Don't miss Emptywheel's LIVEBLOGGING OF THE LIBBY TRIAL at firedoglake!

[Nothing Without Hope]

Lots of details, good feel for atmosphere and dynamics of events as they unfold. Emptywheel's laptop must be smoking hot!

Here's the "welcome" and stage setting:

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/good-morning-from-dc/

Good Morning From DC

By Christy Hardin Smith @ 5:15 am

Good morning from the Prettyman Courthouse. Today begins opening statements in the Libby trial. I'll be sitting in the courtroom throughout proceedings today, and the amazing Emptywheel will be liveblogging as the action goes ahead.

(snip)

...and the instructions to the Libby jury:

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-instructions/

Libby Liveblog: Instructions

By: emptywheel @ 8:56 am

Here we go folks! We'll spend the first part of the morning doing jury instructions. Things to look for? There has been an active debate since the day Libby was indicted about how to refer to Plame's status and the relationship of her status to this case. Libby has wanted any discussion of classified (much less covert) status to remain unmentioned, since he has received only a CIPA summary of her employment status and has been indicted for lying, not for leaking. Whereas Fitzgerald has argued that her status is an important background piece to the case. Look to see how Walton has decided to split that baby.

One other heated debate relates to the relationship between the obstruction charge and the false statements/perjury charges. Libby's team made a move to yoke them, presumably so that if Libby were found innocent of lying, then he would by necessity be found innocent of obstruction as well.

And finally, there's a question about the scope of the investigation. Libby's team has indicated it may dispute the government's version of the scope of the investigation, particularly as it relates to the Fall 2003 part of the investigation. I suspect they're trying to argue that, at that point, the investigation related solely to the leak to Novak, so any leaks to other journalists would be non-material. Most of Libby's teams argument about this will come later–but watch to see how Walton defines the investigation.

Two housekeeping notes. First, remember this is not an official transcript. Where I use quotation marks, it is my own transcription of a person's statement. Otherwise, it is a rough paraphrase. If you need to quote something officially, wait for the official transcript please!

(snip - here's where it gets going! Go and read it!)

Further updates are added as they become available:

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-fitzgeralds-opening-statement/

Libby Liveblog: Fitzgerald’s Opening Statement

By emptywheel @ 7:34 am

(snip - an excerpt simply cannot do this justice)

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-wells-opening-statement-part-one/

Libby Liveblog: Well’s Opening Statement, Part One

By: emptywheel

(snip - again, you must read this yourself)

EDIT WITH UPDATE:

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-wells-opening-statement-part-two/
Libby Liveblog: Wells’ Opening Statement, Part Two
By emptywheel @ 10:46 am (Jan 23)

Picking up after lunch.

To remind you of housekeeping. This is not a transcript. It is as close as I can get.

And I'll timestamp my updates. I'll try to update every 15 minutes. So don't overtax the servers by trying to update every two minutes.

Before the jury comes in, Fitzgerald lodges two complaints:

(snip)

more updates will be coming! As long as I'm at the computer, I'll add more to the reply thread as they are posted later at firedoglake.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR OWN UPDATES TO THIS THREAD - LET'S ALL MAKE IT AS USEFUL & TIMELY AS POSSIBLE!

[DemReadingDU]

1. Thank you, we needed a thread to have enerything

in one location!

[aquart]

2. They're doing a spectacular job.

I have to go out now. I'm leaving the house without makeup because I couldn't tear myself away from firedoglake long enough for even lipstick.

[mmonk]

3. It's been great.

Love it.

[democrank]

4. Thanks for this.

Quite an interesting day.

[TahitiNut]

5. The site is getting hammered right now.

I have to wonder if MSNBC is using it to supplement their own reporting.

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. Yes, it's getting hard to get into the site, but it's well worth keeping at it

Emptywheel is doing more than trying to repeat what is said - there is analysis and atmosphere and dynamic movement. You feel like you're watching and listening! Here's where you see the real strengths of liveblogging at its best.

