Karl Rove has called the lawsuit "absolutely and utterly without merit."
Oh REALLY?
Then why do you suppose San Franciscan attorney and powerful Democratic Party fundraiser Joe Cotchett of the law firm of Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy has been named to lead the trial counsel in the federal civil lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney, his former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, top Presidential advisor Karl Rove and other unnamed current and former administration officials for outing CIA agent, Valerie Plame?
This is the news release from U.S. Newswire
I mean, this is a man who has won a number of high-profile cases, including a $1.75 billion jury verdict against Charles Keating in the Lincoln Savings & Loan scandal, and a $200 million jury verdict that prompted the collapse of the Technical Equities Corp. in San Jose. There was another huge victory, the $1.7 billion settlement he got as lead counsel against El Paso Corp. for manipulating natural gas prices during the California energy crisis. And now he's taking on Wall Street, for defrauding investors by pushing Enron, Worldcom and other worthless stocks. If Mr. Cotchett didn't see any "merit" to the case, I'm sure he wouldn't waste his time.
Here's what the SFGate has to say about Mr. Cotchett;
At 63, the Burlingame attorney has had a star career that's not only talked about in legal circles but has made headlines around the country. Known mostly as a plaintiffs lawyer, many of his cases are filed on behalf of fraud victims, and have a widows-and-orphan flavor to them.
A bear of a man who stands 6 feet 4 inches, Cotchett is one of those larger- than-life trial lawyers - and men - the kind they don't make anymore. He fills the room wherever he goes. He says what's on his mind. And very often, he will guess what's on yours. You either love him or hate him - instantly. But there's no ignoring him.
When he's not trying cases, Cotchett tends to his other job, that of power player. He's close pals with many of the state's leading Democrats, and the wheeler-dealer schmoozer in him loves his role as their adviser. Rumor has it that Cotchett may even try his own hand at politics, and make the next run for the state attorney general's job.
His angle on the case.....from Reuters
Mr. Cotchett, who took over as trial counsel in Plame's case on Tuesday, said legal precedent for whether Cheney and the others could claim legal immunity in the case comes, in part, from Paula Jones' sexual harassment case against Clinton.
In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court said in a unanimous ruling that neither Clinton "or any other official has an immunity that extends beyond the scope of any action taken in an official capacity."
In order to be dismissed from the case or avoid testifying, Cotchett said, lawyers for Cheney and the other men would have to argue that they were acting on government business if they are found to have leaked Plame's name to the media.
Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly reveal the identity of a covert agent.
Is he up for the job? I hope so, he's going to get alot of attention, good and bad over the course of the next few months. Cheney has hired Emmet Flood, a lawyer from Clinton's impeachment defense team. Heh! Lawyers....