Libby Indictment in Perspective

While this has been played as a point of relief for the WH that Rove was not indicted, it is important to look to the indictment itself, to put this into a little bit of perspective. It is obvious from the indictment that Fitzgerald knows who the leaker/leakers are. They are Libby and Official A (probably Rove). What Fitzgerald lacks is the evidence to implicate Libby in the violation of any law in having leaked that information. That does not exonerate the administration or anyone in it of the crime against the American people that has been committed here. Leaking a covert CIA operative's name to the press as an act of political retribution against her husband in an effort to stifle dissent against the war. The Administration knew the Niger information was wrong, and yet insisted on doing everything they could to prevent the public from knowing that. In the process they threatened United States national security interests, the lives of anyone Plame has made contact with in past missions, and rendered obsolete any information she has acquired and made it impossible to gain further information from any of her sources. While Fitzgerald was unable at this time to pin a legal charge directly regarding the leak on anyone, he has put forth very relevent public information that we know who the leakers are, and that it was a purposeful act of political retribution. This is not about legalisms, this is quite simply about the war in Iraq. From the Indictment:

21. On or about July 10 or July 11, 2003, LIBBY spoke to a senior official in the White House (“Official A”) who advised LIBBY of a conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson’s wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson’s trip. LIBBY was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson’s wife.
...
24. On or about July 12, 2003, in the late afternoon, LIBBY spoke by telephone with Judith Miller of the New York Times and discussed Wilson’s wife, and that she worked at the CIA.

Much of the media has been spinning this as a major victory for the Bush Administration that Rove was not indicted. Many conservatives are claiming that this charge against Libby is merely a "technicality". To take either of those views is an amoral position that ignores the essential ideas of what is right and what is wrong for the WH to do. They are doing nothing but spinning, Fitzgerald has found the leakers, and that leak is a crime against the American public, whether it violates any law or not.