CHENEY's SPOKESWOMAN: VP's Office Pursuing Plame Leads BEFORE Libby Talked To Reporters

[kpete]

Cheney's spokeswoman says VP's office was aware of Plame prior to Libby's talks with reporters
Published: Thursday January 25, 2007
Cheney's ex-Spokeswoman: VP's office was pursuing Plame leads before Libby talked to reporters

In a major development today in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby perjury and obstruction of justice trial, a former vice presidential spokeswoman raised questions about the defense employed by Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. Cheney's former Press Secretary Cathie Martin took the stand and told the prosectuion she had briefed Libby and the Vice President on the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame as the wife of Iraq war critic Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Martin revealed that she had a conversation with a CIA counterpart who in the course of the discussion said that Plame was Wilson's wife. She immediately informed Cheney and Libby of this fact, on a date she said was prior to July 6th, according to the Associated Press. Libby claims he learned of Plame's identity days later.

The defense will cross-examine Martin on Libby's behalf this afternoon. MSNBC has provided details on Libby's lawyers questioning of memory as a tactic to call witnesses' accounts into doubt during the trial.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16805040/
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Cheneys_spokeswoman_says_her_office_was_0125.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. It just sucks for republicans when an honest person takes the stand

No wonder bush and cheney want to destroy the constitution and fire all the hard working prosecutors out there who can smell a rat a mere supboena away.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. Mr. Hall of Arkansas

is suing the government for the loss of his job as federal prosecutor, saying the law under which this was done is unconstitutional. Let's hope the courts agree with him.

[BOSSHOG]

14. More power to Mr Hall

and to think, bush and cheney might have been successful if they'd only been honest the past seven years. No doubt, honesty is not in "conservative" DNA as they prove it day after day after day.

[Bandit]

26. What makes you believe Cheney's spokesperson is honest in any manner?

Why would an honest person work for such a thug? :shrug: I don't buy it. Libby is being set up and why would a CIA agent out another CIA agent?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Why am I seing paralels to ahem Spiro Agnew

nah, it could not be, not really... not at all...

[fla nocount]

15. Sure it is

The Republican Party is serving Cheney up out of necessity just as they did Agnew. You would think that after his years of service to the Nixon Abomination Cheney would pull a Rumsfeld and use his bus transfer now. Who do they have who's as innocuous as Gerald Ford might be the next question, Hagel has been making a lot of friends lately.

Sorry folks, I'm just a jaded cynic.

[malaise]

3. Looks like the aspens are

choking Libby real tight.

Sp.

[annabanana]

4. The question is... When will the rest of America know this?

The corporate coverage so far has been lacking in context (not that this is unusual).. And talking heads have not said that "defense is attempting to establish memory problems as a reason for misspeaking" but rather "defense is establishing memory problems". . . implying that defenses strategy is having the desired effect on the jury.

[skypilot]

5. Has this whole issue become so muddied...

...or am I just dense? As far as I've ever been able to tell, the issue wasn't that people were told that Plame was Wilson's wife but that her cover as a CIA operative was blown. Am I missing something?

[Mandate My Ass]

7. Libby is only charged with perjury and obstruction of justice

He's being prosecuted for the lies he told after the outing. That statute about outing CIA agents is difficult to prosecute because you have to prove intent, which, with this lying gang, would be nearly impossible. Much damage is going to be done to Libby and Cheney anyway, methinks.

[yodermon]

17. Actually espionage charges are on the table too,

not just the IIPA. Or so said Fitz, anyway: "And all I'll say is that if national defense information which is involved because her affiliation with the CIA, whether or not she was covert, was classified, if that was intentionally transmitted, that would violate the statute known as Section 793, which is the Espionage Act."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/28/AR2005102801340.html

For some reason, everyone has been so dad-gum obsessed with the IIPA that they overlook good old fashioned espionage. :shrug:

[annabanana]

8. Actually, the issue here is whether or not scooter lied.

What comes out in the details will come out in time, probably.

[skypilot]

9. MandateMyAss, annabanana

Thanks. I guess the answer to my question is that I am a little dense. Every time something about this case comes up I focus on the "blown cover" aspect of it, completely forgetting that Libby is only being charged with lying. I guess I'm still chomping at the bit to see someone go down for blowing Plame's cover.

[annabanana]

10. so are we all, skypilot, so are we all. . . . . n/t

[Mandate My Ass]

11. Oh there are going to be bombshells for sure

I can hardly wait for the Wilsons' civil suit. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying Fitzmas immensely. :popcorn:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. I'm thinking this is coming out to challenge the credibility

of the defense witnesses, namely Cheney.

[skypilot]

16. Cheney.

They'll drag his lying, sneering ass front and center I hope.

[Marie26]

20. Agree

Cheney either has to lie (and be charged w/perjury), or tell the truth (and then be charged w/revealing classifed info, and perjury for his earlier grand jury testimony). Fitzgerald is setting a trap.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

23. Another option:

Cheney could take the 5th.

Which, in the court of public opinion, and especially for a person who is not actually on trial, is the equivalent of pleading guilty.

:popcorn:

[Marie26]

25. But he won't, IMHO

I think Fitzgerald has a pretty good idea of Cheney's personality & is counting on Cheney's arrogance & hubris. Cheney's not a "take the 5th" of guy. He's lied about everything else - compared to WMD's, this is nothing. Cheney will be angry he has to testify, and pissed off that his power has been challenged. Cheney thinks the VP has a perfect right to declassify (leak) info whenever he wants, yet now his best bud is going to jail over this. I'm thinking he'll just bald-face lie, or else proudly state that he authorized the leak for the good of the country. IMO, his hostile reactions during the Blitzer interview are nothing compared to how he'll meltdown under a prosecutor's interrogation. Heck, maybe there'll even be a "You can't handle the truth!" moment. :popcorn:

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

22. Hopefully he's caught lying and goes down for perjury.

He may take the fifth and resign from office, but something tells me he thinks he can lie and get away with it.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

21. The deliberate muddling is a trial defense strategy. Reasonable doubt

If nobody knows what the hell happened, Libby's lawyer has succeeded.

I have a feeling that Fitz will make it pretty clear when the dust finally settles.

[porphyrian]

6. I'll kick that. - n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. This is it, Elizabeth! This is the big one!

As Red Foxx would say to Lamont.

[Marie26]

19. Better run to the bunker, Cheney nt

[robertpaulsen]

24. "You can't learn something startling on Thursday that you're giving out Monday"

Jurors are going to remember this in light of Martin's testimony. Defense can try to sow as much confusion as they want, but if they pursued Plame leads before Libby "found out" from Russert, he is GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!