[Nothing Without Hope]

7. ***From yesterday: don't miss this analysis/defense of blogging news:

Don't miss the thoughtful, thorough piece yesterday morning, also at Firedoglake, by Pachacutec taking the whole "bloggers aren't professional, are unreliable, shouldn't be valued" meme and deconstructs, discusses, and thoroughly rebuts it. Best discussion of this I've seen:

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/22/libby-trial-meta-bloggers-meet-the-press/#more-6709

Libby Trial Meta: Bloggers Meet the Press

By: Pachacutec
Monday, January 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 am

(snip...) I want to speak in the same spirit of basic human respect and dialogue that has informally developed as I have gotten to know at least a handful of the big reporters in the Libby media room. In good faith, let me address some of the standard defenses offered of the criticisms we in the blogosphere typically make of the establishment media. These are some of the establishment's standard criticisms of our criticisms, followed by my responses. Let me be clear: I'm not suggesting anyone has made these arguments to me this week. I'm just reprising some old standards.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Rashomon: This argument says different people see different things watching the same thing.
(snip - Pachacutek explains and then debunks)

Editors: This argument says bloggers lack accuracy because they lack supervision: they lack editors who can support fact checking of what they do.
(snip - this is debunked)

Conspiracy: Members of the establishment media may at times implicitly concede some of our criticisms of their failures on specific stories, but they hasten to argue there is no conspiracy to favor one side or the other in national or political coverage.
(snip - Pachacutek's rebuttal)

Competency: This argument says that bloggers who know nothing of reporting, or what's involved in it, lack the competence to criticize that which they do not understand.
(snip - Pachacutek's rebuttal)

(snip - much, much more)

Very, very thorough - and so germane to the coverage of the Libby trial today!

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. Emptywheel just posted that he'll try to send updates every 15 min

and asks that we not overload the server by updating every two minutes

I've posted his brief update in the OP. Future ones will be posted in the replies to this thread. I like to put three asterisks *** at the beginning of reply posts that contain links such as these updates or the great piece by Pachacutek defending news blogging yesterday (upthread, reply #7).

I'll not be here all day, so feel free to post updates from firedoglake or elsewhere yourselves in this thread. Let's make it as useful as possible!

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

21. Emptywheel

Is a "she"

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. Thanks for the correction - I have wondered and went for "he" because

I saw it somewhere. Should have persisted in trying to find out. Whatever gender, emptywheel is doing us all a great service.

[Nothing Without Hope]

31. ***Digby refers to Emptywheel as "Marcy Wheeler" in an analysis:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_digbysblog_archive.html#116957460635215115

[Nothing Without Hope]

9. I just checked (2:13pm EST) and no fresh updates yet. I will be away

from the computer for a while. As I wrote at the end of the OP, please feel free to add updates or other material or comments yourselves - let's make this thread a useful, timely resource!

[Time for change]

10. Thank you for doing this Hope

Maybe this will open the door for impeachment!

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. I surely hope it does open the door for impeachment. It looks like they

are not going to be working to shield Cheney. Libby doesn't want to be the sacrificial goat to protect Cheney and Rove, and it looks like his lawyers are going to support that. There was some question of whether there might be come conflict of interest on the Libby legal team, discussed a couple of months back at firedoglake. Would they act to protect the Administration or act to protect Libby, no matter who would be exposed? Early signs are promising.

[eShirl]

11. thanks for the updates

kick

[WinkyDink]

12. I get a "site can't be found" message.

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. Their server is being hammered. Keep trying.

The home page is http://www.firedoglake.com. If you get the same message with that, then you can be certain that it's the server and not some mistake in the links I posted.

[WinkyDink]

26. Got it! Thanks!

[autorank]

13. My update: Great Post...this is exciting. Real news, not trivia-KR

My update, in a broad sense, is that Cheney is going down as a result of this trial.

With Bush at 28% it's going to be time for a quick change. To do that, Cheney needs to
be gone. His association with this trial will be front and center with burning red
headlines to the point where Cheney must resign.

But, the real trial will be lopsided, I suspect. I read about Fitzgerald's interrogation of
memory "expert" Elizabeth Loftus, Phd. This is a seasoned hired flack and a prominent academic.
Fitzgerald's cross was so devastating there were long periods of silence where Loftus simply
couldn't answer. One court hand said it was the most brutal cross ever, particularly of a
well know "expert" witness.

This will rock.

[Nothing Without Hope]

27. I surely hope it plays like that. There has been some speculation that

there might be a sort of split in priorities in the Libby legal team - protect Libby no matter who gets burned, or do everything possible to protect the Administration even if Llibby is sacrificed. So far, it's looking like they are not going to be shielding Cheney.

