Judge in CIA Leak Case Threatens Gag Order

[AGENDA21]

The federal judge presiding over the pending trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby threatened yesterday to impose a gag order barring statements or disclosures to the news media by Libby's defense team or by the special prosecutor investigating alleged wrongdoing by the former White House official.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walston did not explain exactly what provoked his pique, but he wrote in his order that "on several occasions information has been distributed to the press by counsel, which has included not only public statements, but also the dissemination of material that had not been filed on the public docket."

He complained that the parties to the case did not heed an earlier warning that he would not tolerate "this case being tried in the media," and he said such disclosures could impair the court's ability "to ensure that both sides receive a fair trial." Walton gave both sides eight days to state any objections before he imposes the gag order.

He made the threat a week after special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who is investigating leaks to the media by administration officials about a CIA operative, wrote in a court filing that President Bush and Vice President Cheney had authorized Libby to release information to the media from a classified intelligence report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301687_pf.html