I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, arrives at U.S. Federal Court in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Posted on 02/21/2007 10:16:25 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the perjury and obstruction trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, is charged with lying and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.
Jurors heard about an hour of legal instructions from U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Wednesday morning before beginning deliberations shortly before 11:30 a.m. They heard a full day of closing arguments Tuesday after a monthlong trial.
The jury of eight women and four men must be unanimous before returning a verdict on the five charges against Libby. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted, though he'd likely get far less under federal sentencing guidelines.
Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who emerged in mid-2003 as an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's case for the Iraq war. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says Libby learned about Plame from Cheney and other officials in June 2003 and relayed it to reporters.
Attorneys left jurors with two very different impressions of the case. Prosecutors described a methodical effort by Libby to conceal the fact that he discussed Plame with reporters in June 2003. Defense attorneys recounted a confusing, sometimes contradictory month of testimony that they believe is too shaky to base a conviction on.
Plame was outed by reporter Robert Novak, who touched off an FBI investigation with a July 2003 syndicated column. Though Libby wasn't Novak's source, prosecutors say he feared he'd be charged with discussing classified information with other reporters.
So, prosecutors say, Libby lied. He told investigators he learned about Plame from Cheney, then forgot about it until a month later, when he was surprised to hear it during a phone call with NBC's Tim Russert. Russert says the conversation about Plame didn't happen.
"It's simply not credible to believe he would forget this information about Wilson's wife," prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg said during closing arguments Tuesday. "It's ludicrous."
Libby's attorneys say it's the prosecution's story that doesn't make sense. Why, they ask, would Libby make up a story that hinges on Russert, someone Libby knew could be questioned?
And while prosecutors have shown that Plame came up in several conversations with government officials in mid-2003, defense attorneys say there's no proof Libby deliberately set out to lie when he spoke to investigators three months later.
"They haven't given you anything that says Mr. Libby didn't just have one of those moments that we all have in life where he thought something happened one way and it happened another," said defense attorney Theodore Wells.
Prosecutors used opening statements to remind jurors that one witness after another testified to discussing Plame with Libby. Zeidenberg pointed to a flow chart showing arrows tracking information from several officials to Libby and on to other sources. With each conversation, it became less likely the CIA operative would just slip Libby's mind, Zeidenberg said.
Wells presented a similar chart. Under each name and photograph, however, Wells noted their memory inconsistencies. Some changed their stories. Others seemed less certain in FBI interviews than they did on the stand.
Why is Mr. Libby being treated differently?" Wells told jurors. "He should not. Treat him fairly. Ask yourself: 'Did the government give me some evidence that he intentionally lied as opposed to, did he just forget?'"
___
Associated Press writer Michael J. Sniffen contributed to this report.
Will Scooter ride FRee?
We need a pool..
Jury returns verdict (Yea or Nay) in so many days or hours .. or minutes.
--
I say
2 days 2 hours ,, give or take a couple hours.
I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, arrives at U.S. Federal Court in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The case had nothing to do with any leak or any known crime.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald arrives at federal court for the perjury trial of Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, in Washington February 20, 2007. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby (L) arrives with his wife, Harriet Grant at U.S. Federal Court in Washington on the first day of jury deliberation in his federal perjury trial, February 21, 2007. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES)
Fitzys next career stop is Court TV.
That does not look like the face of a confident man.
I say we know by 5pm today. There is no case, and the jurors, no doubt, would like to be done with this.
I think we should have a crack up pool for after the not guilty verdict...to see how long it takes Chris Matthews to lose control on air.
He dropped his case(s) against King Richie for this circus sideshow. Maybe he can get back to bagging REAL criminals.
It will be a hung jury. There will be atleast one DU-type that will maintain Libby is guilty.
Ive been working on this a while :
Libby Code:
If you take the first letters of the last words of the consecutive paragraphs starting with paragraph number 33 in Libby's Grand Jury testimony it clearly spells "ASPEN ROOTS"
and if you do the same thing starting with paragraph 206 it spells " ROVE IS DEAD"....
This is Freaky
Coincidence? I dont think so
Late Friday afternoon is a good bet for a verdict as they consider another weekend stuck with other.
Yeah, Fritz should be scared. If he can't produce on this one, he probably not be able to keep milking this cash cow and will have to get a real job.
Did the AP just give Wilson a promotion? I believe he was never made an ambassador. He filled in as an "acting-ambassador" at one point in his career, if my memory is correct.
Well, let's see what precedents we have for sentencing...
Bill Clinton guilty of perjury...lost license to practice law for 5 years.
Sandy Burger, guilty of treason...no jail time, 100 hrs community service picking up trash, suspension of security clearance for 3 years (iirc).
Given these facts it seems that if sentencing were consistent, Libby might be sentenced to no Cable TV or computer for a month and not be allowed to use the word CIA for 5 years.
Of course the dems are such hypocrites on such things...I think they all should have the book thrown at them if they're guilty. Clinton put in prison for 30 years, Libby for 30 years and Burger hung.
Not with that jury. Scooter should never have been indicted in the first place but I'm afraid the jury will still find him guilty.
Six hours total deliberation.
I couldn't get passed the headline. What leak?
Is that six degrees of Larry Johnson? s/
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