US vice-president Dick Cheney's referral to an 11th Commandment - thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican - prompts the thought that perhaps there should be a more generally applicable one: my proposal is that thou shalt not be a hypocrit.

isaac matiwa, london, zimbabwe

Mr. Horace Hill of Texas has not observed rule one of honesty by NOT quoting President Clinton correctly. Mr. Clinton did not say that he did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky, he said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky."
Mr Hill has merely to refer to dictionary.com or the American Heritage Dictionary or Merriam-Websters Medical Dictionary each of which defines "sexual relations as intercourse or coitus." Unless Mr. Horton can trot out some photos of President Clinton and Ms. Lewinksy doing the nasty, he's full of hot bias on that issue.

Andrew M. Chermak, Toledo, Ohio

Sarah, please try to control your BIAS, there was no crime, Valerie Plame was not a covert operative,Liddy was not the source,Armitage was and Patrick Fitzgerald the special prosecuter knew all of this yet still proceeded. He is the one that should be investigated & has a cloud over his head.
Now lets talk about pardons, do you really want to discuss Bill Clinton's pardons when he left office.
Lets also talk about trashing of the White House & the contents the Clinton's took with them when they moved out. Or we could talk about the stain on the blue dress or the statement that " I did not have sex with that woman ". This is just for opener's.
" When you live in a glass house, you don't start throwing rocks ". SHAME ON YOU & TIMES. Again can you say BIAS,BIAS,BIAS ???????????????

Horace W. Hill, San Antonio, Texas

To those who say, without recourse to proof, that Ms Plame was a 'covert agent' (as described in law) hence revealing her status was a felonly, why the zealot prosecutor has not charged anyone with revealing her status? The similarly zealous Duke 'rape' prosecutor, now being looked at by the Bar Association, are, perhaps, similar in putting personal ambitions before justice. To those who call for 'pardon' is it not possible that appealing the Libby verdict will prevail? A prediction: the Duke case will collapse of the weight of the politics of the prosecutorial misconduct, and, Libby's appeal will be upheld, hence, not requiring a pardon. A wager of a steak dinner at Mortensons is offered - any takers?

Walt, McLean, VA

Your reporting is incomplete. Cheney's "scribbled" note originally said:
“Not going to . . . sacrifice the guy THIS PRES asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder because of the incompetence of others.”
I would like to think there is an investigative journalist out there somewhere who would try to get to the bottom of when and why Cheney's note was altered.

OxyCon, Philadelphia, U.S.A.

You employ the jargon "outed" for betraying the identity of an undercover agent.

You diminish the act. Why?

The consequences for her contacts are immense, and her effectiveness as an agent is destroyed, "Outed" hardly seems sufficient.

Harold A. Maio, Ft Myers , FL USA

James from Japan I'm not familair with MoveOn.org are you a member? What do they do?

Jorson, Gilroy, Ca

Two years ago, I never thought I would say this, and in truth it still feels odd, but I am once again becoming proud to be an American...not quite yet, but I can feel it coming. Almost as proud as I felt watching Richard Nixon boarding the helicopter for his final flight. We as a nation almost lost everything we stood for. But the glory of my nation is that while we may put up with it for awhile, when we finally get fed up or pushed too far, we do become that "sleeping giant".

Wish us well, I think we're starting to get better.

Chuck Terzella, Syracuse, New York

A MoveOn.org fancier burps again!

JamesOD, Kawaguchi, Japan

I guess to a lot of Americans Bush and Cheney are Heroes they can't do no wrong. Since Bush has been in office I've traveled overseas 3 times and I was advise to say I'm not an American for my safety. I lied and said I'm Canadian. They really don't like us overseas, hopefully the next President will change all this.

Jorson, Gilroy, Ca

How interesting .. the two letter from the states are! So Powell knew that Armitage told Novak? Really? Or did Powell just fall out favour in the american Right? Wilson´s tireless self-promotion? Feverswamps of the American left? MoveOn.org-true believers? -- Well, isn´t it a good sign that the Bush-camp gets more and more nervous and has to become more and more feverish itself in choosing their words?
There is one particualy american thing that is good reason for the GOP to be nervous about and really good reason for the US to be proud of: Civil Society in the persons of Whistleblowers. Yes, there might be fraud and vote-manipulation and cover-ups. But there, also, are journalist like Watergate-Woodward&Bernstein, Judges like Walsh(Iran-Contra) and Jones(IntelligentDesign), whistleblowers like Wilson. May God bless them.

Kornelia, Berlin, Germany

The real question about Libby is will his book advance be in the six or seven figures for his part in outing a covert CIA agent along with that agents contacts and associates.

kb , shelburne, VT

It's really weird how so many Bush Loyalists think that Scooter's felony convictions are the end of the scandal, rather than the beginning.

Sanders Kaufman, Dallas, TX

Or what about those non factual facts? What are they called again?

