Libby Starts Defense Fund

Former Chief of Staff to Cheney, and multimillionaire, Scooter Libby has started a defense fund for his fight against criminal charges in the special investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame's identity. He has also hired a "communication strategist" - Barbara Comstock - who is out drumming up funds. It seems that she is shaping the message of Libby's defense team as well. William J. Jeffress Jr, part of the defense team responded to a question about the fund with the following:

"We're certainly establishing a legal defense fund," Mr. Jeffress said, "and we'll do everything we can to make it successful, because he's not a wealthy man."

Now that is a stunning statement, and it would appear, a bald faced lie. According to a Rense News article:

"The financial disclosures for senior White House aides show that many of Bush's top advisers are millionaires. Among the wealthiest are Rove, Lindsey, Libby and Andrew Card ..."

Libby has a very long political pedigree going back to the Reagan administration. He is considered an integral player in the neocon cabal in Washington, and one of the signatories to the Project for A New American Century's letter pushing for the overthrow of Hussein - delivered during the Clinton administration.

Libby has largely done a good job of maintaining a low public profile, but he is hardly a wall flower - nor a pauper. Even if convicted of the charges against him, Libby will still be a player. Those who will pony up for his defense are well aware of this. Putting money into the Libby Defense Fund is like putting money in the bank.