Above the law

By Libby

No real surprise in the plea for immunity coming from Cheney, Rove, Libby and Armitage in Plame's civil suit, but Cheney's breath-taking hubris continues to astound. The rest of the guys are saying they can't be held liable because it was their job to lie. They are of course calling it an appropriate "foreign policy dispute." But Cheney's lawyer also advanced his favorite fourth branch of government theory, "arguing that Cheney is legally akin to the president because of his unique government role, and has absolute immunity from any lawsuit."

As I recall, the last time he used that argument was to suggest he has absolute immunity from Congressional investigations too. In the world according to Dick, he is answerable to no higher, much less equal, power because there is none. I'll be very interested to see whether or not the judge agrees.