Libby's attorney asserted WH and State Dept are the real leakers

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16778317/site/newsweek/page/2/

<snip>

Wells shot back that it was others at the White House and the State Department—and not just Rove—who were the real leakers. Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, Wells asserted for the first time, had gotten immunity from prosecution and then confessed to the FBI that he had personally leaked Plame’s status to NBC White House reporter David Gregory. Dan Bartlett, now senior presidential counselor, also learned of Plame’s identify and spread the information as well, according to Wells. (And, of course, Wells emphasized, it was then-deputy Secretary of State Armitage who set the whole case in motion by first disclosing Plame’s identity to columnist Robert Novak.)

But, Wells contended, it was Rove—the political strategist—who had to be protected at all costs. He was, Wells said, “the lifeblood of the Republican Party” and the man George W. Bush absolutely needed for the coming re-election campaign. Indeed, after McClellan issued a public statement exonerating Rove of any involvement in the leak (a statement that turned out three years later to be false), Cheney and Libby huddled about the matter. McClellan had cleared Rove but at that point had said nothing about Libby, leaving the implication that Libby had leaked but Rove hadn’t. Cheney personally wrote a note, an excerpt of which Wells read to the jury and highlighted by displaying on an audio-visual machine during his opening statement: “Not going to protect one staffer and sacrifice the guy that was asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder because of the incompetence of others,” Cheney’s note read.

[C_U_L8R]

1. So... Libby still lied

[KittyWampus]

2. now that's boiling it down to its essence