in the near future...in the meantime, what do you think the fallout will be from this investigation?

Categories: Cheney, Politics, Rove, Plame, Investigation, Leak, CIA, WHIG, Iraq