Prosecutors say Libby lied as trial winds down

Reuters ^ | 2/20/07 | Andy Sullivan

[mtnwmn]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney lied to the FBI because he was worried he might face criminal charges for blowing a CIA employee's cover, the prosecution said on Tuesday as the trial neared its close.

Lewis "Scooter" Libby also feared he would lose his job as Cheney's chief of staff after he enlisted the vice president to clear his name, prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg told the jury in his closing argument.

"He had a choice to make -- he could tell the truth and take his chances with the investigation, or he could lie. Ladies and gentlemen, he took the second choice," Zeidenberg said.

Libby is on trial for lying to investigators trying to find out who leaked a CIA analyst's identity after her husband accused the White House of twisting intelligence to bolster the case for invading Iraq.

Libby's defense team said the government's entire case rested on two phone calls with reporters -- not enough to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

"There's just two guys, one on one side and one on the other," contradicting each other, defense attorney Theodore Wells said.

Nobody has been charged with intentionally blowing CIA analyst Valerie Plame's cover. Libby's perjury trial is the only criminal case to emerge from the three-year investigation.

Over four weeks, jurors have heard government officials and journalists describe how Libby sought information on Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, and passed it along to reporters weeks before he says he learned about her.

Jurors did not heard from Libby or Cheney.

[Perdogg]

It doesn't matter if Libby lied, only if Libby lied about a material fact and that he had mens rea when he did it.

[madison10]

What a travesty of justice...

[mtnwmn]

I posted to see if anyone had heard anything lately on this trial and to get your thoughts.

[Jeff Chandler]

It doesn't matter if Libby lied, only if Libby lied about a material fact and that he had mens rea when he did it.

Even that doesn't matter. What matters is how much anger and resentment the jury has towards the President.

[IamConservative]

Jurors did not heard from Libby or Cheney.

Perhaps they didn't listening well enough. :)

Nice editing by Rooters on that one..

[Bigh4u2]

Reuter's starts with a false pretense right in the very first sentence.

"A former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney lied to the FBI because he was worried he might face criminal charges for blowing a CIA employee's cover, the prosecution said on Tuesday as the trial neared its close."

Valerie Plame was NOT a 'Covert' CIA employee, and everyone knew it.

[Ieatfrijoles]

I sure hope there are no political agendas in the jury room.

[Rummyfan]

If the jury finds him guilty the judge should set aside the verdict.

If he doesn't Libby will surely appeal.

If he loses the appeal the President should pardon him.

[Beth528]

This whole case is a fraud dreamed up by a bunch of Bush-haters trying to get revenge for the impeachment of the Sex-Offender in Chief.

If Libby is exonnerated, which is what should happen, the lying slimebags in the MSM will spin it as a crook getting away with it because of corruption.

[digger48]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/20/D8NDI89O0.html

[OldFriend]

the biggest liar of them all.....timmy russet

[Suzy Quzy]

Do you HONESTLY think that a DC jury would understand what you said?

[NoBullZone]

I've been reading the semi-transcript on a liberal blog; my take is that the first prosecuting attorney (last name begins with Z)was not sufficiently clear to make his case. Libby's attorney, Wells, wasted a good deal of time in a personal hissy fit, but pretty well destroyed Russert's credibility for any open-minded person. Jeffrees was MUCH better for the defense - clear, concise, easy to follow; very effective (even the libs admitted this). Then Wells was up again and muddied the waters again. Apparently tried some unconvincing theatrics at his close. As one lib blogger said, if I'm charged with perjury, Jeffrees (and not Wells) is the attorney I would want.

[JLGALT]

"the biggest liar of them all.....timmy russet"
Now, let's see if little timmy goes on trail for lying!

[pinz-n-needlez]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1787873/posts

Check out this thread...

[Colonel PK]

It seems that the main liar in this case should be tacked on to the prosecuting attorney, who knew from the start that Libby was not guilty of "outing" Valery Plame.

[NoBullZone]

Just my two cents - if I were on a jury I would be really confused who said what, when, to whom. In the end, I would probably vote not guilty, even though there is a certain whiff about some of this, because nothing is PROVED. Its all speculation. Jeefrees was good at hammering that Libby doesn't have to "prove" he is innocent; the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty. With all the memory lapses by EVERONE, I don't see how this case possibly rises to that level of proof.

[Verginius Rufus]

The whole investigation was in pursuit of a lie dreamed up by some radical leftists at The Nation magazine, which Fitzgerald accepted unquestioningly. Even if Scooter Libby is acquitted, the whole trial was a travesty which should never have happened...but I don't trust a DC jury to give a fair verdict when they have a chance to send a message of their disapproval of Bush and Cheney.

[bmwcyle]

One lie in a ocean of liars.