Posted on 02/13/2007 1:52:58 PM PST by NormsRevenge
A summary of testimony from witnesses in the obstruction and perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby:
PROSECUTION:
MARC GROSSMAN: A former undersecretary of state, Grossman said he told Libby on June 11 or 12, 2003, that Valerie Plame, the wife of a prominent war critic, worked at the CIA. Under cross-examination, Grossman acknowledged some inconsistencies in his statements, such as whether the conversations were face-to-face or over the phone.
ROBERT GRENIER: The former No. 3 official at the CIA testified that he told Libby about Plame on June 11, 2003. He originally told investigators he did not recall such a conversation but said he "developed a growing conviction" that he must have said it.
CRAIG SCHMALL: Libby's daily CIA briefer, Schmall testified that Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, were discussed during Libby's briefing on June 14, 2003. Schmall based that on his notes from the briefing.
CATHIE MARTIN: Cheney's former spokeswoman, Martin testified that she told Libby sometime before July 6, 2003, that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA.
ARI FLEISCHER: A former White House press secretary, Fleischer recalled Libby telling him about Plame over lunch July 7, 2003, and saying the information was "hush hush." Fleischer relayed that information to reporters. He received immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony.
DAVID ADDINGTON: A former counsel to the vice president who now serves as Cheney's chief of staff, Addington said Libby asked him what documents would be available if a CIA employee's spouse was sent overseas. As the leak investigation began, Addington said Libby asked how someone could know a CIA officer was undercover and told him, "I didn't do it."
JUDITH MILLER: A former New York Times reporter, Miller says Libby discussed Plame on June 23 and July 8 of 2003 — days before Libby says he first learned about the operative. Miller acknowledges she spoke with other government officials, has a spotty memory and cannot be "absolutely, absolutely certain" she did not learn about Plame elsewhere.
MATTHEW COOPER: A former Time magazine reporter, Cooper said he had an off-the-record conversation in which Libby confirmed he, too, had heard that Wilson's wife was involved in sending him on the trip to Niger. That appears nowhere in Cooper's notes, however, and his description of the ground rules of the conversation have changed. Defense lawyers say Libby told Cooper only that he had heard that, too, from other reporters and did not know whether it was true.
DEBORAH BOND: The chief FBI agent in the leak investigation described the bureau's two interviews with Libby, on Oct. 14 and Nov. 26, 2003. She said Libby said he first learned Wilson's wife worked for the CIA from Cheney about June 12, 2003, but had forgotten that conversation. Libby told the FBI he thought he was hearing the information for the first time from NBC reporter Tim Russert on July 10 or 11, 2003.
TIM RUSSERT: The host of NBC's "Meet the Press," Russert testified that Plame never came up in a July 2003 phone call with Libby. Libby says Russert told him "all the reporters know" Plame worked for the CIA. Libby says he repeated the information based on Russert's comment.
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DEFENSE:
WALTER PINCUS: The veteran Washington Post reporter testified that Fleischer told him that Plame worked at the CIA. He said the topic never came up in discussions with Libby.
BOB WOODWARD: An assistant managing editor at the Post and an author, Woodward testified that in June 2003, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told him that Plame worked at the CIA. Woodward did not recall the topic coming up in discussions with Libby.
DAVID SANGER: A New York Times reporter, Sanger testified that he talked to Libby in July 2003 and Libby did not bring up Plame.
ROBERT NOVAK: The columnist who identified Plame on July 14, 2003, Novak testified that he had two sources: Armitage and White House aide Karl Rove. He testified that Libby was not a source.
GLENN KESSLER: A Washington Post reporter, Kessler testified that he interviewed Libby on the same day as Cooper but said Libby never brought up Plame.
EVAN THOMAS: A Newsweek magazine reporter, Thomas said he's sure Libby never told him Plame worked for the CIA.
CARL W. FORD JR.: The former assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, Ford testified for just minutes. He said he prepared a memo on Wilson for Grossman but his dates conflicted with Grossman's.
JILL ABRAMSON: The New York Times managing editor, Abramson said she did not recall Miller ever telling her to pursue a story on Plame. Miller had said she told Abramson that after her conversation with Libby.
JOHN HANNAH: Libby's former deputy and currently the national security adviser to the vice president, Hannah testified that in mid-2003 Libby was dealing with diplomatic crises, terrorist threats, war strategy and nuclear programs in Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. He described Libby's memory as spotty. He conceded that if Libby took two hours out of his busy day — as he did for Miller — it meant Libby considered Plame a key issue.
By the time this trial is over, we're going to have conclusive proof that EVERYONE in DC knew Plame worked for the CIA, so, what was there to "out"?
Did anyone think to ask Hannah if maybe Libby was simply attracted to Miller as a woman?
From the testimony it looks good for Libby. The prosecution did not provide a reason for him to lie. In all fairness t looks like a faulty memory to me. The prosecutions witnesses all had faulty memories as the defense pointed out.
The Democrats hope they're in the White House before this is over so they can control the spin and bury the conclusion that the entire Wilson/Niger scheme was a political attack intended to unseat a sitting President in time of war.
I pointed this out to a cousin and aunty of mine. The so-called witnesses are allowed to have faulty memories, in which their testimony has been allowed to change. Libby, however, is being held to a single version of a recollection of conversations, in which none of those with whom he'd spoken can remember with certainty what had been discussed, and in fact his own notes are being used as the basis of his prosecution.
Ridiculous to the extreme, the entire case and trial has obfuscated the fact that no wrong doing on the part of the Administration has been found in regards to the original question the independent inquiry had been convened to discover the answer to.
Gee, this AP/Yahoo report neglects the Defense getting Russert to acknowledge the cheering and glee (Happy Fitzmas!) in the NBC Studios when Libby was indicted... And also getting Russert's no-answer to: you had the VP's Chief of Staff on the phone and the news story of the day is Joe Wilson's charge that the Yellow Cake story was made up based on his VP-sponsored trip to Africa... and Russert didn't ask Libby a question about any of this?
Seems like a bit of an oversight by the AP/Yahoo reporter. JMHO.
Bump to read reaction to this later.
What CIA "leak" trial?
except Andrea Mitchell....
Have you seen Scooter Libby's wife? I don't think you'd be asking this question if you had.
No doubt he was interested in Miller's mind ~
Yeah... where's the summary of Andrea Mitchell's appearance... or did she dodge the bullet? What I thought I heard was that Andrea Mitchell claimed she had no explanation for how she could have made the statement or thought that "Everybody in the news media here in DC was aware that Joe Wilson's wife worked at the CIA... it was common knowledge."
LOL...which only proves that Andrea Mitchell's sources are weak.
Typical MSM spin the administration was concerned about Wilson's false information which was getting non stop media coverage.
Succint summary: Bullshit!
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