Former Cheney spokeswoman to testify

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney's former spokeswoman was among witnesses on tap to testify in the CIA leak trial Thursday as prosecutors strove to find more certainty in a case so far memorable for its forgetfulness.

Cathie Martin was expected to testify that in 2003 she told Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, that a prominent Bush administration critic was married to a CIA operative.

Martin's memory will be put to the test. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's first three witnesses told similar stories during the trial's opening days but each conceded a memory problem. One could not actually remember the conversation. Another recalled it differently than when he first spoke to investigators. A third said his memory improved as time went on.

The early testimony points up the difficulty prosecutors will have proving their perjury and obstruction case against Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. In a case that hinges on whether Libby lied to investigators or simply remembered poorly, defense lawyers are eager to show a bad memory is in good company.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak_trial

[peacetalksforall]

1. For those who get to follow this closely - a favor please - please

listen to the word or words to describe Plame's status in the CIA. This writer used 'operative'. I would like to know the precise word used in the courtroom.

Why? Because the Republicans used corporate networks and radio to demean and attack the Wilsons, protect the WH, and make the event go away - by saying that she wasn't an covert agent.

Professionals like Victoria Toensing and Joe DeGenova went overboard by invitation of the networks to demean the Wilsons and destroy the case.

Now, in this thread, we hear the Martin, on Cheney's staff, is saying "administration critic was married to a CIA operative". Please find out if they use the word operative or something even more definitive.

While Fitzgerald and his staff try to get at the truth of what went on with law breaking, we need to find out on our own how tv and radio and right wing operatives from the batallions of operatives helped the WH.

[radfringe]

2. fire dog lake live blogging of trial - martin up now

http://www.firedoglake.com/

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. Intriguing

[NashVegas]

4. UPDATE: Martin Was Jealous of Scooter (you gotta love it) (PS - wife of FCC Chief)

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRWebSite/

by Jeffrey Yorke

Testifying before the U.S. District Court in Washington, Catherine J. Martin, the wife of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, on Thursday said that vice president Dick Cheney was closely involved in the White House's summer 2003 attempt to shift blame about the administrations misstatements about Iraq gaining nuclear material from Niger to former U.S. Ambassador Joe Wilson. Martin, who replaced Mary Matalin as assistant to the president and counselor to the vice president on Dec. 31, 2002 and still works in the White House, told the court that Cheney had dictated to his assistant, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and to her talking points and how he wanted to handle the press.

The Washington Post reports that Martin testified that Cheney decided that Libby, not Martin, should call the two reporters. "I remember going in with Scooter and him calling one of the reporters. I'm not sure which one," the Post reported. But she did not stay for the entire conversation with the reporter, partly because "I was aggravated Scooter was calling the reporters and I wasn't," she said.

Kevin Martin, a Republican, was nominated by President Bush as a commissioner to the FCC in 2001. Bush nominated him as chairman in 2004 when Gen. Colin Powell's son, Michael Powell, stepped down as FCC chairman. Bush nominated Martin to another five-year term as FCC chairman in early 2006, and the Senate confirmed his position in last November.