Libby to Cheney to Drum to Marshall

Only Libby was found to have lied to the FBI and the grand jury, says Kevin Drum, and the lie he told was to hide Cheney's attempt to shut down investigations that would show the administration already knew the Niger documents were forged when they talked about Niger in the 2003 State of the Union speech. Drum ends his speculations there - it's a coverup to hide their lies. But why stop speculating so soon?

Josh Marshall has long been interested in the source of the Niger forgeries, and the curious lack of interest in how these forged documents came into being. He thinks the official Italian claim that some nobodies created them for money is garbage. While not saying so directly, he leaves potential responsibility for the forgeries at the feet of Berlusconi's military intelligence. But why stop speculating there?

What if the Italians overtly indicated to the Americans, or just to Cheney's separate intelligence system, that the documents were forgeries but they were still welcome to have them? Now Libby and Cheney really have a reason to try and shut down investigations. It wouldn't be the first time someone acting like a policeman had planted forged evidence against a defendant they believed to be guilty.

I could take it even further, and wonder if the Cheney administration had a more
direct part in creating the forged evidence, but I'll just stop here with my speculations.

All speculations, nothing more.