[DoughtyOne]

Libby has been charged with lying. Even if Woody said he told ever reporter in town on January 01, 1982, Libby would still be in hot water.

The only thing Woody torpedoed was his own crediblity. He allowed a special prosecutor to go after the Bush White House knowing damned well the Plame info was out there long before Libby reportedly said anything.

[msnimje]

He allowed a special prosecutor to go after the Bush White House knowing damned well the Plame info was out there long before Libby reportedly said anything

How did Woodward know what Libby told Fitzgerald until after the indictments?

[Captain Peter Blood]

Libby has been charged with lying to investigators, etc., exactly the same crime Martha Stewart was.
Now to be fair to Libby it would be literally impossible for this guy to remember ever phone or personal conversation he has had as Cheney's Chief of Staff so is it any wonder they trapped the guy because some of his stories changed a little.
Fitzgerald could not after a two year investigation find any evidence of Libby, Rove, The White House, etc. leaking PLame so this is the end result, nothing that has to do with the original investigation. Now we know Woodward knew all along about Plame and probably was the one who inadvertently leaked this piece of info that he got in casual conversation in an interview with an unnamed source which I suspect will be known very soon and it ain't Mark Felt.

[smoothsailing]

I understand Woodward has pretty much admitted he stayed silent because he was working on his book and didn't want to lose White House access.

What kind of man would put Libby through such personal hell just for a lousy book? A man with no soul, IOW Woodward.

I agree with you about Libby, he's not off the hook. But this has to strengthen his defense and could make him a more sympathetic character to a jury.

[traderrob6]

Not really, Woodward also said that he told Fitzgerald he may have mentioned Plame working for the CIA when he talked with Libby. That means that Libby stating he learned of Plame from "journalists" could be accurate.

[Logical me]

"Libby has been charged with lying."

If the so called lie was different statements between what the three reporters have said and the FBI, this is pure bull sh@@. If the lie was between two FBI agents, then it is a matter of how important the discrepancy was. It has to be germane to the case. A laps in memory of something that happened years ago is determined to be a lie, then maybe we have to question the FBI if it was truly a lie of a laps of memory, or a poorly asked question.

[AndyTheBear]

He allowed a special prosecutor to go after the Bush White House knowing damned well the Plame info was out there long before Libby reportedly said anything.

Everybody who cared to know this knew this. A year or more ago there was a press court briefing for 75 or so media outlets that sited evidence of such, and pointed out there could not have been a crime committed (they were arguing for access into the investigation).

I suppose a special prosecutor has to do something to earn his keep, even if its make-work.

[potlatch]

These are some notes that I jotted down to keep it clear in my mind after reading all of the articles;

Earlier this week Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward disclosed that he testified under oath to Fitzgerald on Monday, November 14th, 2005 that a senior Bush administration official had casually told him in mid-June 2003 about CIA operative Valerie Plame's position as a CIA analyst on weapons of mass destruction.

Plame's identity was revealed in July 2003 by columnist Robert Novak.

Fitz had said that Libby was the first official known to have told a reporter about Plame in June of '03.

Woodward realized - after hearing that the indictment stated Libby disclosed his information on June 23 - that Libby was NOT the first official to talk about Plame to a reporter.

Woodward called his source, confirming that he had been told earlier in June '03, so therefor Libby was not the first to release the info.

Woodwards source said 'he or she' had no choice but to go to the Prosecutor. Woodward asked if he could be 'released' from confidentiality but the 'source' said only for purposes of discussing it with Fitzgerald, not for publication.

Woodward expressed surprise that Fitz hadn't contacted him earlier as his name showed up on various White House calendars, phone logs and other records during June-July '03.

Friday, Nov. 18, 2005; Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the ongoing CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.

[Always Right]

Libby has been charged with lying. Even if Woody said he told ever reporter in town on January 01, 1982, Libby would still be in hot water.

No, because this collaborates Libby's story that it was common knowledge among reporters and he heard it from reporters. If it comes down to Libby saying he heard it from Russert and it turnes out if might have been some other reporter, the case becomes extremely weak. It would then become a mistake instead of a lie.