Yes, that "memory expert" will want to forget that one. That particular seasoned hired flack learned that you can't scam everyone when cashing in to protect a criminal. And how great to see fireworks like that devastating lies in the Libby trial. Let's hope the truth comes out for all to see, truth that cannot be buried or ignored.

[Nothing Without Hope]

14. ***FIVE more updates in the Wells Part II link! Emptywheel comes through!

I gave this link above - for some reason my computer has been giving time stamps to the firedoglake posts that are 3 hours too early, e.g., 10:46 instead of the correct 1:46. Emptywheel is posting updates with embedded time stamps in the Wells Part II link, same as the one I gave above at the time when only the intro was there:

Libby Liveblog: Wells’ Opening Statement, Part Two
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-wells-opening-statement-part-two

Intro, posted at 1:46 pm, just after the lunch break (posted on above). Emptywheel says he will try to post updates every 15 min or so and asks that we not overstrain the server by checkin in every 2 minutes.

Then we have updates posted at 2 PM, 2:11, 2;20, 2:34, 2:47, 2:55, all added to the end of the same link. YOU SIMPLY MUST READ IT ALL - IT IS RIVETTING AND LOADED WITH MAJOR POINTS!!! In the last (as of this moment), 2:55pm update, Cheney's name comes up:

(snip - Emptywheel is summarizing)

A decision is made that George Tenet, he's going to make a statement that says, in effect, that the CIA screwed it up.

The drafting on that statement is very contentious. Mr. Tenet is none too crazy about saying that the CIA screwed it up.

Mr. Libby is asked by the VP to get in the middle of drafting the statement. {This is Emptywheels' emphasis. He comments: "This is going to be significant."}

[Nothing Without Hope]

16. ***More major stuff has been added to the 2:55 update! LINK

to this ever-longer post, still titled "Libby Liveblog: Wells’ Opening Statement, Part Two":
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-wells-opening-statement-part-two/#more-6763

Again, I recommend you read it ALL. Here's an excerpt - emptywheel is summarizing:

{emphases and comments are emptywheel's}
(snip)
Says Cheney: I want you talk with certain reporters. Give them an exclusive. (Wells is trying to suggest ALL the NIE leaks came at the order of Dick, even though Libby has testified differently. Game ON!)

Mr. Libby on July 8 was basically put in the spot, this is still the meat grinder. He was being tasked to go meet with Judy Miller. He makes disclosures to Ms. Miller. What the NIE showed is that at least with respect to the Iraqis trying to buy uranium, it was done in October.

Mr. Libby has to stay silent! (Wells is trying to pre-empt the most damaging parts of the grand jury testimony!)
(snip)

I hope Emptywheel starts "part III" soon - slower system links are going to start struggling with the length of this post and its comments.

As autorank says, it surely looks like they're not going to be pulling many punches re Cheney's treason. If the system still works at all, surely he'll go down.

[Lex]

17. HOLY CRAP-----that is a good site.

Thanks for posting the link! :thumbsup:

[halobeam]

18. plenty good.

isn't it.:P

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

19. Emptywheel ROCKS!

[ralps]

20. *** New thread at Firedoglake.com- "Libby Liveblog: Other Issues"

Libby Liveblog: Other Issues
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-other-issues/

"The Jury has been excused.

Fitz is complaining about two things. First, Wells' statement at the end that the only way he could lose is if people let their emotions about the war cloud their judgment. Walton is unconcerned about this.

Fitz is also complaining that the jury has twice heard the defense is restricted to certain things but it has not also been told that the government is under the same kind of handcuffs.

Fitz says that he can't also say whatever he wants to say about Plame.

Walton says, I understand, but the executive branch is the executive branch. I don't know whether it's appropriate to tell the jury that they should take that exec branch is restricted."
snip Lots more info there!
:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[Nothing Without Hope]

22. YES!!! UPDATES at 3:36 (PM EST), 3:45, 3:58, 4:09, 4:23, 4:28, and 4:38!!!

Thank you, ralps!

[bleever]

24. Thank you Hope! nt

[Nothing Without Hope]

28. Recess, break for the evening - recap and analysis will be posted later

at firedoglake. The end of Emptywheel's long, multi-updated "Libby Liveblog: Other Issues" thread (http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-liveblog-other-issues):

(snip)

Break for the evening!

Walton making a comment about lawyers stating his personal opinion in opening statement, you have to disregard.

Christy should have a recap tonight, with some good legal perspective. Pach will do something later in the week to talk about his professional opinion.

