Jason Leopold update on the continuing saga of Plame Wilson v. White House:"The showdown between the White House, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, a former covert operative for the CIA whose identity was unmasked by Bush administration officials, entered its first stage Tuesday.Read more.
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As expected, Justice Department attorneys acting on behalf of Vice President Dick Cheney, White House Political Adviser Karl Rove, and other officials, filed a motion in federal court Tuesday seeking the dismissal of a civil lawsuit filed
against them earlier this year by the Wilsons, claiming Cheney, his former chief
of staff I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Rove, and other unnamed defendants conspired to destroy Valerie Wilson's career and violated Ambassador Wilson's civil rights.
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The Justice Department contends in its motion that Rove, Cheney, in his capacity
as vice president, and the other defendants are immune to civil lawsuits, citing
a Supreme Court decision which held that executive branch officials should be
able to perform their public duty without fear their motives may result in litigation.
[...]
At issue in the civil suit is whether public officials are entitled to immunity in legal actions filed against them. Ultimately, the decision as to whether the civil suit against Cheney, Libby, Rove and others can move forward will be up to a federal court judge, no doubt setting up a legal showdown that may drag on for months and eventually end up before the Supreme Court.
Still, Wilson's attorneys believe the law leans heavily in their favor, and they plan to use a legal precedent in the 1997 Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against former President Clinton to argue their case. The Supreme Court denied Clinton immunity while he was still in office and was sued by Jones. The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in the Clinton/Jones case said deferring Jones's lawsuit until Clinton's presidency ended was not required under the Constitution, adding that Clinton, as president, was 'subject to the same laws that apply to all citizens.'
Joseph Cotchett, one of the lead attorneys on Wilson's legal team, pointed out several months ago in interviews with several media outlets that the Supreme Court's decision in Clinton/Jones would likely automatically apply to the vice president - in this case, Cheney.
'[It's] the president on down,' Cotchett said in an interview with CBS News in August. 'It doesn't single out; it doesn't make a distinction between president and vice president.'
Norman Rosenkranz, a Georgetown University law professor, agreed."
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