Posted on 02/14/2006 9:23:19 AM PST by STARWISE
Prosecutors have asked former vice presidential Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to help them decipher his handwritten notes for use in an ongoing investigation stemming from the leak of a CIA agent's identity.
The request to Libby was discussed in two court hearings February 3, including a closed session involving classified material.
A transcript of the closed session was made public Monday. It revealed that five government agencies will review evidence that may be used at Libby's trial, scheduled to start in January 2007, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
In the transcript, special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said of the notes: "We can't read a substantial part of them."
Libby's handwriting "has a little bit of hieroglyphics in there, and so what we have to do is translate them so we can tell the intelligence agencies what their content is so we can figure out how sensitive it is," Fitzgerald said.
Government agencies may ask that some material in the notes remain classified or be changed before being made public to protect national security.
Fitzgerald said he will discuss with Libby's attorneys some sort of protection from penalty in case Libby makes an error in translating what the notes meant.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Ding
Scooter: "It says, Fitzy is a dork."
OR
"These marks indicate that the media is full of lying idiots."
OR
"These marks are a reminder that I should look up the Fifth Amendment in the Constitution. It might come in handy some day."
If he was to translate his handwriting and the results were incrimidating wouldn't that violate his 5th Ammendment protection against self incrimination?
I dropped my "no". "no specific recollection".
Oh, dear. I can't say what I want to say about this.
I agree. Why should he help Fitzgerald? The prosecutor has to try his own case. If you cannot read what's writ, you must acquit.
At the hearings, Cline estimated the translations of the notes could be completed by Friday.
Fitzgerald said the notes in question "by and large cover predominantly topics other than the issue of" Valerie Plame, the CIA operative whose identity was leaked to columnist Robert Novak."
So, Fitzy can't read the man's notes, but knows that he lied in the investigation because these reporters said so?
Feh!
Fitzgerald will make an asp out of himself again.
Leni
I think Libby wants to introduce the notes as evidence that he had som many other, more pressing and more important issues, therefore any misstatements relating to Plame were pure forgetfulness.
Since Fitzgerald couldn't read the notes before, they didn't form part of his rationale or evidence supporting the indictment. Libby turned to notes over pursuant to an order from the President.
I thought Fitz already had his case proved. Exactly why does a criminal defendant have a duty to help out his prosecutor???
I wonder if this is like asking Libby to be a witness against himself?
If he translated his handwriting then Fitzie produces an "expert" who translates it differently, would Libby then he subject to prosecution for another "crime" ala Martha Stewart?
Fitzgerald: Mr. Libby, would you please translate your notes so we can more easily prosecute you?
Libby: Go piss on the third rail.
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