Media Matters anticipates Fitzgerald attacks

media matters reminds us of a few of the salient points regarding patrick fitzgerald... keep these handy when the right's attack dogs are fully unleashed...

In anticipation of some of the claims we expect you'll be hearing a lot in the coming days and weeks, it's worth keeping a few things in mind:

* Fitzgerald was appointed U.S. Attorney by President Bush after being recommended by conservative Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL; no relation) and was named special prosecutor by the Bush Department of Justice. Bush has described his investigation as "dignified." Fitzgerald was given a broad mandate not limited to investigation of possible violations of any specific laws.

* "Leaks" may happen every day in Washington, as we're frequently told by pundits seeking to dismiss the seriousness of Plame's outing. But leaks of classified information that blow the cover of CIA agents and harm national security are far different from the run-of-the-mill leaks of a politician's position on a piece of legislation or of which consultant hates which members of Congress.

* Outing a CIA asset is serious. That's why former President (and former Director of Central Intelligence) George H.W. Bush said at the 1999 dedication of a CIA building named for him, "I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious, of traitors." And why then-RNC chairman Ed Gillespie conceded in a 2003 interview with MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews that the outing of Valerie Plame would be "worse than Watergate."

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