I. Lewis Libby has established a Legal Defense Fund for his upcoming trial on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in connection with Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury investigation of the Plame Game. Lawyers are poised to make a bundle in Libby's defense, even though an objective observer might wonder why there has to be a trial if it is a matter of record that Libby did obstruct justice, make false statements and perjury before the grand jury.

Because he is no longer in office, the sky's the limit on the amount of money Libby can collect for his legal defense. Guestimates say it will require millions of dollars. Thank goodness the money contributed to the Libby defense fund won't be used to help the people in the Mississippi Delta. Biting sarcasm, anyone?

Were persons close to the Bush administration to contribute to the Libby Legal Defense fund, it would give the appearance that they were trying to minimize damage to the administration's reputation. But such persons needn't worry, because with Libby out of office, there's no requirement that he disclose contributors' names, and the only perceivable openness in the Bush administration relates to the holes in its members moral values. (By Scott Rose)