NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil major ConocoPhillips said on Friday that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, a likely witness in the CIA leak case, has joined its board.
Armitage, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's deputy, has been under scrutiny in connection with the trial of ex-vice presidential aide Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, over the leak of a CIA operative's name to the press.
A filing by Libby's defense team this month asked Judge Reggie Walton to force prosecutors to turn over material they have about likely witnesses, including Armitage.
The former State Department official, suspected of being the first person to discuss the identity of CIA official Valerie Plame with reporters, is expected to testify in the perjury trial.
The court filing suggests Libby's team may try to pin blame on the State Department for the leak of Plame's identity to the public after her husband. U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, criticized the Bush administration's Iraq policy.
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-energy-conocophillips-armitage.html?_r=1&oref=slogin