WHITHER CHENEY? In his comments outside the courthouse, Patrick Fitzgerald announced that he does not anticipate bringing any more charges and, barring any new information, the investigation is now inactive. I don't think anyone thinks Libby is going to turn on Cheney, so that means indeed that whatever consequences there are for Cheney will be in the political domain -- which I think is good, at the end of the day, in this particular case. Consider these simple and stunning facts: the Vice President's main adviser has just been convicted of obstructing an investigation not just of himself but of the Vice President, and the trial brought out substantial evidence that Cheney was Libby's original source of the information that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent; that Cheney remained aware that Plame worked at the CIA throughout the relevant period; and that Cheney made it an important part of the pushback against Joe Wilson after Wilson published his op-ed, probably directing Libby to disclose Plame's identity to Judith Miller on July 8 in order to get the information published. Put aside everything else that Cheney has done -- the follies past and present to which Matt points. Shouldn't Cheney be held publicly accountable for what he did in this case? --Jeff Lomonaco