Alex, Towson, MD

Give me a break!
This HAS to have been one of those New Secret Court trials where whatever it was really about was not told the public! Was it REALLY about Condit/Chandra/Cheney? Or 9/11, the anthrax attack, and how that covered up the former?
Or will it really come out, somehow, with the Deborah Palfrey Call Girl List (O'Reilly says Chandra may have been one of them) and it's immenent exposure?
I see a direct connection between Chandra, Jobenne, Laci, Ann Nicole Smith and - The Ipswich murders: The one common overlap? Residences of, friends of, clients of, shared lawyers with... Gary Condit and his wife.
Talk about a Cover-Up, a current "Meltdown" of the House of Rep's said to be going on... ABOUT TIME!

Rick A Hyatt, Saratoga, Wyoming

When exactly were the contracts in Iraq arranged with Halliburton - before or after the invasion?

Peter Waring, Rushden, England

Finally, some of the checks and balances built in to the constitution are starting to work. Absolute power corrupts as witnessed by the first six years of Bush-a-mania (or Osama-itis maybe).

BDM, Las Vegas, NV

No one need worry about Libby. He did the classic "take one for the team." He will stretch his appeal as far as he can, then get his pardon just after the November 2008 elections. (There are already pools going as to which day the pardon will come.) After that he and his family will be well cared for by their Republican friends. He will be a hero in some circles by having protected Cheney and Rove with his "bad memory." I just hope we have a relentless investigation that will eventually bring the whole thing to light ala Watergate. Sadly, it will be too late to bring down this administration. But maybe it will dampen Republican election prospects for a while.

James Lachowsky, Swindon, Wiltshire

Why is it that the conventional wisdom is invariably wrong?

Although a CIA employee, Valerie Plame was not a covert agent. Prosecutor Fitzgerald never alleged a grand conspiracy in violation of the staute covering the disclosure of field agent's identity, only that one man gave false testimony to a grand jury. Rather than being "dragged through the mud," the tedious and execrable pair of Plame and Wilson's tireless self-promotion have given them more than their allotted fifteen minutes of fame. The reputation most tarnished by this affair is that of Colin Powell who stood idly by while decent men were ruinied and reporters jailed, all the while knowing it was his aide, Richard Armitage, who had disclosed Plame's identity to reporter Robert Novak. Visions of Vice President Cheney doing the "Perp Walk" a just hallucinations from the fever-swamps of the American Left.

Peter Taber, Miami, FL

No mention of Richard Armitage who acknowledges that he provided the information about Valierie Plame being employed by the CIA to Robert Novak and Bob Woodward.

Robert Novak was first to mention that Plame was employed by the CIA.

Are factual facts of any relevance to Sarah Baxter? Or is she just another MoveOn.org true believer? It seems the latter.

Peter Rice, Sarasota, Florica, USA

This article is full of predictions, inaccuracies, half-truths and omissions.
The prediction that Cheyney is "expected" to come under pressure in not news. To attibute this to [Cheney's] role in the "outing" of Valerie Plame. is a half-truth as it is a matter of public record that Richard Armitage, an anti-Bush Iraq policy official fomerly No 2 at the State Department, disclosed Valerie P'lame's identity. I suspect the Bush haters will be invigorated by these hearings and put pressure on Cheyney. But not the Special Prosecutor or others in positions of responsility. The Special Prosecutor who investigated and did not indict Cheyney and has announced his investigaion is over.
While Scooter Libby was convicted af of perjury and obstruction of justice after Valerie Plame's identity
was disclosed to the press, Scooter Libby was not convicted of disclosing Valerie Plame's identity to the press. He was convicted for giving false informantion to the FBI and grand jury testimony.

Anthony Santa Barbara, Melbourne Beach, FL

In Russia they their oligarcs, here we have Bush & Cheney.
these people did not go into government to serve, it was to enrich themselves.

Robert, Pompano Beach, Florida, USA

I think Thad needs to take more water with it.
Or is he the next Messaih?
Bush & Cheney will get their cumupance but who knows when?
Only God.

joan, Tennessee, USA

"His daughter has been criticised by evangelical Christians for having a baby with her girlfriend."

She should be revered as a worker of miracles.

ABE, Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Once the U.S. Empire is over, in about 20 years, Cheney and Bush will be charged as criminals against humanity. Luckily for Cheney, he will be dead by then, a heart attack in 2013. But Bush will hang, like Pinochet almost did. I wonder if they realize this now ? Probably not.

Thad, Los Angeles, CA

Yes Frank Kurriger, many have encountered that quandary. The problem is that any serious contender for the Republican nomination for president in 2008, would be well advised to distance themselves from the Bush administration, not become part of it.

dan, Rapid City, SD

Chaney is going nowhere. He is a mentor to the President and a friend to the Bush family. The press, the country, congress are necessary distractions fro the mission they are embarked upon. What's the mission? What else but to bring wealth and prosperity to family and friends! Why is that objectionable? Democracy? What Democracy? What has democracy done to slow them from so far? Why will that change?

