So who is Judge John D. Bates, the judge who threw out Valerie Plame's lawsuit against Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Richard Armitage?

A "loyal Bushie," of course.

• Deputy Independent Counsel for the Whitewater investigation from 1995 to mid-1997, where he forced the White House to release thousands of documents related to Hillary Clinton's conversations about Whitewater.
• Appointed as Federal judge in December 2001 by George W. Bush
• In December 2002, he dismissed a lawsuit filed by the GAO against Cheney over access to his energy task force documents, claiming the GAO lacked authority to sue the VP.
• In February 2006, he was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to serve as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court - replacing a judge who resigned in protest over the illegal NSA wiretapping. It's a safe bet Bates has been a reliable rubber stamp allowing Bush's NSA to spy on millions of Americans without a warrant.
• In August 2006, Bates declared it acceptable for Bush to sign a bill that had not been passed by Congress.

And why did Bates reject Plame's lawsuit? Because after Joe Wilson told the truth about Niger, the Bush Administration was allowed to do anything it wanted to get Wilson - including outing Wilson's wife.

The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson's comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory. But there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush administration's handling of prewar foreign intelligence by speaking with members of the press, is within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials.

Unsavory??? Within the scope of their duties??? The defendants exposed a covert CIA agent and endangered her life, destroyed her network of spies trying to stop the spread of WMD's to terrorists and endangered our Nation - and may have gotten some of her spies murdered. That's not unsavory - that's treason.

Joe Wilson, always the patriot, puts national security ahead of his family's security:

"This case is not just about what top government officials did to Valerie and me." Wilson said. "We brought this suit because we strongly believe that politicizing intelligence ultimately serves only to undermine the security of our nation. Today's decision is just the first step in what we have always known would be a long legal battle and we are committed to seeing this case through." 

But Valerie Plame will never get justice - and our nation will never be safe - by relying on the Bush-controlled Federal courts.

It is way past time for Congress to Impeach Dick Cheney.