It has long been speculated that Poland is one of the countries that housed CIA secret prisoners in the war on terror. A report by the European Commission over a year ago found evidence the U.S. outsourced torture, but none that facilities were located in Poland.

Larisa Alexandrovna and David Dastych, writing for Raw Story today, confirm it, based upon interviews with British and Polish intelligence officials.

More....

One divorce, okay, maybe evangelicals would give a candidate a break. But three marriages? No way.

Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention, told The Associated Press that evangelicals believe the former New York City mayor showed a lack of character during his divorce from his second wife, television personality Donna Hanover.

"I mean, this is divorce on steroids," Land said. "To publicly humiliate your wife in that way, and your children. That's rough. I think that's going to be an awfully hard sell, even if he weren't pro-choice and pro-gun control."

Bald faced lying when everyone can see you are lying:

Domenici then got on the phone for a conversation that lasted "one to two minutes," Iglesias recalled. "Are these going to be filed before November?" Domenici asked, Iglesias testified, referring to the kickback case. Unnerved by the call, Iglesias said he responded that they were not. "I'm sorry to hear that," Domenici replied, according to Iglesias, who added that the senator then hung up. . . . Domenici stressed in a statement issued yesterday that Iglesias "confirmed" that the senator never mentioned the November election and that he had no idea why the prosecutor felt "violated."

Amazing.

Republican "federalism":

Another prosecutor, John McKay of Seattle, said he received a call in late 2004 from Ed Cassidy, a former chief of staff to Representative Doc Hastings, Republican of Washington. At the time, Mr. McKay was weighing whether to convene a grand jury to investigate accusations of voter fraud in a close election for governor. He said Mr. Cassidy called to inquire about the status of the investigation. . . . In remarks after the hearings, McKay said that officials in the White House counsel's office, including then-counsel Harriet E. Miers, asked him to explain why he had "mishandled" the governor's race during an interview for a federal judgeship in September 2006.

It gets even better:

Timothy Griffin, Karl Rove’s assistant, the President’s pick as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas . . . was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election. Key voters on Griffin’s hit list: Black soldiers and homeless men and women. . . .

Libby Juror #9, Denis Collins, a journalist and author, made the rounds of every network yesterday. On Larry King Live, he said he'd be writing about his experiences but hadn't yet decided in what form.

Today, his 7 page online account of what happened inside the jury room appears exclusively at Huffington Post.

Update: Also check out Technorati's Buzz TV with a cutie named Aaron. He highlights juror #9 Denis Collins first hand account at HuffPo and this TalkLeft post. I really like the fast moving video at the beginning, the images flash as as fast as this one.

Politics TV brings you the final v-log from Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake and Marcy Wheeler (Empty Wheel) of the Next Hurrah.

I'm going to miss them both. They provided invaluable coverage of this trial. At the end, they talk about the impact of bloggers on the trial and credit all of us who blogged from the courthouse.

Now that Scooter Libby has been convicted of four of five counts, what sentence is he likely to receive?

First off, for non-lawyers, the 25 years you hear about are not what he will get. They are the maximum sentence authorized by statute. The maximum sentence for obstruction is 10 years; false statements and perjury, 5 years.

In reality, sentences are based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Until a few years ago when the Supreme Court decided Booker v. United States (argued in the Supreme Court by TalkLeft blogger TChris), the guidelines were mandatory. Now, they are given serious consideration or even great weight, but they are not binding and the Court must consider the factors in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). That could result in a lower sentence for Libby -- or not.

On to the Guidelines, below the fold:

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) of the Progressive Caucus on Iraq:

Our soldiers are dying in Iraq because President Bush refuses to recognize that it’s time to bring our troops home, his is a position that has been overwhelmingly rejected by the American public. Democrats were elected in November in conservative districts across the country so that we could find an end to the war, and now the majority of the American public supports a time-bound withdrawal plan that ensures that our troops return home in a safe and orderly fashion.

It’s time to end our military occupation of Iraq, and it’s time to fully fund our withdrawal.

Taylor Marsh and Matt Stoller demonstrate their commitment and focus on ending the Iraq Debacle is there. But I think they also demonstrate their understanding of the issue is not quite there.

Marsh and Stoller take Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to task for saying, as Marsh describes it:

Mr. Reid will continue to fund the Iraq war. Period. He said so emphatically last night on "Charlie Rose." Of course, he did give a verbal nod to senators wanting to "look" at the funding issue, but he said the Senate will continue the "tradition" of funding war. Simply stated, Harry Reid will not be the first majority leader in U.S. Senate history to break with that "tradition." Constitutional checks and balances on a runaway commander in chief mean nothing to the senator. So on the war will rage until Mr. Bush decides to end it. That is our fate as it stands today.

Can Harry Reid singlehandedly fund the war? Or stop funding the war? Can the Senate? The answer is the Senate can singlehandedly stop the funding of the war but it cannot singlehandedly fund the war.

It's 5:00 in Denver and I haven't left the computer since 7:30 am. I'm taking a break to replenish my groceries and libations. With all the Scooter Libby excitement today, I'll never sleep tonight without a little Grand Marnier.

I know there's other news, so here's a place to discuss it.

Courtesy of Connecticut Blog (also My Left Nutmeg): Part 1 of Scooter Libby juror Denis Collins' interview after the verdict

Part 2 below the fold

I think a lot of the interest in the Libby trial has been the repercussions to Vice President Cheney if Libby was convicted.

During closing arguments, Fitzgerald said there was a cloud over the White House and the Vice President.

At the press conference today, Fitzgerald was very clear that he does not expect to bring additional charges in the case. They are all going back to their day jobs. The investigation is now inactive.

Joseph Wilson's statement, through his lawyers, is here.
He will be on MSNBC's Countdown and CNN's Larry King Live tonight.