Libby Defense May Highlight Infighting

[Judi Lynn]

Libby Defense May Highlight Infighting

By PETE YOST
The Associated Press
Saturday, March 18, 2006; 10:26 AM

WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide are suggesting they may delve deeply at his criminal trial into infighting among the White House, the CIA and the State Department over pre-Iraq war intelligence failures.

New legal documents raise the potential that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's trial could turn into a political embarrassment for the Bush administration by focusing on whether the White House manipulated intelligence to justify the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

In a court filing late Friday night, Libby's legal team said that in June and July 2003, the status of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame was at most a peripheral issue to "the finger-pointing that went on within the executive branch about who was to blame" for the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.

"If the jury learns this background information" about finger-pointing, "and also understands Mr. Libby's additional focus on urgent national security matters, the jury will more easily appreciate how Mr. Libby may have forgotten or misremembered ... snippets of conversation" about Plame's status, the defense lawyers said.
(snip/...)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031800587.html

[maddezmom]

1. this only points the finger more at Cheney, IMO

[hang a left]

2. It actually sounds like they are sending a message to Rove.

KNR

[appleannie1]

3. it's no wonder

they came up with a photo-op called Operation Swarmer. The Libby defense team coming from one direction and a squealing Abramoff coming from the other one. All that on top of the Katrina tapes and the port deal disclosure.

[janx]

4. LIbby's lawyers sure like to talk, don't they? n/t

[GardeningGal]

5. Libby Trial May Be Embarrassment for Bush

WASHINGTON - Lawyers for Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide are signaling they may delve deeply at his criminal trial into infighting among the White House, the CIA and the State Department over pre-Iraq war intelligence failures.

In a prelude to a possible defense, the lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby also are suggesting that the State Department — not Libby — may be to blame for leaking the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame to the media.

Court papers filed late Friday raise the possibility a trial could become politically embarrassing for the Bush administration by focusing on the debate about whether the White House manipulated intelligence to justify the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cia_leak;_ylt=AtL_FyZtFxG89FEnuC3YeK6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

[CJCRANE]

6. Implicating the State Dept...

hmm..wasn't it Colin Powell back then..

[rodeodance]

7. well, em =BARE-ASS away,

[otohara]

8. Bush Embarrasses Himself Everyday

and until recently, nobody cared. Incompetent, Idiot, Liar....

[BlueManDude]

9. neo-cons versus the establishment - ohh sounds like fun n/t

[HereSince1628]

10. Let's remember..just where John Bolton worked at the time. Eh?

[antonialee839]

20. I've always thought that vindictive little creep was involved.

[acmavm]

11. Libby's lawyers are trying to throw a little scare into the bush** admin.

as a warning that they better get their boy outta trouble or he might do some talking 'bout things they don't want talked about.

[thinkingwoman]

12. all these articles keep yapping about who leaked what

as if Libby is on trial for leaking, when of course he is not.

How does the state department leaking defend Libby for lying? I'm way past sick and tired of all the propaganda and water-muddying going on.

That being said, anything that embarrasses Bush is ok by me. ;-)

[MGKrebs]

16. You are correct, of course.

Frustrating in a way, but also fascinating to watch unfold.

It seems clear from the language of the Libby indictment that the OSC believes Libby is the original leaker. They claim he leaked the Plame/Wilson info to Judith Miller two weeks before "Offical A" (Rove?) leaked it to Novak. So presumably, Fitzgerald is holding some cards he hasn't played yet, for what purpose we can only speculate, which I am happy to do:

Although Libby was technically the first to leak the classified information (and then lied about it), someone else put him up to it, and that person might have been asking others (in the State Department?) to leak it too. Fitz may be looking for a few more bricks for the foundation he is building for a bigger case. After all, a criminal prosecution of the Vice President is profound!

And who knows, it may also be possible that he will delay any further prosecutions until his target (and his boss) is out of office, giving the case a better chance of being meaningful.

Another possibility is that some in the State Department really was the first to leak, and Fitz is playing his cards very close to the vest in order to draw that info out.


I'd be willing to bet that Fitz is perfectly willing to let the various protagonists have these semi-public arguments in the meantime.

[radfringe]

22. my thoughts exactly

the charges are perjury and obstruction (at this point)so what does "who did the leaking" have to do with the current charges?

ennywhoo - it does present more questions -- did Libby lie to protect himself from being fingered as the leaker, or did he lie to protect others -- or both?

it's not inconceivable that there's more than one leaker

also not inconceivable that some of the leakers may have been unaware of Plame's security status -- consider this:

Leaker-One knows about Plame and CIA status. Leaker-One tells Leaker-Two about Plame working for CIA and being married to Wilson but does mention security status. Leaker-Two, unaware of security status, tells Leaker-Three and reporter(s)...Leaker-Three, Four... does the same

[MaineDem]

13. May???

I imagine it's a certainty that this will embarrass Bush.

[Demeter]

14. Embarassment Is Too Good For Bush

He deserves life in jail and stripping of assets.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

15. won't happen. he'll grab his crayola and pardon him first.

[Lexingtonian]

17. no one's ratted on Cheney and lived, yet

I suspect Libby will get Whittingtoned.

:-)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

23. hell of a way of giving people a warning.

[rocktivity]

18. Candidate for this month's "You Call This NEWS?" award

Court papers filed late Friday raise the possibility a trial could become politically embarrassing for the Bush administration by focusing on the debate about whether the White House manipulated intelligence to justify the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The nerve of those investigators--don't they know how terribly unfair they're being to Georgie? It isn't as though the leak was done for HIS benefit!

:eyes:
rocknation

[NastyRiffraff]

19. Looks like Team Libby has resolved internal disputes...

..about whether they actually defend their client or protect the administration. Things could get very interesting!

Ol' Scooter has finally realized that his buds aren't gonna extend a helping hand...they're all too busy shredding stuff.

[maddezmom]

21. AP's potential witness list:

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060318/ap/d8ge6c603.html

Potential witnesses in the upcoming criminal trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, as referenced in court papers by Libby's lawyers. The trial is scheduled for January:

_Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state.

_Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary.

_Marc Grossman, former undersecretary of state for political affairs.

_Colin Powell, the former secretary of state.

_Karl Rove, the deputy White House chief of staff. ADVERTISEMENT

_George Tenet, the former CIA director.

_Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador.

_Valerie Plame Wilson.

more:http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060318/ap/d8ge6c603.html

[cantstandbush]

24. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! This trial is NOT about WMDs!!!

It's about Libby's lying and obstructing justice!!!! What a tactic by the defense to divert attention away from the REAL crime Libby is being accused of.

[NoGOP]

25. Be a man Scooter..........

come clean, don't protect them, let us know what's really going on in this administration. You owe it to this country. We know some of it but not all of it. They're not going to protect you anymore. They're not your friends anymore. Do the right thing.

[Demeter]

26. That's No Excuse

If he's looking for mitigating circumstances, he's going to have to do better than that...