Scooter Libby, The Little Power Clique That Could, and "Omerta."

But this belief in intrinsic legal immunity extends to the entire Bush movement (which has become virtually synonymous with "neoconservatism"). That is what explains the literally endless defense not merely of individual acts of illegality, but of the claimed power to break the law in general. They are an authoritarian movement which believes only in its own power. By definition, none of its Leaders can ever be guilty of anything because to be a Leader of that movement means, by definition, that their actions are always for the Good and that anything which impedes those actions -- whether it be ethics, political principles or the law -- are unjust."

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

Comrades!" he cried. You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.

Squealer - Animal House



Scooter Libby is well protected. He's supposed to be in jail now. You see, he's guilty of lying to obfuscate an investigation of charges of treason.




Six years of gaming the system by Bush and Congress created this Culture of Corruption, and the rules it lives by. One rule is: If you are in The Group, be loyal, and you will be rewarded. Disloyalty will be punished. Of course, Rule 2 is: reward loyalty. Corollary 1 to that rule is: If loyalty is not rewarded, expect disloyalty. Corollary 2? Disloyalty leads to aired out dirty linen. Corollary 4 is: Paranoid treachery to the loyal that are in trouble leads to disloyalty with lethal consequences. Therefore remember: A good crime boss always rewards loyalty. Scooter Libby was on the inside, and had to be treated that way.



Anyway you look at it, Libby is in The Group, and The Group is to be beyond the reach of government or the law.



All the safeguards are there to guarantee complete _omerta_ for all the dirty doings of The Group. This echelon can do many things under the cloak of secrecy. Worried about the legality of extraordinary rendition of suspects to countries that are not too particular about violating a prisoner's rights while interrogating them? No problem. The Group has _omerta._ Outing loyal CIA agents whose husbands had the temerity to expose one of The Group's scams, lying to cover up the deed, and then protecting the liar to ensure his silence is par for the course in The Group.



And so The Group operates by it's own rules, and it doesn't care how many holes it puts in our Constitution.