John Dean

I really like John Dean. I read his stuff over at Findlaw and can't get enough. I don't know why I never see anyone link to Findlaw's commentary, but they often have interesting opinions. Even the dumb lawyers can have something interesting to say. But John Dean is the best. He helped bring Nixon down, and he writes excellent legal commentary. You should read all of his stuff.

He just gave his two cents on the Valerie Plame thing (who he correctly refers to as Valerie Wilson, another reason to like him), and I think it's a pretty good read. His point is that the oft given federal statute regarding covert CIA operatives is unlikely to apply to Rove, but that an entirely different statute almost certainly does. And that a recent prosecution of a DEA agent with this other statute was touted by the Justice Department as a warning against leakers. We can only hope that he's right.

Here's another good column, by guest columnist Louis Klarevas, this time regarding Judith Miller's jailing. It's pretty good, though I've never read the guy's stuff before and he looks like a complete doof; so I don't vouch for his accuracy. Oh, and my last recommendation from there is Michael C. Dorf, who usually has some smart lawyery stuff to say. But if you have a lot of time, and want to read some decent legal commentary, you should just scan through the whole commentary section and see what you like. And yes, this is what I do for fun.

(fixed links)