Only a few people live in this kind of wealth, power and influence. Those who do not live there can not imagine how life and business is transacted inside and sold outside.

TheTruthGuy, Boulder, co

What will Cheney do next? One can only wonder...

Albert, New York,

Has anybody considered that Cheney might step down so Bush could pick a new VP who would then run for the presidency in 2008?

Frank Kurriger, Tacoma, Washington

Can we please just drop the "she wasn't covert" lie. If she weren't covert, the Inspector General of the CIA would not have been able to convince a loyal Republican Bush-appointed Attorney General to recuse himself and make way for a loyal Republican Bush-appointed Federal Attorney to investigate the accusations.

Armitage was only one of the leakers. The reason that no one was charged for the leak is that Libby's multiple perjuries made it impossible to prove what actually happened. That's why he was convicted of obstruction of justice by a highly-educated and well-informed jury.

Jules Siegel, Cancun, Mexico

"Disgraceful". If by that you refer to the current administration once again transgressing legal boundaries, then I agree with you. And if you're saying that Mr. Libby is being scapegoated I'm still in agreement. But if you are suggesting that he and his fellow staffers are innocent victims of either the press or a Democratic power play then you should consider digging your head out of the sand.
In the end it doesn't matter if she was covert or not. Dragging Plame through the mud in retaliation for something (truthful!) her spouse has said is at once too childish and potentially damaging for me to consider it a reasonable tactic for the White House to employ. Even if it is not technically illegal it is far beneath what our Vice President and his staff are supposed to stand for. Had it happened to you I'm somehow certain you'd feel the same way.

Wyatt, Washington,

Hi Stan,
By all accounts, Plame was covert; that's why Fitz was called in.
Scooter lied to throw off the investigation, which is why he was rightly convicted. The facts appear to have a liberal bias...
It's still not too late for charges against the "leaker", be it Rove, Armitage, or others. Even if the case is not pursued legally, there's still plenty of political milage to be had (watch Plame's testimony next week). Bush seems to be willing to let Cheney twist in the wind for a while, which will split the GOP base even further.
Rev up the broom, old chum, this witch hunt has just begun!

Democrat, Louisville, KY

Seriously Stan - Do you even know who appointed Fitzgerald? It was the Bush Administration. Before you soapbox about witch-hunts lets examine Newt Gingrich and his hypocritical hunt against Clinton. Now he's confessed to an Affair. Lets be honest, there is no moral high ground in Washington, but Bush has managed to redefine moral ineptitude.

Nathan Cockrum, High Point, NC

It does not matter if what was being investigated was true or not, or if it was important or unimportant. Libby was convicted of perjury (lying under oath). *And that is what counts* (righteous emphasis)

I seem to remember Republicans having a different opinion about lying under oath 9-10 years ago during a different witch hunt.

John, Redmond, WA

It is time to for Cheney to tell the truth/ if he knows how

mike, granrsburg, wi

"She was not covert. If she had been someone would have been charged for the "leak" itself. No one was, not even the leaker himself, Armitage. "

That's actually not true. It is true that in order for someone to be charged with leaking classified info like this the info would have to be ture, but Fitzgerald was quoted as saying that he couldn't charge anyone with the leak itself because he would have had to prove both that the leaker knew that her status was covert and that the leak was intentional, which he thought would have been too difficult to prove to a jury.

That is unlike whether or not someone was just blatantly lying about what they said and did, thus the perjury charge, much like Al Capone couldn't have been prosecuted for being a gangster, but could for income tax evasion.

Brad Paton, Arlington, VA

the impeachment of clinton was ALSO a disgraceful witch hunt, then...

dan, san francisco, california

Not true. The law has multiple caveats regarding who got the information, whether the leak was accidental or deliberate, and whether the leaker intended to cause the country harm. Then there is a presumption of innocence on each of these, making it very difficult to actually get a conviction.

BUT, whatever Libby did, and whether or not it was a crime, he felt so uneasy about it that he tried very hard to cover it up, including lying under oath about it. THAT was what he was convicted of: covering up his actions, not the actions themselves.

Karl, Arlington, VA

"She was not covert."

Wrong. If that were right, the CIA would not have filed the case.

"If she had been someone would have been charged for the "leak" itself."

Wrong. Armitage's leak wasn't criminal.

"The whole thing is a disgraceful witch hunt."

No, Libby committed serious crimes and was convicted of them.

Jim, Santa Barbara, USA

"It is a crime to leak the name of a covert CIA agent, although Plame’s precise status has never been revealed"

She was not covert. If she had been someone would have been charged for the "leak" itself. No one was, not even the leaker himself, Armitage.

This was all known before Fitzgerald even started. The whole thing is a disgraceful witch hunt.

Stan(expat), USA, USA