And I'll be back here tomorrow morning. I'm sure Well's is preparing to insinuate the Grossman was lying for Armitage.

Recess! Yeah! Recess! Beer thirty.

(snip)

[Nothing Without Hope]

29. ***Crooks & Liars has MSNBC video report up, will have their own blogger

report from the trial later. Here's the thread:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/23/libby-sacrificed-to-save-rove
Links to the video are there. The MSNBC reporter picked up on the business of Libby seeing himself as being sacrificed to protect Rove and Cheney, but it's interesting how at the end of the video clip the reporter seems to be bending over backwards to say that though there seems to have been more involvement than thought (by whom???) by Cheney, there is no charge and no hint that he might have done anything criminal.

Crooks & Liars has their own inside-the-trial blogger, and the thread says "Our C&L "inside the Libby Trial" blogger will have a report for us at the end of the day." Haven't seen it yet, but this means that both firedoglake and C & L will have more good stuff posted later tonight.

By the way, the latest thread just posted at Crooks & Liars is "Will Cheney Resign?" with videos promised soon. I can't see Cheney resigning unless forced by nearly unimagineable pressure.

[Nothing Without Hope]

30. ***Partial transcription of MSNBC Shuster's report at dKos:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1/23/114444/552

[Nothing Without Hope]

32. I'll be away from my computer for several hours - hope you people watch

for updates, especially at C & L and firedoglake, and post on them here.

:hi:

[Lex]

33. kick

good stuff

[ralps]

34. *** Latest Thread at Firedoglake.com with a video report from Christy &

Marcy!
Back At The House
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/back-at-the-house/
"UPDATE: Huge thank you to the great folks at PoliticsTV. Here's our first recap for them from today.

Emptywheel and I are back at the house now. She's exhausted, and my hand may have formed into a perpetual cramp from taking notes in the courtroom. I'll be working up a summary, and doing some of the legal play-by-play (for the law wonks in the audience, hang onto your seats) — but it will be a little while before I can complete it. There's lots of good stuff to discuss.

In the meantime, the tie of the day award goes to Jeffrey Toobin of CNN — for a lovely sky blue tie with a darker grecian tile motif. Quite classy."
snip
:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo:

[Nothing Without Hope]

36. Thanks! Shared threads are the best. n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

35. ***The promised recap and summary by Christy Hardin Smith is up!!!

Posted at 10:34pm EST - I'll pick some four fairly random paragraphs to excerpt, but I strongly recommend you go to firedoglake and read the whole thing.

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/23/libby-trial-openings-and-on-to-witnesses/#more-6769
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 pm EST

Libby Trial: Openings And On To Witnesses

By: Christy Hardin Smith

(snip)

The first opening statement was given today by the prosecution, with Patrick Fitzgerald leading off for the government. His opening was concise, very tightly constructed, and left no doubt that he was very clear about the reasons for which he sought an indictment for I. Lewis Libby from the federal grand jury for the five count indictment returned last October. Fitzgerald's style presents as someone who puts together the pieces of the puzzle until they fit together as a tight whole — and he certainly tried to do that with his opening this morning.

The stage was set from the start of the opening with regard to pushback against Amb. Joseph Wilson, whose op-ed in the New York Times (and his earlier unattributed quotes to other journalists) went to the heart of the credibility of the Bush Administration's foundation — or lack thereof — for starting the war in Iraq. Fitzgerald walked the jury back to the "sixteen words" in the President's State of the Union address on January 28, 2003 — and the fact that Amb. Joseph Wilson's allegations brought the possiblity that the President lied to the American public in that speech right into the living rooms of average Americans.

(snip)

Wells began with a fairly well used defense attorney strategy in cases where the primary evidence will be via witness testimony and not through a lot of physical evidence (for example, forensic evidence, contemporaneous documents, and things like that). The "he said, she said" argument gets to the question of who the jurors will find most credible — and can be very convincing in terms of argument when you have few witnesses, most of whom are far from credible.

(snip)

Personally, I found Fitzgerald's very straightforward and methodically organized style more appealing today. I felt that Wells went on too long, in a disjointed and freewheeling style, and that he was not only losing members of the public and the press, but that he started losing members of the jury with too much repetition and attempts to muddy the evidentiary waters with some confusion and counterspin.

(snip)

[Nothing Without Hope]

37. one last visibility kick for the night n/t