Now at the recent news that the pair are suing Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Dick Cheney for the public revelation that Ms. Plame had employment with the Central Intelligence Agency… Last night when the news broke I was tempted to swing by NRO and al…

The jury’s at the end of the case, though, a couple years down the road at least. So the meat here is the discovery, which Pablo is right about: when one of the principal defenses in this case is that Joe is a lying sack of shit with no reputation to speak of among people who have a clue, there’s going to be all kinds of juicy discovery permitted.

There’ll be virtually no coverage in the MSM of what gets discovered, of course, Valerie will still make millions off her fiction piece, and Cheney and the boys will still rack up huge attorneys fees fighting the Duplicitous Duo, but no one ever said the world’s a just place.

Sadly accurate.

I think they’re grasping here, trying to keep this story in the public eye:

Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Vice President Cheney, presidential adviser Karl …

TOO LATE FOR JUSTICE
By Chuck Keller | bio

Valerie Plame filed suit today against high level members of the Bush administration. VALERIE PLAME SUIT

She may win. She may be compensated. The culprits may even be punished. But it’s too late for justice. It’s too late for the people who have been killed or tortured in the middle east for having been associated with Plame. It’s too late to change the results of the 2004 presidential race which might have had a different outcome if the truth about Plame’s identity being revealed had been known. It’s too late to salvage her promising career. It’s too late for the Wilson/Plame family to ever feel completely safe again.

Well, knowing that, I think I’m going to cry.

Anyone got anything on those people who have been killed or tortured for being associated with Val, or are they entirely hypothetical?

Second, depending on a number of factors, Cheney, Libby, abd Rove, et. al. (aka “CL&R”), MAY NOT GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE DISCOVERY to get the goods necessary to destroy the Wilsons. “CL&R”’s request for discovery of certain files and testimoney may fail for lack of relevancy. In other words, the judge may prohibit a “fishing expedition” from CL&R’s team.

When a claim in the suit is that they tried to discredit Wilson, the truth is an absolute defense. Regarding Val’s employment and Joe’s trip to Niger any of that is relevant and discoverable. Then, there’s the claim that the Wilson’s were damaged financially by um…something or other. So, their financials for the last several years should be discoverable. Actually, they should have to submit them as evidence to prove that claim.

Of course, these things go on a case by case basis, but I don’t see where Cheney, et al will have much trouble getting what little they need to defend against these claims.

Here are some points that haven’t been touched upon by others posting here.

A civil suit has a lower standard of proof for winning. Instead of “beyond a reasonable doubts,” as in criminal cases, the standard is “preponderance of evidence,” or 51%. So, the Wilsons will have an easier time prevailing in court than Fitzgerald would have.

Consider OJ’s case. He was acquited of the criminal charges but found guilty of murdering Nicole in civil court because the standard was “preponderence” and not “beyond reasonable doubt.”

It is conceivable that a jury could convict Cheney, Libby and Rove, et. al. on simple preponderance, something that Fitzgerald knew he couldn’t.

Second, depending on a number of factors, Cheney, Libby, abd Rove, et. al. (aka “CL&R”), MAY NOT GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE DISCOVERY to get the goods necessary to destroy the Wilsons. “CL&R”’s request for discovery of certain files and testimoney may fail for lack of relevancy. In other words, the judge may prohibit a “fishing expedition” from CL&R’s team.

Third, while executive immunity probably can’t be used to toss the case out, privilige could be used to block some or all of plaintif’s discovery.

On balance, I think that CL&R will still probably prevail, because the Wilson’s case is mostly bullshit.

Let’s just hope that the jury is not a panel of BDS sufferers.

I still cannot see any up side in this gambit for Plame, Wilson, or the dems, and continue to believe this should backfire on them all.

…

Joe Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame are suing Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and a bevy of unnamed others for "gross invasion of their privacy" among other things. This from the press release: The suit accuses the defendants……

One would think that after the special prosecutor found no evidence of a crime and after Robert Novak told the world how he obtained Valerie Plame’s name that the issue would be settled. One would also think that no indictments indicates she was…

The problem is the discovery. That drip, drip, drip sound you are hearing right now is the defense lawyers drooling at the prospect of deposing these morons.

And you can invoke the fifth amendment in a civil case; the fact you’ve invoked it can be used to create a presumption of wrongdoing in a civil case, not a criminal one. And it can result in sanctions, depending on the circumstances.

They will regret filing this lawsuit. I mean really, truly regret it. It’ll be settled in a few months is my guess.

“As I understand it people being sued are under no compunction to testify against themselves [the 5th] while those doing the suing can indeed be called upon to testify ….”

Actually, the Fifth Amendment provides protection against self-incrimination in a criminal proceeding, not immunity from testifying in a civil action.

Love the 14:59 in the title of this post, Allah. Perfect :)